Josua 10:2

Svenska Bibel

fruktade han och hans folk storligen, ty Gibeon var en stor stad, såsom en av konungastäderna, ja, det var större än Ai, och dess män voro alla tappra.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they feared: Joshua 2:9-13, Joshua 2:24, Exodus 15:14-16, Deuteronomy 11:25, Deuteronomy 28:10, Psalms 48:4-6, Proverbs 1:26, Proverbs 1:27, Proverbs 10:24, Hebrews 10:27, Hebrews 10:31, Revelation 6:15-17

Gibeon: Gibeon was situated on an eminence, as its name imports, 40 furlongs north from Jerusalem, according to Josephus.

the royal cities: Heb. cities of the kingdom, 1 Samuel 27:5, 2 Samuel 12:26

Reciprocal: Joshua 9:1 - all the kings Joshua 9:3 - Gibeon Joshua 9:17 - Gibeon Joshua 10:41 - Gibeon Joshua 18:25 - Gibeon 2 Samuel 2:12 - Gibeon 1 Kings 3:4 - Gibeon 1 Chronicles 6:60 - thirteen cities

Gill's Notes on the Bible

That they feared greatly,.... The king of Jerusalem and his people, lest they should fall into the hands of the Israelites, and be used as Jericho and Ai, and the kings and inhabitants of them were, and that they would be the next that should fall a sacrifice to them; for Gibeon was fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, as Josephus says a; and in another place he says b but forty, which were but five miles; and if fifty, but little more than six miles; according to Bunting c, it was but four miles: and what added to their terror was,

because Gibeon [was] a great city; being a metropolitan city, and having others subject to it; therefore the surrender of that to the Israelites might intimidate other cities, and lead them by example to do the like, and so of bad consequence:

as one of the royal cities; the Vulgate Latin version omits the note of similitude, and reads, "and one of the royal cities"; and sometimes "caph" or "as" is not a note of likeness, but of reality; yet as we nowhere read of a king of Gibeon, the sense may be, that though it was not a royal seat, it was equal to those that were, and like one, being a metropolitan city: and

because it [was] greater than Ai: had more inhabitants in it, and perhaps better fortified:

and all the men thereof [were] mighty; men of strength, courage, and valour, warlike men, and therefore for such a city to yield so easily, and in such a base, mean, and cowardly way, was setting a very bad example.

a De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 19. sect. 1. b Antiqu. l. 7. c. 11. sect. 7. c Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 98.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 10:2. As one of the royal cities — Not a regal city, but great, well inhabited and well fortified, as those cities which served for the royal residence generally were. It does not appear that the Gibeonites had any king-they seem to have been a small but powerful republic, all the men thereof were mighty, merely governed by their elders: for in their address to Joshua, Joshua 9:11, they mention no king, but simply state that they were sent by their elders and the inhabitants of their country; nor do we any where read of their king; and therefore we may naturally suppose that they had none.