Joshua 12:3

And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdothpisgah:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

12:1-6 Fresh mercies must not drown the remembrance of former mercies, nor must the glory of the present instruments of good to the church diminish the just honour of those who went before them, since God is the same who wrought by both. Moses gave to one part of Israel a very rich and fruitful country, but it was on the outside of Jordan. Joshua gave to all Israel the holy land, within Jordan. So the law has given to some few of God's spiritual Israel worldly blessings, earnests of good things to come; but our Lord Jesus, the true Joshua, provided for all the children of promise spiritual blessings, and the heavenly Canaan.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From the plain - Render "over the plain;" for the words describe not one of the boundaries of Sihon's kingdom, but part of the territory included in it, i. e. the eastern portion of the Ghor, between the Sea of Tiberias and the Dead Sea.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 12

Jos 12:1-6. The Two Kings Whose Countries Moses Took and Disposed of.

1. Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan—This chapter contains a recapitulation of the conquests made in the promised land, with the additional mention of some places not formerly noted in the sacred history. The river Arnon on the south and mount Hermon on the north were the respective boundaries of the land acquired by the Israelites beyond Jordan (see Nu 21:21-24; De 2:36; 3:3-16 [and see on [187]De 2:24]).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

To the sea of Chinneroth on the east; which words describe the situation not of the sea of Chinneroth, which was part of the western border of Sihon’s dominion, but of the plain, which is here said to lie eastward from the sea of Chinneroth, and also eastward from the Salt Sea, as it here follows. And this was indeed the situation of the plains of Moab, which are here spoken of, to wit, that they lay between the two seas, that of Chinneroth and the Salt Sea, and eastward to them both.

The sea of the plain; the Salt Sea is so called because it was a famous plain, pleasant and fruitful, before it was turned into a salt sea. From the south, or, on or towards the south.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And from the plain,.... Or rather, "and the plain", the plains of Moab, which, before possessed by the Israelites, belonged to the kingdom of Sihon; and the plains of Jordan, which reached

to the sea of Cinneroth on the east; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, and sea of Tiberias, mentioned in the New Testament, Matthew 14:34,

and unto the sea of the plain; where stood the cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, &c.

even the salt sea on the east; the same with the dead sea, into which the plain the above cities stood on was converted:

the way to Bethjeshimoth; which was a place in the plains of Moab, Numbers 33:49,

and from the south under Ashdothpisgah; or the springs of Pisgah, which flowed from the mount of that name, Deuteronomy 3:17.

Geneva Study Bible

And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdothpisgah:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

3. and from the plain] Rather, and the plain, the Arabah, i. e. the eastern part of the Jordan valley, as far as the Sea of Chinneroth.

the sea of Cinneroth] So called after the city of this name. See above, ch. Joshua 11:2. In the New Testament it is called (a) the “Sea of Galilee” (Matthew 4:18; Matthew 15:29; Mark 1:16); (b) the “lake of Gennesaret” (Luke 5:1); (c) the “sea of Tiberias” (John 6:1; John 21:1); and sometimes (d) simply “the sea.”

and unto the sea of the plain] i. e. of the Arabah. While the Lake of Gennesareth forms the northern boundary of the eastern part of the Jordan valley, it is in like manner bounded on the south by the Salt Sea, i. e. the Dead Sea. Near which lay

Beth-jeshimoth] = “the House of the Wastes.” It was one of the limits of the encampment of Israel before crossing the Jordan (Numbers 33:48-49).

under Ashdoth-pisgah] See above, Joshua 10:40.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 3. - And from the plain. There is no "from" in the original, which here ceases to describe the territories of Sihon, but continues the account of the Israelite dominions, which included the Arabah (not the plain as in our version) up to the sea of Chinneroth. On the east; i.e., the east of Jordan. So also below. The way to Beth-jeshimoth (see Numbers 33:48, 49). There was a desert tract near the Dead Sea called Jeshimon, or the waste district. It is described by travellers as the most arid portion of the whole land. In this, Beth-jeshimoth (the house of desolations) was situated. It was south of the acacia meadows (see note on Joshua 2:1), and it formed part of the territory of Reuben (Joshua 13:20). As it lay upon Jordan, it must have been near the extreme northernmost point of the Dead Sea. We are to understand, not that Sihon's territory extended to Beth-jeshimoth, but in that direction. Possibly some of the western Cauaanitish tribes here extended their territories across the Jordan. And from the south. The word here is not Negeb, but Teman, i.e., the literal south, which lay on the right (יָמִין) to one looking eastward. Ashdoth-pisgah. For Ashdoth see Joshua 10:40. Pisgah was the northernmost point of the Abarim range, of which the well known Nebo was the chief peak. Thither Moses went up to view the land which he was not permitted to enter. There Balaam built his seven altars and essayed in vain to curse the children of Israel. There were the watchmen (Zophim) stationed to protect the land, in the days before the Israelitish invasion, from the incursions of the tribes on the other side of Jordan (Numbers 23:14). The position of Pisgah has not been precisely identified, but the range extended on the eastern side of Jordan to a point nearly opposite Jericho. See Deuteronomy 34:1. Joshua 12:3

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"And (over) the Arabah, etc., Sihon reigned," i.e., over the eastern side of the Ghor, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea (see at Deuteronomy 3:17). "By the way to Bethjeshimoth, and towards the south below the slopes of Pisgah" (see at Numbers 21:15 and Numbers 27:12), i.e., to the north-eastern border of the desert by the Dead Sea (see at Numbers 22:1).