Comentário sobre Josué 11:25

South of Kinros.— South of Ginosar.¹Genosar is an area near Tiberias, around Lake Kinneres.

The region of Dor.—The districts of Dor. Contree in French.

מִיָם—on the west.

מִשְׂרְפוֹת מַיִם²From the word שְׂרֵפָה, fire or burning. Thus the Targum proceeds to explain: the burning of water, מַיִם. Targum Yonasan translates, sea-ditches. They dug ditches and the sea water would flow into them, and the water would be burned [evaporate] from the heat of the sun and would turn into salt.

Remained with their walls intact. Their walls were not destroyed like Yericho, whose walls fell, and similarly Ai, as it is said, “[And Yehoshua burned Ai] and made it into a mound forever, a ruin.”³See Chapter 8:28 above.

The only exception was Chatzor. He burned it because of a traditional command. Moshe so commanded and transmitted it to him. This is found in Bereishis Rabba on the Sidrah of “And Yaakov sent.”⁴This command to destroy Chatzor is not written in the Torah. Moshe received this command orally on Mount Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, who fulfilled it.

The bare, divided mountain. A smooth mountain.⁵It was so called because there were no trees on it. It was divided between Yaakov and Eisov. The part belonging to Yaakov was bare and smooth as Yaakov himself. See Bereishis 27:11. This was a bare (smooth) mountain to Baal-gad, which was on the eastern border. During his lifetime, Yehoshua, was unable to conquer the entire eastern border to the north.

Baal-gad—the plain of gad.

For many days did Yehoshua. This verse was said to criticize Yehoshua, who intended to delay the conquest of the land, in order to lengthen his days, for it is said, “And you will apportion it to them.”⁶It took seven years for Yehoshua to conquer the whole land. Our Sages say that he could have conquered the land more quickly. It did not have to take seven years. Yehoshua was reluctant to complete the conquest of the land and divide it between the tribes. He was afraid that once he completed it, he would die. He knew his mission in life was to bring Bnei Yisroel into Eretz Yisroel and settle them there. Once his mission was completed, his life would have no further purpose. See Devorim 31:7 Because he was reluctant to complete the conquest, God punished him, and as soon as the apportioning of the land was completed he died. He was then one hundred and ten years old. Were it not for this, he would have lived ten more years, till one hundred and twenty as did his master, Moshe. From Midrash Tanchumah.