Synopsis of the Chapter
The 31 kings slain by Joshua in Canaan are enumerated. See here how Joshua was the terror of all kings, indeed their judge and avenger.
Verse 2: He Ruled in the Middle of the Valley ¶
2. HE RULED, ETC., OF THE MIDDLE PART IN THE VALLEY. — In Hebrew: he ruled in the middle of the valley. So the Septuagint, as if to say: He ruled over the half valley, which is divided by the river Arnon, so that half of the river and the adjacent valley belonged to Sihon king of the Amorites, while the other half belonged to the Moabites. See Deuteronomy 3:16.
Verse 4: The Rephaim; Ashtaroth ¶
4. REPHAIM. — So were called the giants descended from Rapha, just as the Anakim were descended from Anak. See what was said on Genesis 14:5.
WHO LIVED IN ASHTAROTH. — So was this city and royal seat of Og king of Bashan named, from the idol Astarte of Diana or Juno, that is, of the moon, which was worshipped there; hence it was also surnamed Carnaim, that is, "of the two horns," because the moon when it is new is two-horned. See what was said on Genesis 14:5; likewise Baal-gad, says Arias, received its name from the deity Fortune, which was worshipped there: for Gad means fortune, as I said on Genesis 30:11; Baal means God.
Verse 9: The King of Jericho, One ¶
9. THE KING OF JERICHO, ONE. — "King," that is, petty king or prince. For individual cities with their municipalities had their own kings, that is, rulers and princes, as is clear from what follows; for in ancient times the lords of individual cities were called kings, as Aristotle testifies, Book III of Politics, Strabo, Book XVI, and Pliny, Book VI, chapter 9. From this gather how great was the simplicity of that age, when kings, content with their own cities, did not covet others, but conspired with them against common enemies, for example, the Hebrews. But now we not infrequently see that the ambition of men is so great that the whole world does not suffice to satisfy it. Hence the Poet sang of Alexander the Great:
One world is not enough for the young man of Pella;
He will be content with a sarcophagus.
Why do you wretched mortals covet the earth? Why do you strive to add fields to fields, cities to cities, kingdoms to kingdoms? Why do you torment yourselves your whole life in expanding your estates, when you will die tomorrow, and must render an exact account to God, the judge and avenger of ambition, injustice, and tyranny? When you will be buried in an eight-foot mound of earth? When you will burn in hell for all eternity? This is the point of earth that is divided among mortals by sword and fire. O how narrow are the boundaries of mortals! O how narrow and blind are the minds of mortals! Do you really prefer a point of earth to the vast, most beautiful, most opulent orbs and kingdoms of heaven?
Verse 23: The King of the Nations of Gilgal ¶
23. THE KING OF THE NATIONS OF GILGAL, ONE. — In Hebrew the article lamed is added to Gilgal, as if to say: "The king of the Nations of Gilgal," or "in Gilgal, one." It is certain that this Gilgal is not the Gilgal where Joshua, after crossing the Jordan, pitched camp: for there was no city there, no king. Therefore Masius and others plausibly judge that Gilgal is Galilee. For this in Hebrew is called Galil. And Galgal is the same as Galil, with only the letter gimel doubled, which is frequent among the Hebrews. Hence the Septuagint in the Roman edition translate Galgal as Galilee, nor do we find anywhere another Galgal than Galilee. It is called "of the Nations," both because it had as neighbors the Tyrians, Sidonians, and other Gentiles; and because in it various peoples of the Canaanites and other nations lived and were intermixed, says Abulensis; and because there was a great concourse of other nations there because of its seaports and commerce, says Masius. A fourth reason was later added, that Solomon gave twenty cities in Galilee to Hiram, the Gentile king of Tyre, for his work in building the temple, as St. Jerome notes. But this donation of Galilee did not originally give it the surname "of the Nations," but strengthened and confirmed the surname already given. I will say more about Galilee in the following chapter, verse 2.
Verse 24: All the Kings, Thirty-one ¶
24. ALL THE KINGS, THIRTY-ONE. — St. Jerome notes, in his epistle to Dardanus, that the land promised and given by God to the Hebrews extends in length from Dan to Beersheba only one hundred and sixty thousand paces, or one hundred and sixty Italian miles; and its width, which we measure from Joppa to the Jordan, encompasses sixty thousand paces: therefore it was narrower than Italy, indeed even than Belgium. That so many petty kings should rule in so narrow a land, and so many other peoples remain in it, about which the following chapter speaks, argues that the fertility of that soil was once admirable, and it deservedly is called a land flowing with milk and honey.