Joshua 12:1 "Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their Land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto Mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:"

This again is a summery of the prior chapters. Before the children of Israel crossed over the Jordan river, they were on the east side of the river and these are the kings and nations that they smote before crossing to war against Jericho.

Joshua 12:2 "Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the chidren of Ammon."

These are the victories of the Israelites before entering into the promise land.

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 Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah:"

The sea of Chinneroth is is the sea of Galilee.

Joshua 12:4 "And the coast of Og king of Bashan (which was of the remnant of the giants) that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,"

The coast or borders of king Og's Bashan is where many of the Nephilim lived, and they were called the Rapha, and were related to Anak, as we discussed in the prior chapter. Bashan was noted for its great strength, and God brought them down.

Ashtaroth in the Hebrew means star, and the religious form of Ashtaroth, is where Ishtar comes from. We know Ishtar, for that is where the heathen for, Easter comes from. Within Ashtaroth there is both a male and a female part of this religion. The women sewed covering for this altar, and these coverings were hiding the Ashtaroth male phallic symbol. these heathen worshipped these huge male phallic symbols. Remember it was in the land of the giants. God was very disgusted with this religious form, but before the land could be cleared for His children to reside in it, these heathen symbols had to be cleared away, and the people practicing this religious form completely done away with. These people and their customs had to be destroyed before God would allow His people to have their inheritance.

This religious form started in Genesis 6 with Satan's fallen angels impregnating women, and causing these giants to enter into this age of flesh man. This was the religion of that day, and it is carried all the way through the scripture, called Baal worship, or Baal-Peor, as given in Deuteronomy 4:3, Psalms 106:28 and else where. Ashtaroth is not so much a place as a religion where these heathen practices took place. They were going strong in Paul's time in Corinth, and at the temple of Diana.

Joshua 12:5 "And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half of Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon,"

Joshua 12:6 "Them did Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh."

Remember that Moses was in charge of the children of Israel here, and they had not crossed over into the Promise land at this time. It would be a while before God took Moses, and put Joshua in charge. When all these battles were over, Moses gave it to these three tribes of Judah, and it would be part of their inheritance. this of course was near Mount Nebo where God took Moses to view over Jordan into the Promise land.

Joshua 12:7 "And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;"

Now from this verse on, we are reviewing the nations or peoples that Joshua and the children of Israel smote west of the Jordan river. Moses was not with the children of Israel when they crossed over Jordan.

Joshua 12:8 "In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites."

These six nations of peoples are the natural enemies of God's people. The Canaanites were the founders of most ancient religious thought, while the Perizzites were mostly the fallen angels and their giant offspring. The Hivites were the People that the city of Gibeon belonged to, that lied and deceived Israel into a peace pact with them. Of course the Jebusites founded Jabus, that later David changed to Jerusalem. The Hittites populating was made up mostly of the Kenites, and the Amorites were natural enemies of Israel. Each of these nations had one king in authority over them, so the next fifteen verses lists these 31 kings of their cities and locations.

Joshua 12:9-24

9 The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;

10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;

13 The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;

14 The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;

15 The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;

16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;

17 The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

18 The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;

19 The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;

20 The king of Shimronmeron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;

21 The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;

23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one;

24 The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.