And all the country of Goshen.—This expression creates some difficulty. Goshen has been thought to be the town of that name mentioned in Joshua 15:51; but it is inconceivable that a single place of no importance in the mountains of Judah should give the name to an extensive district, which is manifestly intended here. If we knew the exact northern boundary of the land of Goshen assigned for a distinct residence to Joseph’s brethren in Egypt, it might help to clear up the meaning of this passage. That Goshen, at its Egyptian end, bordered upon the Delta is clear. But how far did Goshen extend towards the north? In 1Chronicles 7:21-22, we find that Ephraim’s children in his lifetime made an incursion into Canaan as far as Gath. But this was during the time that Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen. Did they suppose that they were in the land of Goshen when they plundered the men of Gath? If Goshen (frontier) could be the general name for the border-land between Egypt and Palestine, we can understand that the borders might vary with the power of the Egyptian monarchy for the time being. The country of Goshen, unto Gibeon, seems to be described from south to north; Gibeon being intended as the northern boundary.

28-42. that day Joshua took Makkedah—In this and the following verses is described the rapid succession of victory and extermination which swept the whole of southern Palestine into the hands of Israel. "All these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal."

even unto Gaza, which lay to the southwest, and was one of the five principalities of the Philistines; of which city See Gill on Amos 1:7; and See Gill on Acts 8:26,

and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon; to which he returned back in his way to his camp at Gilgal, having conquered all the southern part of the country. This country of Goshen is not that in the land of Egypt, as Kimchi rightly remarks. Bishop Cumberland (m) is of opinion, that the Phoenician or Canaanitish pastors, who were driven out of Egypt before their expulsion, inhabited that part of Egypt called Goshen, which the Israelites some years after dwelt in; and when those shepherds were driven out, they came into this part of the land of Canaan, and called it after the name of the country they left in Egypt; and might perhaps the rather choose to give it this name, because of the goodness and fruitfulness of it, in which it resembled the country they had formerly dwelt in.

(m) Remarks on the History of Sanchoniatho, p. 380, 381.