Adoni-Sedek was the Amorite king of Jerusalem at the time when the Israelites entered Canaan under Joshua's leadership. His name means 'my lord is righteousness', and forms a remarkable parallel to Melchizedek, who according to tradition was also king in Salem (Jerusalem). When the Gibeonites made peace with Israel, Adoni-Sedek feared the strategic threat this posed, and formed an alliance with four other Amorite kings to punish Gibeon. In the ensuing battle, God intervened dramatically with hailstones from heaven and caused the sun and moon to stand still, so that the Israelites won a overwhelming victory. Adoni-Sedek and the other kings fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah, but were found, humiliated, and executed by Joshua. His defeat marked the beginning of the Israelite conquest of southern Canaan.
Schlüsselereignisse
Heard about Gibeon's peace treaty with Israel
Adoni-Zedek became very afraid when he heard that Gibeon, a large and powerful city with skilled warriors, had made peace with Israel and Joshua. Gibeon's switch to the Israelites posed a serious strategic threat to the Canaanite city-states.
1When Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them,
Adoni-Zedek sent word to four other Amorite kings—Hoham of Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debír of Eglon—and asked them to help him attack Gibeon because the city had made peace with Israel.
5Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and marched up with all their armies. They took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
The five Amorite kings gathered their forces and marched up against Gibeon to besiege and attack the city. The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua at Gilgal, asking for immediate help.
5Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and marched up with all their armies. They took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
6The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly, save us, and help us, for all the Amorite kings of the hill country have joined forces against us."
Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army after the Lord had promised him victory. God struck the Amorites with confusion and sent large hailstones from heaven that killed more enemies than the Israelites' swords did. The sun and moon stood still over Gibeon and the Valley of Aijalon until the people had taken vengeance on their foes.
10The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who struck them down in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the road up to Beth-horon, and cut them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
11As they fled before Israel down the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD hurled great hailstones on them from the sky all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died from the hailstones than from the swords of the Israelites.
12On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD, and in the sight of Israel he said: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
13So the sun stood still and the moon halted until the nation had taken vengeance on its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar?* The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting for about a full day. [*Footnote: Jashar means "the upright one"; the book is an ancient collection of songs no longer preserved.]
The five kings, including Adoni-Zedek, fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah. When Joshua learned of this, he ordered large stones to be rolled in front of the cave's entrance to keep them trapped until the battle was over.
19But you—do not stop. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand."
After the complete victory, Joshua had the five kings brought out of the cave. He commanded his commanders to place their feet on the kings' necks as a sign of total submission—a well-known symbolic act in the ancient Near East. The kings were then killed and hung on five trees until sunset, when they were taken down and thrown into the cave.
24When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who had gone with him, "Come here, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came forward and put their feet on their necks.
27At sunset Joshua gave the order, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. Then they placed large stones over the mouth of the cave, and those stones remain there to this very day.