Joshua 11
11
Joshua Captures Towns in the North
1King Jabin of Hazor heard about Joshua's victories, so he sent messages to many nearby kings and asked them to join him in fighting Israel. He sent these messages to King Jobab of Madon, the kings of Shimron and Achshaph, 2the kings in the northern hill country and in the Jordan River valley south of Lake Galilee,#11.2 Lake Galilee: The Hebrew text has “Lake Chinnereth,” an earlier name. and the kings in the foothills and in Naphath-Dor to the west. 3He sent messages to the Canaanite kings in the east and the west, to the Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, and Jebusite kings in the hill country, and to the Hivite kings in the region of Mizpah, near the foot of Mount Hermon.#11.3 Mizpah, near the foot of Mount Hermon: Probably the same region as Mizpeh Valley in verses 8,9, but different from the two other places named Mizpeh in 15.37-41; 18.25-28, and also different from the Mizpah mentioned in Genesis 31.49 and Judges 10.17.
4-5The kings and their armies went to Merom Pond,#11.4,5 Pond: Or “Gorge.” where they set up camp, and got ready to fight Israel. It seemed as though there were more soldiers and horses and chariots than there are grains of sand on a beach.
6The Lord told Joshua:
Don't let them frighten you! I'll help you defeat them, and by this time tomorrow they will be dead.
When you attack, the first thing you have to do is to cripple their horses. Then after the battle is over,#11.6 When … over: Or “After the battle is over, cripple their horses and burn their chariots.” burn their chariots.
7Joshua and his army made a surprise attack against the enemy camp at Merom Pond#11.7 Pond: See the note at 11.4,5. 8-9and crippled the enemies' horses.#11.8,9 and crippled the enemies' horses: It is also possible that the Israelites crippled the enemies' horses after the battle at the same time they burned the enemies' chariots; see the note at 11.6. Joshua followed the Lord's instructions, and the Lord helped Israel defeat the enemy. The Israelite army even chased enemy soldiers as far as Misrephoth-Maim to the northwest,#11.8,9 Misrephoth-Maim … northwest: Or “the town of Misrephoth to the northwest” or “the Misrephoth River.” the city of Sidon to the north, and Mizpeh Valley to the northeast.#11.8,9 northeast: These three areas were 30 to 55 kilometers north of Merom. None of the enemy soldiers escaped alive. The Israelites came back after the battle and burned the enemy's chariots.
10Up to this time, the king of Hazor had controlled the kingdoms that had joined together to attack Israel, so Joshua led his army back and captured Hazor. They killed its king 11and everyone else, then they set the town on fire.
12-15Joshua captured all the towns where the enemy kings had ruled. These towns were built on small hills,#11.12-15 small hills: Towns were often built on top of the ruins of a previous town that had been destroyed. When this happened many times at one place, a hill was formed. and Joshua did not set fire to any of these towns, except Hazor. The Israelites kept the animals and everything of value from these towns, but they killed everyone who lived in them, including their kings. That's what the Lord had told his servant Moses to do, that's what Moses had told Joshua to do, and that's exactly what Joshua did.
16Joshua and his army took control of the northern and southern hill country, the foothills to the west, the Southern Desert, the whole region of Goshen,#11.16 Goshen: See the note at 10.41. and the Jordan River valley. 17-18They took control of the land from Mount Halak near the country of Edom in the south to Baal-Gad in Lebanon Valley at the foot of Mount Hermon in the north. Joshua and his army were at war with the kings in this region for a long time, but finally they captured and put to death the last king.
19-20 #
Dt 7.16. The Lord had told Moses that he wanted the towns in this region destroyed and their people killed without mercy. That's why the Lord made the people in the towns stubborn and determined to fight Israel. The only town that signed a peace treaty with Israel was the Hivite town of Gibeon. The Israelite army captured the rest of the towns in battle.
21During this same time, Joshua and his army killed the Anakim#11.21 Anakim: Perhaps a group of very large people that lived in Palestine before the Israelites (see Numbers 13.33 and Deuteronomy 2.10,11, 20,21). from the northern and southern hill country. They also destroyed the towns where the Anakim had lived, including Hebron, Debir, and Anab. 22There were not any Anakim left in the regions where the Israelites lived, although there were still some in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.#11.22 Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod: Towns in Philistia.
23That's how Joshua captured the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and Joshua divided it up among the tribes.
Finally, there was peace in the land.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Joshua 11
11
Joshua’s Northern Conquest
1When the news of Israel’s southern victories reached King Jabin # 11:1 Jabin means “discerner” or “wise one.” of Hazor, # 11:1 Hazor means “fortified” or “castle.” It was a major city-state that lay about nine miles north of Lake Galilee. he organized a massive coalition to fight against Israel. He sent messages to:
King Jobab of Merom, # 11:1 Or “Madon.” Madon means “strife.” Some scholars, because of historical and archaeological evidence, prefer to read “Merom” (v. 5) here and in 12:9–24. Merom was three miles west of Lake Galilee.
the king of Shimron, # 11:1 Shimron means “extreme vigilance.” It was a city-state of the Lower Galilee region and the Jezreel Valley. It is identified today as Tell Samunia or Tell Shimron.
the king of Achshaph, # 11:1 Achshaph means “incantation” or “sorcery.” The exact location of Achshaph is unknown, but it is believed to be about thirty miles from Hazor.
2the kings of the northern hill country, # 11:2 The northern hill country would be the modern district of Galilee.
the kings of the Jordan Valley south of Lake Galilee, # 11:2 Or “Arabah south of Chinneroth [Galilee].” In biblical times, Arabah referred both to the Jordan Valley between Lake Galilee and the Dead Sea, and also to an area south of Judah.
the kings of the foothills,
the western kings in the heights of Dor, # 11:2 Or “the foothills of the Carmel range.” This was the region west of Lake Galilee toward the Mediterranean coastal plains south of Mount Carmel. Dor means “lofty place”; it was the chief city.
3the eastern and western Canaanite kings,
the Amorite kings,
the Hittite kings,
the Perizzite kings,
the Jebusite kings in the highlands,
and the Hivite kings who lived near Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah. # 11:3 Mizpah means “watchtower.”
4They came out in full force with a multitude of horses and chariots. Their vast armies were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. # 11:4 According to Josephus, the armies of these ten kingdoms were more than three hundred thousand foot soldiers, ten thousand horses, and twenty thousand chariots (see Ant. 5.1.18). Joshua confronted these armies and defeated them all with only an infantry and Yahweh! 5All these kings and their enormous armies joined forces # 11:5 Or “met by appointment.” and encamped at Lake Merom # 11:5 Or “the waters of Merom,” most likely modern Lake Huleh. Josephus called it “the lake of Semechonitis” (see Ant. 5.5.1). to fight against Israel.
6Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, “Don’t be afraid of them; by this time tomorrow, I, Yahweh, will have them all lying slain before Israel. After the battle, cripple their horses and burn their chariots.” # 11:6 Yahweh did not want Israel to trust in the might of horses or chariots but in him alone. See Ps. 20:7; 33:17.
7Joshua launched his surprise attack, and all his army pounced on them at their camp at Lake Merom. 8Yahweh fought # 11:8 Or “Yahweh delivered them into their hands.” alongside Joshua’s fighting men to defeat them. Part of the Israelite army attacked and pursued the retreating forces as far north as the cities of Misrephoth Maim # 11:8 Misrephoth Maim means “lime kilns by the waters.” It was a city on the border of Israel and Lebanon. and Sidon. # 11:8 Or “Great Sidon,” an important Phoenician city north of Israel on the Mediterranean coast. Another part of the Israelite army pursued the enemy as far east as the valley of Mizpah and crushed them all, leaving no survivors. 9Afterward, Joshua crippled their horses and burned their chariots as Yahweh had commanded.
10Because Hazor at that time was the most powerful of all these kingdoms, Joshua circled back after the battle and conquered it. # 11:10 Or “struck them down with the mouth of the sword.” 11They killed the king, burned Hazor # 11:11 The destruction of Hazor has been dated by recent excavations to around 1225 BC. Solomon later rebuilt the city (see 1 Kings 9:15). to the ground, and annihilated all its inhabitants. They spared not one breathing thing, leaving no survivors.
12Joshua conquered all those royal cities and their kings. He destroyed them all, as Yahweh’s servant Moses had commanded. 13However, of all the cities built on mounds, # 11:13 That is, cities that were rebuilt on the ruins of earlier settlements. Joshua burned down only Hazor. 14The Israelites kept all the spoils of these towns, including the livestock, but the inhabitants they killed with the sword. There were no survivors. 15Just as Yahweh commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua obeyed everything # 11:15 The words “obeyed everything” should be the goal and ambition of our lives. Our calling is not simply to be successful but also to be obedient. See Luke 1:38; John 2:5. that Yahweh commanded Moses.
The Territory Taken by Joshua
16So Joshua conquered the entire region: the Judean hills, the southern desert, all the land of Goshen, the foothills, the lowlands of the Jordan Valley, the northern hill country of Israel including its lowlands—17everything from Mount Halak, # 11:17 Mount Halak means “bare mountain”; it is likely Jebel Halaq. which rises toward Seir, all the way to Baal-Gad # 11:17 Baal-Gad means “the god of fortune.” in the Lebanon Valley below Mount Hermon. # 11:17 The southern limit of Joshua’s conquest was Mount Halak, near Edom, south of the Dead Sea; the northern limit was the town of Baal-Gad, not far from Mount Hermon. Joshua captured all their kings and executed them.
18Joshua waged war with all those kings over a long period. # 11:18 The “long period” was about seven years. There are spiritual battles we fight that we do not win easily or quickly. Thankfully, God will ultimately make us victorious in all things. See 1 Sam. 17:47; 1 Cor. 15:57; Gal. 6:9; Eph. 6:10–13. 19Apart from the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made peace with Israel. By the power of Yahweh, Joshua conquered them all. 20Yahweh himself hardened their hearts and made them obstinate so they would attack Israel. Yahweh had determined to wipe them out and condemn them to destruction without mercy, just as he had commanded Moses.
21Joshua also drove out the Anakim, # 11:21 The Anakim were descendants of Anak. They are mentioned in Num. 13 as intimidating giants that kept the Israelites fearful in unbelief, which led to their wandering in the wilderness. Here we read that Joshua eliminated these giants and enabled the tribes of Israel to possess their inheritance, just as Jesus does today to the giants keeping us from full faith. Giants are nothing compared to God’s omnipotence. a race of giants, from the hill country (including the cities of Hebron, Debir, and Anab)—from the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua destroyed the Anakim and their towns 22so that there were no surviving Anakim in Israelite territory. Some survived but only in the Philistine cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. # 11:22 Gaza means “fortified” or “strength,” Gath means “wine press,” and Ashdod means “stronghold.” These three cities were Philistine cities. The giant Goliath was from Gath (see 1 Sam. 17:23). 23Joshua conquered the whole land, just as Yahweh had promised Moses. Joshua assigned portions of the land to each of the tribes of Israel, and the Israelites lived in peace throughout the land. # 11:23 Or “the land had rest from war.”
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