Joshua 11
11
Conquests in Northern Canaan
1When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he #ch. 10:3sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the #ch. 3:16; Deut. 1:1 Arabah south of #ch. 12:3; 13:27; 19:35; Num. 34:11 Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and #ch. 12:23 in Naphoth-dor on the #ch. 17:11; Judg. 1:27west, 3to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the #ch. 15:63 Jebusites in the hill country, and the #Judg. 3:3 Hivites under #See Deut. 3:8 Hermon in the land of #ver. 8; Gen. 31:49Mizpah. 4And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number #Gen. 22:17; 32:12; Judg. 7:12; 1 Sam. 13:5like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6And the Lord said to Joshua, #[ch. 10:8] “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall #ver. 9; 2 Sam. 8:4; 1 Chr. 18:4; [Gen. 49:6] hamstring their horses and burn their #ch. 17:16-18; Deut. 20:1; Judg. 1:19; 4:3chariots with fire.” 7So Joshua and all his warriors came #ch. 10:9suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as #ch. 19:28 Great Sidon and #ch. 13:6 Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of #ver. 3Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. 9And Joshua did to them #ver. 6just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10And Joshua turned back at that time and captured #[Judg. 4:2]Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;#11:11 That is, setting apart (devoting) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 12, 20, 21 #ch. 10:40there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12And all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua captured, and struck them with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction, #Deut. 20:16, 17just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 14And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the people of Israel took for their plunder. But every person they struck with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed. 15#Ex. 34:11, 12 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, #Deut. 7:2 so Moses commanded Joshua, #ch. 1:7and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
16So Joshua took all that land, #ch. 12:8 the hill country and all the Negeb and #ch. 10:41; 15:51 all the land of Goshen #ver. 2 and the lowland #ver. 2 and the Arabah #ver. 21and the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17#ch. 12:7 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as #ch. 12:7; 13:5 Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below #See ver. 3 Mount Hermon. And he captured #ch. 12:7; Deut. 7:24all their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18Joshua made war #[ch. 14:7, 10]a long time with all those kings. 19There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except #ch. 9:3, 7the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20For it was the Lord’s doing #See Ex. 4:21 to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, #Deut. 20:16, 17just as the Lord commanded Moses.
21And Joshua came at that time and cut off #ch. 15:13, 14; Num. 13:22, 23; Deut. 1:28the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, #[1 Sam. 17:4]in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23So Joshua took the whole land, #See Num. 34:2-12 according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. #See ch. 14–19; Num. 26:52-56 And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel #ch. 12:7; 18:10according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.
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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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