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Israel Defeats a Northern Coalition

11 When King Jabin of Hazor heard the news about Israel’s victories,[a] he organized a coalition, including[b] King Jobab of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Acshaph, and the northern kings who ruled in[c] the hill country, in the rift valley south of Kinnereth,[d] in the foothills, and on the heights of Dor to the west. Canaanites came[e] from the east and west; Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites from the hill country; and Hivites from below Hermon in the area[f] of Mizpah. These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots.[g] All these kings gathered and joined forces[h] at the Waters of Merom to fight Israel.

The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn[i] their chariots.” Joshua and his whole army caught them by surprise at the Waters of Merom and attacked them.[j] The Lord handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down and chased them all the way to Greater Sidon, Misrephoth Maim,[k] and the Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained. Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned[l] their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned, captured Hazor, and struck down its king with the sword, for Hazor was at that time[m] the leader of all these kingdoms. 11 They annihilated everyone who lived there with the sword[n]—no one who breathed remained—and burned[o] Hazor.

12 Joshua captured all these royal cities and all their kings and annihilated them with the sword,[p] as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded. 13 But Israel did not burn any of the cities located on mounds[q] except for Hazor; it was the only one Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites plundered all the goods of these cities and the cattle, but they totally destroyed all the people[r] and allowed no one who breathed to live. 15 Moses the Lord’s servant passed on the Lord’s commands to Joshua, and Joshua did as he was told. He did not ignore any of the commands the Lord had given Moses.[s]

A Summary of Israel’s Victories

16 Joshua conquered the whole land,[t] including the hill country, all the Negev,[u] all the land of Goshen, the foothills,[v] the rift valley,[w] the hill country of Israel and its foothills, 17 from Mount Halak up to Seir, as far as Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and executed them.[x] 18 Joshua campaigned against[y] these kings for quite some time.[z] 19 No city made peace with the Israelites (except the Hivites living in Gibeon);[aa] they had to conquer all of them,[ab] 20 for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses.[ac]

21 At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country[ad]—from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel.[ae] Joshua annihilated them and their cities. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory, though some remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 Joshua conquered[af] the whole land, just as the Lord had promised Moses,[ag] and he assigned Israel their tribal portions.[ah] Then the land was free of war.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 11:1 tn The words “about Israel’s victories” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied for clarity.
  2. Joshua 11:1 tn Heb “he sent to.”
  3. Joshua 11:2 tn Heb “and to the kings who [are] from the north in.”
  4. Joshua 11:2 tn Heb “Chinneroth,” a city and plain located in the territory of Naphtali in Galilee (BDB 490 s.v. כִּנֶּרֶת, כִּנֲרוֹת).sn Kinnereth was a city in Galilee located near the Sea of Galilee (Deut 3:17). The surrounding region also became known by this name (1 Kgs 15:20; cf. Matt 14:34), and eventually even the lake itself (Josh 12:3; cf. Luke 5:1). The “rift valley south of” Galilee probably refers to the northern part of the Jordan Valley from the lake to where the Jezreel Valley joins the rift valley. Dor is nearly due west from that point.
  5. Joshua 11:3 tn The verb “came” is supplied in the translation (see v. 4).
  6. Joshua 11:3 tn Or “land.”
  7. Joshua 11:4 tn Heb “They and all their camps with them came out, a people as numerous as the sand which is on the edge of the sea in multitude, and [with] horses and chariots very numerous.”
  8. Joshua 11:5 tn Heb “and came and camped together.”
  9. Joshua 11:6 tn Heb “burn with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
  10. Joshua 11:7 tn Heb “Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them at the Waters of Merom suddenly and fell upon them.”
  11. Joshua 11:8 tn The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see HALOT 641 s.v. מִשְׂרָפוֹת).
  12. Joshua 11:9 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
  13. Joshua 11:10 tn Or “formerly.”
  14. Joshua 11:11 tn Heb “and they struck down all life which was in it with the edge of the sword, annihilating.”
  15. Joshua 11:11 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
  16. Joshua 11:12 tn Heb “and he struck them down with the edge of the sword, he annihilated them.”
  17. Joshua 11:13 tn Heb “standing on their mounds.”
  18. Joshua 11:14 tn Heb “but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword until they destroyed them.”
  19. Joshua 11:15 tn Heb “As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly; he did not turn aside a thing from all which the Lord commanded Moses.”
  20. Joshua 11:16 tn Heb “Joshua took all this land.”
  21. Joshua 11:16 sn The Negev is an area south of the Judean hill country and west of the rift valley. As a geographic feature it is an arid depression extending south to the Gulf of Aqabah, but the biblical reference is probably to the northern part of this region.
  22. Joshua 11:16 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, “shephelah”) refer to the transition region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  23. Joshua 11:16 sn As a geographic feature, the rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. The reference here is probably to the Jordan Valley and the wider part of the rift valley below the Dead Sea.
  24. Joshua 11:17 tn Heb “and struck them down and killed them.”
  25. Joshua 11:18 tn Heb “made war with.”
  26. Joshua 11:18 tn Heb “for many days.”
  27. Joshua 11:19 tn The LXX omits this parenthetical note, which may represent a later scribal addition.
  28. Joshua 11:19 tn Heb “the whole they took in battle.”
  29. Joshua 11:20 tn Heb “for from the Lord it was to harden their heart[s] to meet for the battle with Israel, in order to annihilate them, so that they would receive no mercy, in order annihilate them, as the Lord commanded Moses.”
  30. Joshua 11:21 tn Heb “went and cut off the Anakites from the hill country.”
  31. Joshua 11:21 tn Heb “and from all the hill country of Israel.”
  32. Joshua 11:23 tn Heb “took.”
  33. Joshua 11:23 tn Heb “according to all which the Lord said to Moses.” The translation assumes this refers to the promise of the land (see 1:3). Another possibility is that it refers to the Lord’s instructions, in which case the phrase could be translated, “just as the Lord had instructed Moses” (so NLT; cf. also NIV “had directed Moses”).
  34. Joshua 11:23 tn Heb “and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their allotted portions by their tribes.”

11 Quando Jabin, re di Hatsor, venne a sapere queste cose, mandò messaggeri a Jobab re di Madon, al re di Scimron, al re di Akshaf,

ai re che erano al nord nella regione montuosa, nell'Arabah, a sud di Kinnereth, nel bassopiano e sulle alture di Dor, a ovest,

ai Cananei che erano a est e a ovest, agli Amorei, agli Hittei, ai Perezei, ai Gebusei nella regione montuosa, agli Hivvei ai piedi del monte Hermon nel paese di Mitspah

Così essi uscirono, essi e tutti i loro eserciti con loro, una stragrande moltitudine come la sabbia che è sulla riva del mare e con cavalli e carri in grandissima quantità.

Così tutti questi re si riunirono e vennero ad accamparsi assieme presso le acque di Merom, per combattere contro Israele.

Ma l'Eterno disse a Giosuè: «Non aver paura a motivo di loro, perché domani a quest'ora li farò vedere tutti uccisi davanti a Israele. Taglierai i garetti ai loro cavalli e brucerai i loro carri».

Giosuè dunque, e tutta la gente di guerra con lui, marciò all'improvviso contro di essi alle acque di Merom e piombò su di loro;

e l'Eterno li diede nelle mani degli Israeliti, i quali li batterono e li inseguirono fino a Sidone la grande, fino alle acque i Misrefoth e fino alla valle di Mitspah, verso est; li batterono fino a non lasciar loro alcun superstite.

Giosuè li trattò come gli aveva detto l'Eterno: tagliò i garetti ai loro cavalli e bruciò i loro carri.

10 In quello stesso tempo Giosuè ritornò e prese Hatsor, e uccise il suo re con la spada, perché in passato Hatsor era stata la capitale di tutti quei regni.

11 passò a fil di spada tutte le persone che vi si trovavano, votandole allo sterminio; non lasciò anima viva; poi diede Hatsor alle fiamme.

12 Così Giosuè prese tutte le città di quei regni e tutti i loro re e li passò a fil di spada, votandoli allo sterminio, come aveva ordinato Mosè, servo dell'Eterno.

13 Ma Israele non arse alcuna delle città poste sui colli, ad eccezione di Hatsor, la sola che Giosuè incendiò.

14 I figli d'Israele presero per sé tutto il bottino di quelle città e il bestiame, ma passarono a fil di spada tutti gli uomini fino a sterminarli, e non lasciarono anima viva.

15 Come l'Eterno aveva comandato a Mosè suo servo, così Mosè comandò a Giosuè, e così fece Giosuè, il quale non trascurò nulla di tutto ciò che l'Eterno aveva comandato a Mosè.

16 Giosuè dunque prese tutto quel paese, la regione montuosa, tutto il Neghev, tutto il paese di Goscen, il bassopiano, l'Arabah, la regione montuosa d'Israele e i suoi bassopiani,

17 dal monte Holak che si eleva verso Seir, fino a Baal-Gad nella valle del Libano ai piedi del monte Hermon; prese tutti i loro re, li colpì e li mise a morte.

18 Giosuè combattè con tutti quei re a lungo.

19 Non ci fu città che facesse pace con i figli d'Israele, eccetto gli Hivvei che abitavano in Gabaon; le presero tutte combattendo.

20 Era infatti l'Eterno stesso che induriva il loro cuore perché facessero guerra contro Israele, affinché Israele li votasse allo sterminio senza usare alcuna pietà verso di loro, ma li annientasse come l'Eterno aveva comandato a Mosè.

21 In quello stesso tempo Giosuè si mise in marcia e sterminò gli Anakiti della regione montuosa: di Hebron, di Debir, di Anab, di tutta la regione montuosa di Giuda e di tutta la regione montuosa d'Israele; Giosuè li votò al completo sterminio con le loro città.

22 Non rimasero piú Anakiti nel paese dei figli d'Israele; ne rimasero solo alcuni in Gaza, in Gath e in Ashdod.

23 Così Giosuè prese tutto il paese, esattamente come l'Eterno aveva detto a Mosè; Giosuè quindi lo diede in eredità a Israele, secondo le loro divisioni per tribú. E il paese ebbe riposo dalla guerra.