Joshua 11
Lexham English Bible
Joshua’s Conquest of the North
11 And it happened, when Jabin king of Hazor heard this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Acshaph, 2 and to the kings who were in the north in the hill country, in the Arabah[a] south of Kinnereth,[b] in the Shephelah,[c] and in Naphoth Dor[d] in the west, 3 to the Canaanites[e] in the east and west, the Amorites,[f] the Hittites,[g] the Perizzites,[h] and the Jebusites[i] in the hill country, and the Hivites[j] at the foot of[k] Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 They came out, they and all their armies with them, as a great army like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined forces, and they came and camped together by the waters of Merom to fight with Israel.
6 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of their presence, for tomorrow at this time I will hand them over slain to Israel; you will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua, and all the fighting men[l] with him, came against them suddenly at the waters of Merom, and they attacked them.[m] 8 And Yahweh gave them into the hand of Israel, and they struck them and pursued them up to Great Sidon and Misrephoth Maim, and eastward up to the valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until they left behind no survivor. 9 And Joshua did to them as Yahweh commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10 Then Joshua turned back at that time, and he captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, because Hazor formerly was the head of all these kingdoms. 11 He struck all the people that were in it with the edge of the sword,[n] utterly destroying them. There was no one left who breathed,[o] and he burned Hazor with fire. 12 And Joshua captured all the cities of these kings, and all their kings, and he utterly destroyed them with the edge of the sword,[p] as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded. 13 Israel did not burn the cities standing on their mounds,[q] except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned. 14 And all the spoil and livestock of these cities the Israelites took as booty; they struck the people with the edge of the sword,[r] until they had destroyed them—they left behind no one who breathed. 15 Just as Yahweh commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did; he left nothing undone that Yahweh had commanded Moses.
A Review of Joshua’s Conquests
16 So Joshua took all this land: the hill country, all the Negev,[s] all the land of Goshen,[t] the Shephelah,[u] the Arabah,[v] and the hill country of Israel and its Shephelah,[w] 17 from Mount Halak that rises to Seir and to Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon[x] at the foot of[y] Mount Hermon; he captured all their kings, struck them, and killed them. 18 For many days Joshua made war with all these kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the Israelites[z] besides the Hivites[aa] and the inhabitants of Gibeon—all were taken in battle.[ab] 20 For it was Yahweh that hardened their hearts,[ac] to meet Israel in war in order to utterly destroy them without mercy, that they would destroy them just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
21 At that time Joshua came and exterminated the Anakites from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 None of the Anakites were left in the land of the Israelites;[ad] some remained only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 23 Joshua took all the land according to all that Yahweh had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel, according to their tribal divisions, and the land rested from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 11:2 A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan valley
- Joshua 11:2 That is, the Sea of Galilee
- Joshua 11:2 Or “lowlands”; a geographical region on the western edge of the hills of Judea
- Joshua 11:2 Or “the heights of Dor”
- Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Hittite”
- Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Perizzite”
- Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Jebusite”
- Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Joshua 11:3 Literally “under”
- Joshua 11:7 Literally “all the people of war”
- Joshua 11:7 Literally “they fell upon them”
- Joshua 11:11 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
- Joshua 11:11 Literally “No one was left over of any breath”
- Joshua 11:12 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
- Joshua 11:13 Hebrew “mound”
- Joshua 11:14 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
- Joshua 11:16 An arid region south of the Judaean hills
- Joshua 11:16 A southern region; the name means “on the mountains”
- Joshua 11:16 Or “lowlands”; a geographical region on the western edge of the hills of Judea
- Joshua 11:16 A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan valley
- Joshua 11:16 Or “lowlands”; a geographical region on the western edge of the hills of Judea
- Joshua 11:17 Or “white mountain”
- Joshua 11:17 Literally “under”
- Joshua 11:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Joshua 11:19 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Joshua 11:19 Literally “the all they took in the battle”
- Joshua 11:20 Literally “made their hearts strong”
- Joshua 11:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Joshua 11
New King James Version
The Northern Conquest
11 And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that he (A)sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king (B)of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain south of (C)Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights (D)of Dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the (E)Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, (F)and the Hivite below (G)Hermon (H)in the land of Mizpah. 4 So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people (I)as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And when all these kings had [a]met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 But the Lord said to Joshua, (J)“Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall (K)hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. 8 And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to [b]Greater (L)Sidon, to the [c]Brook (M)Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. 9 So Joshua did to them as the Lord had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10 Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, (N)utterly destroying them. There was none left (O)breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire.
12 So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, (P)as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But as for the cities that stood on their [d]mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. 14 And all the (Q)spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. 15 (R)As the Lord had commanded Moses His servant, so (S)Moses commanded Joshua, and (T)so Joshua did. [e]He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
Summary of Joshua’s Conquests
16 Thus Joshua took all this land: (U)the mountain country, all the South, (V)all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan [f]plain—the mountains of Israel and its lowlands, 17 (W)from [g]Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured (X)all their kings, and struck them down and killed them. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except (Y)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle. 20 For (Z)it was of the Lord [h]to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, (AA)as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 And at that time Joshua came and cut off (AB)the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only (AC)in Gaza, in Gath, (AD)and in Ashdod.
23 So Joshua took the whole land, (AE)according to all that the Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel (AF)according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land (AG)rested from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 11:5 Lit. assembled by appointment
- Joshua 11:8 Heb. Sidon Rabbah
- Joshua 11:8 Heb. Misrephoth Maim, lit. Burnings of Water
- Joshua 11:13 Heb. tel, a heap of successive city ruins
- Joshua 11:15 Lit. He turned aside from nothing
- Joshua 11:16 Heb. arabah
- Joshua 11:17 Lit. The Smooth or Bald Mountain
- Joshua 11:20 Lit. to make strong
Joshua 11
English Standard Version
Conquests in Northern Canaan
11 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he (A)sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the (B)Arabah south of (C)Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and (D)in Naphoth-dor on the (E)west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the (F)Jebusites in the hill country, and the (G)Hivites under (H)Hermon in the land of (I)Mizpah. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number (J)like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 And the Lord said to Joshua, (K)“Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall (L)hamstring their horses and burn their (M)chariots with fire.” 7 So Joshua and all his warriors came (N)suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as (O)Great Sidon and (P)Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of (Q)Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. 9 And Joshua did to them (R)just as the Lord said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
10 And Joshua turned back at that time and captured (S)Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they struck with the sword all who were in it, devoting them to destruction;[a] (T)there was none left that breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire. 12 And 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, (U)just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But none of the cities that stood on mounds did Israel burn, except Hazor alone; that Joshua burned. 14 And 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 (V)Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, (W)so Moses commanded Joshua, (X)and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took all that land, (Y)the hill country and all the Negeb and (Z)all the land of Goshen (AA)and the lowland (AB)and the Arabah (AC)and the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 (AD)from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as (AE)Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon below (AF)Mount Hermon. And he captured (AG)all their kings and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war (AH)a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except (AI)the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord's doing (AJ)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, (AK)just as the Lord commanded Moses.
21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off (AL)the 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. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, (AM)in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, (AN)according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. (AO)And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel (AP)according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 11:11 That is, setting apart (devoting) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 12, 20, 21
Joshua 11
New English Translation
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, 2 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. 3 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. 4 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] 5 All these kings gathered and joined forces[h] at the Waters of Merom to fight Israel.
6 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.” 7 Joshua and his whole army caught them by surprise at the Waters of Merom and attacked them.[j] 8 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. 9 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
- Joshua 11:1 tn The words “about Israel’s victories” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied for clarity.
- Joshua 11:1 tn Heb “he sent to.”
- Joshua 11:2 tn Heb “and to the kings who [are] from the north in.”
- 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.
- Joshua 11:3 tn The verb “came” is supplied in the translation (see v. 4).
- Joshua 11:3 tn Or “land.”
- 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.”
- Joshua 11:5 tn Heb “and came and camped together.”
- Joshua 11:6 tn Heb “burn with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
- 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.”
- 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).
- Joshua 11:9 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
- Joshua 11:10 tn Or “formerly.”
- Joshua 11:11 tn Heb “and they struck down all life which was in it with the edge of the sword, annihilating.”
- Joshua 11:11 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
- Joshua 11:12 tn Heb “and he struck them down with the edge of the sword, he annihilated them.”
- Joshua 11:13 tn Heb “standing on their mounds.”
- Joshua 11:14 tn Heb “but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword until they destroyed them.”
- 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.”
- Joshua 11:16 tn Heb “Joshua took all this land.”
- 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.
- Joshua 11:16 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, “shephelah”) refer to the transition region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
- 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.
- Joshua 11:17 tn Heb “and struck them down and killed them.”
- Joshua 11:18 tn Heb “made war with.”
- Joshua 11:18 tn Heb “for many days.”
- Joshua 11:19 tn The LXX omits this parenthetical note, which may represent a later scribal addition.
- Joshua 11:19 tn Heb “the whole they took in battle.”
- 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.”
- Joshua 11:21 tn Heb “went and cut off the Anakites from the hill country.”
- Joshua 11:21 tn Heb “and from all the hill country of Israel.”
- Joshua 11:23 tn Heb “took.”
- 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”).
- Joshua 11:23 tn Heb “and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their allotted portions by their tribes.”
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