Joshua 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
Northern Confederacy. 1 When Jabin, king of Hazor,[a] learned of this, he sent a message to Jobab, king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the northern kings in the mountain regions and in the Arabah near Chinneroth, in the Shephelah, and in Naphath-dor to the west.(A) 3 These were Canaanites to the east and west, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the mountain regions, and Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah.(B) 4 They came out with all their troops, an army numerous as the sands on the seashore, and with a multitude of horses and chariots.(C) 5 All these kings made a pact and together they marched to the waters of Merom,[b] where they encamped to fight against Israel.
6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for by this time tomorrow I will present them slain to Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” 7 Joshua with his whole army came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 The Lord delivered them into the power of the Israelites, who defeated them and pursued them to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth-maim,(D) and eastward to the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them all down, leaving no survivors. 9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.
Conquest of Northern Canaan. 10 At that time Joshua, turning back, captured Hazor and struck down its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the chief of all those kingdoms. 11 He also struck down with the sword every person there, carrying out the ban, till none was left alive. Hazor itself he burned. 12 All the cities of those kings, and the kings themselves, Joshua captured and put to the sword, carrying out the ban on them, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.(E) 13 However, Israel did not destroy by fire any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 All the spoil and livestock of these cities the Israelites took as plunder; but the people they put to the sword, until they had destroyed the last of them, leaving none alive. 15 As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly.(F) He left nothing undone that the Lord had commanded Moses should be done.
Survey of the Conquest. 16 So Joshua took all this land: the mountain regions, the entire Negeb, all the land of Goshen, the Shephelah, the Arabah, as well as the mountain regions and Shephelah of Israel,(G) 17 from Mount Halak that rises toward Seir(H) as far as Baal-gad in the Lebanon valley at the foot of Mount Hermon. All their kings he captured and put to death. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 With the exception of the Hivites who lived in Gibeon, no city made peace with the Israelites; all were taken in battle.(I) 20 For it was the Lord’s doing to make their hearts obstinate to meet Israel in battle, that they might be put under the ban without mercy, and be destroyed as the Lord had commanded Moses.(J)
21 [c]At that time Joshua penetrated the mountain regions and exterminated the Anakim in Hebron,(K) Debir, Anab, the entire mountain region of Judah, and the entire mountain region of Israel. Joshua put them and their cities under the ban, 22 so that no Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites. However, some survived in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. 23 (L)Thus Joshua took the whole land, just as the Lord had said to Moses. Joshua gave it to Israel as their heritage, apportioning it among the tribes. And the land had rest from war.[d]
Footnotes
- 11:1–3 Hazor, Madon, Shimron, and Chinneroth: cities and their surrounding districts in eastern Galilee. Achshaph and Naphath-dor: southwest of Galilee. The mountain regions: in central and northern Galilee.
- 11:5 The waters of Merom: of uncertain identification, perhaps Tel Qarnei Hittin, about seven and a half kilometers west of modern Tiberias.
- 11:21–23 Most of the land assigned to the tribe of Judah was not conquered by it until the early period of the Judges. See note on Jgs 1:1–36.
- 11:23 The land had rest from war: later passages (15:13–17; 17:12–13) show individual tribes still fighting against the remaining Canaanites. This verse forms the conclusion to the first part of the book.
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
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
