Joshua 11
Jubilee Bible 2000
11 ¶ Hearing of this, Jabin, king of Hazor, sent a message unto Jobab, king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron and to the king of Achshaph
2 and to the kings that were on the north of the mountains and in the plain southward of Chinneroth and in the valley and in the borders of Dor to the west
3 and to the Canaanite on the east and on the west and to the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite in the mountains and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
4 And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with a great multitude of horses and chariots.
5 All these kings united, and as they came they gathered together the camps near the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
6 But the LORD said unto Joshua, Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this hour I will deliver them up all slain before Israel; thou shalt hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.
7 So Joshua came against them with all the people of war and fell upon them suddenly by the waters of Merom.
8 And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them and chased them unto great Zidon and unto the hot springs and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them no one remaining.
9 And Joshua did unto them as the LORD had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burnt their chariots with fire.
10 ¶ And Joshua at that time returned and took Hazor and smote the king thereof with the sword because Hazor had been the head of all those kingdoms before.
11 And they smote all the souls that were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them; there was not any left to breathe; and he burnt Hazor with fire.
12 Likewise, Joshua took all the cities of those kings and all their kings and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them as Moses the slave of the LORD had commanded him.
13 But of all the cities that stood on their hills, Israel burned none of them, excepting Hazor only, which Joshua burned.
14 And all the spoil of these cities and the beasts, the sons of Israel took for themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, without leaving any that breathed.
15 ¶ As the LORD had commanded Moses his slave, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took all that land, the mountains and all the region of the Negev and all the land of Goshen and the valleys and the plains and the mountain of Israel and its valleys.
17 Even from Mount Halak that goes up unto Seir unto Baalgad in the plains of Lebanon at the roots of Mount Hermon; likewise he took all their kings and smote them and slew them.
18 Joshua made war many days with all those kings.
19 There was not a city that made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; they took all the others in battle.
20 For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly and that they might have no mercy, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
21 Also at the same time Joshua came and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
22 There were none of the Anakims left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.
23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
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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