Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

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.

Read full chapter

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.”
Close LEB

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.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 11:2 A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan valley
  2. Joshua 11:2 That is, the Sea of Galilee
  3. Joshua 11:2 Or “lowlands”; a geographical region on the western edge of the hills of Judea
  4. Joshua 11:2 Or “the heights of Dor”
  5. Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  6. Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Amorite”
  7. Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Hittite”
  8. Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Perizzite”
  9. Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Jebusite”
  10. Joshua 11:3 Hebrew “Hivite”
  11. Joshua 11:3 Literally “under”
  12. Joshua 11:7 Literally “all the people of war”
  13. Joshua 11:7 Literally “they fell upon them”
  14. Joshua 11:11 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
  15. Joshua 11:11 Literally “No one was left over of any breath”
  16. Joshua 11:12 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
  17. Joshua 11:13 Hebrew “mound”
  18. Joshua 11:14 Literally “the mouth of the sword”
  19. Joshua 11:16 An arid region south of the Judaean hills
  20. Joshua 11:16 A southern region; the name means “on the mountains”
  21. Joshua 11:16 Or “lowlands”; a geographical region on the western edge of the hills of Judea
  22. Joshua 11:16 A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan valley
  23. Joshua 11:16 Or “lowlands”; a geographical region on the western edge of the hills of Judea
  24. Joshua 11:17 Or “white mountain”
  25. Joshua 11:17 Literally “under”
  26. Joshua 11:19 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  27. Joshua 11:19 Hebrew “Hivite”
  28. Joshua 11:19 Literally “the all they took in the battle”
  29. Joshua 11:20 Literally “made their hearts strong”
  30. Joshua 11:22 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
Next
Joshua 10
Joshua 12
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software