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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, 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, 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. 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. And all these kings joined forces, and they came and camped together by the waters of Merom to fight with Israel.

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.” So Joshua, and all the fighting men[l] with him, came against them suddenly at the waters of Merom, and they attacked them.[m] 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. 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.

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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”

The United Kings of Northern Canaan Defeated

11 When King Jabin of Hazor heard of this, he sent to King Jobab of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph,(A) and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west,(B) to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. They came out, with all their troops, a great army, in number like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.(C) All these kings joined their forces and came and camped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will hand over all of them, slain, to Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”(D) So Joshua came suddenly upon them with all his fighting force, by the waters of Merom, and fell upon them. And the Lord handed them over to Israel, who attacked them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim and eastward as far as the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down until they had left no one remaining.(E) And Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.(F)

10 Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor and struck its king down with the sword. Before that time Hazor was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they put to the sword all who were in it, utterly destroying them; there was no one left who breathed, and he burned Hazor with fire.(G) 12 And all the towns of those kings and all their kings, Joshua took and struck them with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 But Israel burned none of the towns that stood on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua did burn. 14 All the spoil of these towns and the livestock the Israelites plundered for themselves, but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, and they did not leave any who breathed.(H) 15 As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.(I)

Summary of Joshua’s Conquests

16 So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland,(J) 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death.(K) 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a town that made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; all were taken in battle.(L) 20 For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed and might receive no mercy but be exterminated, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.(M)

21 At that time Joshua came and wiped out 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 utterly destroyed them with their towns.(N) 22 None of the Anakim was left in the land of the Israelites; some remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.(O)

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