Joshua 11:16-23
New English Translation
A Summary of Israel’s Victories
16 Joshua conquered the whole land,[a] including the hill country, all the Negev,[b] all the land of Goshen, the foothills,[c] the rift valley,[d] 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.[e] 18 Joshua campaigned against[f] these kings for quite some time.[g] 19 No city made peace with the Israelites (except the Hivites living in Gibeon);[h] they had to conquer all of them,[i] 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.[j]
21 At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country[k]—from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel.[l] 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[m] the whole land, just as the Lord had promised Moses,[n] and he assigned Israel their tribal portions.[o] Then the land was free of war.
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- 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.”
Joshua 11:16-23
New American Standard Bible
16 So Joshua took all that land: (A)the hill country and all the [a]Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, (B)the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17 from (C)Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon [b]at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured (D)all their kings, and struck them and put them to death. 18 Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. 19 There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except (E)the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. 20 (F)For it was of the Lord to [c]harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might (G)utterly destroy them, that they might [d]receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 Then Joshua came at that time and eliminated (H)the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and all the hill country of Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 There were no Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only in Gaza, (I)Gath, and (J)Ashdod some remained. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, in accordance with everything that the Lord had spoken to Moses; and (K)Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. (L)So the land was at rest from war.
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- Joshua 11:16 I.e., South country
- Joshua 11:17 Lit under
- Joshua 11:20 Lit make strong
- Joshua 11:20 Lit have
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