Joshua11
New Living Translation
1When King Jabin of Hazor heard what had happened, he sent messages to the following kings: King Jobab of Madon; the king of Shimron; the king of Acshaph;
2all the kings of the northern hill country; the kings in the Jordan Valley south of Galilee; the kings in the Galilean foothills; the kings of Naphoth-dor on the west;
3the kings of Canaan, both east and west; the kings of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites in the towns on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the land of Mizpah.
4All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.
5The kings joined forces and established their camp around the water near Merom to fight against Israel.
6Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel as dead men. Then you must cripple their horses and burn their chariots.”
7So Joshua and all his fighting men traveled to the water near Merom and attacked suddenly.
8And the Lord gave them victory over their enemies. The Israelites chased them as far as Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward into the valley of Mizpah, until not one enemy warrior was left alive.
9Then Joshua crippled the horses and burned all the chariots, as the Lord had instructed.
10Joshua then turned back and captured Hazor and killed its king. (Hazor had at one time been the capital of all these kingdoms.)
11The Israelites completely destroyed every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.
12Joshua slaughtered all the other kings and their people, completely destroying them, just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.
13But the Israelites did not burn any of the towns built on mounds except Hazor, which Joshua burned.
14And the Israelites took all the plunder and livestock of the ravaged towns for themselves. But they killed all the people, leaving no survivors.
15As the Lord had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua. And Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses.
16So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole area around the town of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills.
17The Israelite territory now extended all the way from Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as far north as Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all the kings of those territories,
18waging war for a long time to accomplish this.
19No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated.
20For the Lord hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were completely destroyed without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns.
22None of the descendants of Anak were left in all the land of Israel, though some still remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.
23So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 11.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Divers kings overcome at the waters of Merom. (1–9). Hazor is taken and burned. (10–14). All that country subdued, The Anakims cut off. (15–23).
vv1-9
The wonders God wrought for the Israelites were to encourage them to act vigorously themselves. Thus the war against Satan's kingdom, carried on by preaching the gospel, was at first forwarded by miracles; but being fully proved to be of God, we are now left to the Divine grace in the usual course, in the use of the sword of the Spirit. God encouraged Joshua. Fresh dangers and difficulties make it necessary to seek fresh supports from the word of God, which we have nigh unto us for use in every time of need. God proportions our trials to our strength, and our strength to our trials. Joshua's obedience in destroying the horses and chariots, shows his self-denial in compliance with God's command. The possession of things on which the carnal heart is prone to depend, is hurtful to the life of faith, and the walk with God; therefore it is better to be without worldly advantages, than to have the soul endangered by them. (Jos 11:10-14)
vv10-14
The Canaanites filled up the measure of their iniquity, and were, as a judgment, left to the pride, obstinacy, and enmity of their hearts, and to the power of Satan; all restraints being withdrawn, while the dispensations of Providence tended to drive them to despair. They brought on themselves the vengeance they justly merited, of which the Israelites were to be executioners, by the command the Lord gave to Moses.
vv15-23
Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for their day to fall will come. The land rested from war. It ended not in a peace with the Canaanites, that was forbidden, but in a peace from them. There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which they shall enter, when their warfare is accomplished. That which was now done, is compared with what had been said to Moses. God's word and his works, if viewed together, will be found mutually to set each other forth. If we make conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise. But the believer must never put off his armour, or expect lasting peace, till he closes his eyes in death; nay, as his strength and usefulness increase, he may expect more heavy trials; yet the Lord will not permit any enemies to assault the believer till he has prepared him for the battle. Christ Jesus ever lives to plead for his people, and their faith shall not fail, however Satan may be permitted to assault them. And however tedious, sharp, and difficult the believer's warfare, his patience in tribulation may be encouraged by the joyfulness of hope; for he will, ere long, rest from sin and from sorrow in the Canaan above.
Key Words
יָבִין: Jabin, the name of two Canaanitish kings
מֶלֶךְ: a king
חָצוֹר: Chatsor, the name (thus simply) of two places in Palestine and of one in Arabia
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
שָׁלַח: to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)
יוֹבָב: Jobab, the name of two Israelites and of three foreigners
מָדוֹן: Madon, a place in Palestine
שִׁמְרוֹן: Shimron, the name of an Israelite and of a place in Palestine
אַכְשָׁף: Acshaph, a place in Palestine
צָפוֹן: properly, hidden, i.e. dark; used only of the north as aquarter (gloomy and unknown)
Cross References
Joshua 11Moses' command to utterly destroy the Canaanites and make no covenant with them is here executed.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Contrast between trusting in chariots/horses versus relying on the name of the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
God's law forbade Israel's kings from multiplying horses; hence Joshua houghed the captured horses.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Jabin is noted as a hereditary title or dynasty ruling from Hazor in Judges.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Identifies Gibeon as the only Hivite city that successfully made peace with Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Parallels God hardening the hearts of enemies to deliver them to destruction, as with Sihon.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The Anakims, who previously terrified the faithless spies, are finally cut off by Joshua.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole
The idiom 'as the sand upon the sea shore' recalls the immense size of the confederacy.
Supported by John Calvin
David similarly houghed chariot horses, following Joshua's precedent of not trusting in horses.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The explicit commandment to save alive nothing that breatheth in the cities of these nations.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Connects the southern campaign's 'land of Goshen' with the northern conquests.
Supported by JFB
Caleb's inheritance in Hebron, where he drove out the three sons of Anak.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Identifies the Old Testament 'Cinneroth' as the Lake of Gennesaret/Sea of Galilee.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The paradigm of God hardening hearts, established during Pharaoh's resistance in Egypt.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The land resting from war foreshadows the eternal rest remaining for God's people.
Supported by Matthew Henry