Joshua 11:4

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.

Joshua 11:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 11:4

And they went out
The several kings and people sent to; these went out from the places they inhabited:

they and all their hosts with them;
the kings of those several places, with their armies:

much people, even as the sand that [is] upon the seashore in multitude;
a proverbial expression, to denote an exceeding great number:

with horses and chariots very many;
being supplied with horses from Egypt, and their chariots were chariots of iron; see ( Judges 4:3 ) ; Josephus ^F26 gives us the number of this great army, and says it consisted of three hundred thousand footmen, ten thousand horse, and thirty thousand chariots; some copies read only twenty thousand; and these chariots were armed with iron hooks or scythes, to cut down men as they drove along, and so were very terrible.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18.

Joshua 11:4 In-Context

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.