Joshua 11:12

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}, as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded.

Joshua 11:12 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 11:12

And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them
did Joshua take
As particularly Madon, Shimron, and Achshaph, with others which he marched unto, after he had burnt Hazor; in which he took their kings, whither they had fled, or else he had taken them before in the pursuit:

and smote them with the edge of the sword;
both the kings and the inhabitants of those cities:

[and] he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord
commanded;
so that, in doing what he did, he did not indulge a spirit of revenge, cruelty, and avarice, but had regard purely to the command of Moses, which was of God, ( Deuteronomy 7:1 Deuteronomy 7:2 ) .

Joshua 11:12 In-Context

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}, utterly destroying them. {There was no one left who breathed}, 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}, as Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded.

13 Israel did not burn the cities standing on their mounds, 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}, until they had destroyed them--they left behind no one who breathed.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "[the] mouth of [the] sword"