Joshua 11:4

4 And they and their kings with them went forth, as the sand of the sea in multitude, and horses, and very many 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 who were by the great Sidon, to the hill country and to Araba opposite Keneroth, and to the plain, and to Phenaeddor,

3 and to the Chananites on the coast eastward, and to the Amorites on the coast, and the Chettites, and the Pherezites, and the Jebusites in the mountain, and the Evites, and those dwelling under Aermon in the land Massyma.

4 And they and their kings with them went forth, as the sand of the sea in multitude, and horses, and very many chariots.

5 And all the kings assembled in person, and came to the same place, and encamped at the waters of Maron to war with Israel.

6 And the Lord said to Joshua, Be not afraid of them, for to-morrow this time I will put them to flight before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire