Yehoshua 11:4

4 And they went out, they and all their machanot with them, am rav, even as the sand that is upon the sea in multitude, with susim and chariots rav me’od.

Yehoshua 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.

Yehoshua 11:4 In-Context

2 And to the melachim to the north, in the har, and the Aravah south of Kinnarot, and in the Shefelah, and in the regions of Dor on the west,

3 And to the Kena’ani on the east and on the west, and to Emori, and the Chitti, and the Perizzi, and the Yevusi in the har, and to the Chivi at the base of Chermon in Eretz HaMitzpah.

4 And they went out, they and all their machanot with them, am rav, even as the sand that is upon the sea in multitude, with susim and chariots rav me’od.

5 And when all these melachim were met together, they came to encamp together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Yisroel.

6 And Hashem said unto Yehoshua, Be not afraid before them; for machar about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Yisroel; thou shalt lame their susim, and burn their merkevot with eish.