Joshua 10:19

19 soothly do not ye stand, but pursue ye the enemies, and slay ye all the last of (the) fleers; and suffer ye not them to enter into the strongholds of their cities (and do not allow them to enter into the strongholds of their cities), the which enemies your Lord God hath betaken in(to) your hands.

Joshua 10:19 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 10:19

And stay you not, [but] pursue after your enemies
That is, do not stay at this cave, but having placed a sufficient guard there, go in pursuit of the enemy, with as much celerity as possible:

and smite the hindmost of them;
their rear; or "tail" them ^F15, as the word is, cut off the tail of them:

suffer them not to enter their cities;
where they would not only be safe themselves for a while, but would be able to hold out against a siege for some time, and give much trouble to conquer them:

for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hands;
this he said to encourage them, and quicken them to the pursuit of them with all eagerness and vehemence. According to the Samaritan Chronicle ^F16, the signal or watchword was,

``God is strong in battle, God is his name.''

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (Mtba) "caudam eorum caedite", Pagninus, Vatablus, Masius, Drusius; "et decaudetis eos", Montanus; "decaudabitis eos", Munster.
F16 Apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 509.

Joshua 10:19 In-Context

17 And it was told to Joshua, that the five kings were found hid in the den of the city of Makkedah. (And Joshua was told that the five kings were found hiding in the cave of Makkedah.)

18 And Joshua commanded to fellows, and said, Wallow ye great stones to the mouth of the den, and put ye witting men, that shall keep the (en)closed kings; (And Joshua commanded to his men, and said, Roll ye some great stones to the mouth of the cave, and put ye some able men there who shall keep the kings enclosed;)

19 soothly do not ye stand, but pursue ye the enemies, and slay ye all the last of (the) fleers; and suffer ye not them to enter into the strongholds of their cities (and do not allow them to enter into the strongholds of their cities), the which enemies your Lord God hath betaken in(to) your hands.

20 Then when the adversaries were beaten with great vengeance, and were almost wasted unto the death, they that might flee Israel, entered into the strengthened cities. (And so when their adversaries were beaten with a great vengeance, and were almost destroyed unto the death, the few who escaped from the Israelites, entered into their strengthened cities.)

21 And all the host turned again whole, and in whole number to Joshua, into Makkedah, where the tents were then; and no man was hardy to grouch against the sons of Israel (and no one was fool-hardy enough to grumble against the Israelites).