Joshua 10:40

40 And Joshua smiteth all the land of the hill-country, and of the south, and of the low-country, and of the springs, and all their kings -- he hath not left a remnant, and all that doth breathe he hath devoted, as Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded.

Joshua 10:40 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 10:40

So Joshua smote all the country of the hills and of the
south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings
That part of the land of Canaan which lay southward, and consisted of hills and vales; which abounded with springs, and was a well watered country, and agrees with the description Moses gives of it, though he never saw it, ( Deuteronomy 8:7 ) ;

he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed;
that is, all human creatures; for as for the cattle, they were spared as a prey:

as the Lord God of Israel commanded;
this law is extant, ( Deuteronomy 20:16 ) ; and which is here observed to clear the Israelites from the charge of cruelty and inhumanity; since what they did was not of themselves, nor from a private spirit of revenge, nor a greedy desire after the substance of the inhabitants; but in obedience to the command of God, and who ordered this as a righteous punishment of those people for their gross abominations of idolatry, incest see ( Leviticus 18:1-30 ) .

Joshua 10:40 In-Context

38 And Joshua turneth back, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fighteth against it,

39 and captureth it, and its king, and all its cities, and they smite them by the mouth of the sword, and devote every person who [is] in it -- he hath not left a remnant; as he did to Hebron so he did to Debir, and to its king, and as he did to Libnah, and to its king.

40 And Joshua smiteth all the land of the hill-country, and of the south, and of the low-country, and of the springs, and all their kings -- he hath not left a remnant, and all that doth breathe he hath devoted, as Jehovah, God of Israel, commanded.

41 And Joshua smiteth them from Kadesh-Barnea, even unto Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, even unto Gibeon;

42 and all these kings and their land hath Joshua captured [at] one time, for Jehovah, God of Israel, is fighting for Israel.