Joshua 11:11

11 The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. ^[a] Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

Joshua 11:11 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 11:11

And they smote all the souls that [were] therein with the
edge of the sword, utterly destroying [them]
Men, women, and children:

there was not any left to breathe;
any human creature; for as for the cattle they were taken for a prey:

and he burnt Hazor with fire;
as he did Jericho and Ai, though no other cities he had taken; but it seems that this city, though burnt, was built again and inhabited by Canaanites, who had a king over them of the same name with this in the times of Deborah, ( Judges 4:2 ) .

Joshua 11:11 In-Context

9 Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.

10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms.

11 The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

12 Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.

13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds, except Hazor, which Joshua burned.

Footnotes

• [a]. Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in verses 12, 20, and 21.