Joshua 10:40

40 So Joshua defeated all the kings of the cities of these areas: the mountains, southern Canaan, the western hills, and the slopes. The Lord, the God of Israel, had told Joshua to completely destroy all the people as an offering to the Lord, so he left no one alive in those places.

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 Then Joshua and the Israelites went back to Debir and attacked it.

39 They captured that city, its king, and all the little towns near it, completely destroying everyone in Debir as an offering to the Lord; no one was left alive there. Israel did to Debir and its king just as they had done to Libnah and its king, just as they had done to Hebron.

40 So Joshua defeated all the kings of the cities of these areas: the mountains, southern Canaan, the western hills, and the slopes. The Lord, the God of Israel, had told Joshua to completely destroy all the people as an offering to the Lord, so he left no one alive in those places.

41 Joshua captured all the cities from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and from Goshen to Gibeon.

42 He captured all these cities and their kings on one trip, because the Lord, the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.