Yehoshua 10:40

40 So Yehoshua subdued kol HaAretz HaHar, and of the Negev, and of the Shefelah, and of the asedot (slopes), and all their melachim; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed kol haneshamah, as Hashem Elohei Yisroel commanded.

Yehoshua 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 ) .

Yehoshua 10:40 In-Context

38 And Yehoshua returned, and kol Yisroel with him, to Devir; and fought against it;

39 And he took it, and the melech thereof, and all the towns thereof; and they struck them down with the edge of the cherev, and utterly destroyed kol nefesh therein; he left none remaining; as he had done to Chevron, so he did to Devir, and to the melech thereof; as he had done also to Livnah, and to its melech.

40 So Yehoshua subdued kol HaAretz HaHar, and of the Negev, and of the Shefelah, and of the asedot (slopes), and all their melachim; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed kol haneshamah, as Hashem Elohei Yisroel commanded.

41 And Yehoshua struck them down from Kadesh-Barnea even unto Azah (Gaza), and all the country of Goshen, even unto Giv’on.

42 And all these melachim and their land did Yehoshua take at one time, because Hashem Elohei Yisroel fought for Yisroel.