Joshua 10:40

40 And so Joshua smote all the land of the hills, and of the south, and of the field, and Ashdod, with their kings; he left not therein any relics, (or anything of value), but he killed all thing(s) that might breath, as the Lord God of Israel commanded to him; (And so Joshua struck down all the people of the hill country, and of the lands of the south, and of the plains, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left nothing of value, or any remnant, there, but he killed everything that lived, as the Lord God of Israel commanded to him;)

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 From thence Joshua turned (again) into Debir, and took, and wasted it; (From there Joshua returned to Debir, and took it, and destroyed it;)

39 and he smote by (the) sharpness of (the) sword the king thereof, and all the towns about it; and he left not any things of value, or relics, therein (and he left nothing of value, or any remnant, there); as he had done to Hebron, and to Libnah, and to their kings, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof.

40 And so Joshua smote all the land of the hills, and of the south, and of the field, and Ashdod, with their kings; he left not therein any relics, (or anything of value), but he killed all thing(s) that might breath, as the Lord God of Israel commanded to him; (And so Joshua struck down all the people of the hill country, and of the lands of the south, and of the plains, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left nothing of value, or any remnant, there, but he killed everything that lived, as the Lord God of Israel commanded to him;)

41 from Kadeshbarnea unto Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, unto Gibeon,

42 Joshua took, and wasted with one fierceness all the kings, and their countries; for the Lord God of Israel fought for him. (Joshua took, and destroyed all the kings, and their lands, with one fierceness; for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.)