Joshua 11:18

18 Joshua fought much time against these kings;

Joshua 11:18 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 11:18

Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
] For, though the account of the conquest of them is put together, and lies in a small compass, yet those victories were not obtained at once, or in a few days, as were those of the five kings, and others, related in the preceding chapter, ( Joshua 10:10-14 ) ; but were the work of some years; Josephus ^F2 says five years, but the common notion of the Jews is, that Joshua was seven years in subduing the land of Canaan ^F3; our Bishop Usher ^F4 thinks it was done in six years; and it may be concluded that it was about six or seven years ere this work was completely finished.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 19.
F3 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 11. p. 31.
F4 Annal. Vet. Test. p. 39, 40.

Joshua 11:18 In-Context

16 And so Joshua took all the land of the hills, and of the south (And so Joshua took all the hill country, and the land of the south), [and] the land of Goshen, and the plain(s), and the west coast, and the hill of Israel, and the field places thereof;

17 and the part of the hill that ascendeth to Seir till to Baalgad, by the plain of Lebanon under the hill of Hermon (and from Mount Halak that goeth up to Seir unto Baalgad, by the plain of Lebanon under Mount Hermon); Joshua took, and smote, and killed all the kings of those places.

18 Joshua fought much time against these kings;

19 there was no city, which betook not itself to the sons of Israel, except (the) Hivites that dwelled in Gibeon; he took all (the other) men by battle. (there was no city which made peace with the Israelites, except the Hivites who lived in Gibeon; the Israelites took all the other cities in battle.)

20 For it was the sentence of the Lord, that the hearts of them should be made hard, and that they should fight against Israel, and should fall, and [they] should not deserve any mercy, and should perish (but should perish), as the Lord commanded, to Moses.