Joshua 11

1 And when Jabin, king of Hazor, had heard these things, he sent to Jobab, king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph;

2 forsooth to the kings of the north, that dwelled in the hilly places, and in the plain against the south of Chinneroth, and in the field places, and (in the) countries of Dor, beside the sea, (and to the kings of the north, who lived in the hill country, and those on the plain to the south of the Sea of Galilee, or Lake Galilee, and in the valley, and in the countryside of Dor, on the west,)

3 and to (the) Canaanite from the east and (the) west, and to (the) Amorite, and Hittite, and Perizzite, and (the) Jebusite in the mountains, and to (the) Hivite, that dwelled at the roots of the hill of Hermon (who lived at the foot of Mount Hermon), in the land of Mizpeh.

4 And (they) all went out with their companies, a full much people, as the gravel which is in the brink of the sea (like the gravel, or the sand, which is at the seashore), and horses, and chariots, of great multitude.

5 And all these kings came together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

6 And the Lord said to Joshua, Dread thou not them, for tomorrow, in this same hour, I shall betake all these men to be wounded in the sight of Israel; thou shalt hock the horses of them, and thou shalt burn the chariots by fire. (And the Lord said to Joshua, Do not thou fear them, for tomorrow, at this same hour, I shall make all these men to be killed before the army of Israel; and thou shalt hock their horses, and thou shalt burn up their chariots with fire.)

7 And Joshua came, and all his host with him, against them suddenly, at the waters of Merom, and felled on them. (And so Joshua, and all his army, suddenly came against them, at the waters of Merom, and fell upon them.)

8 And the Lord betook them into the hands of (the host of) Israel; which smited them, and pursued (them) till to Great(er) Sidon, and the waters of Misrephothmaim (and Misrephothmaim on the west), and to the field of Mizpeh, which is at the east part thereof.

9 And Joshua smote so all them, that he left no things of them (And Joshua so struck down all of them, that he left nothing of them); and he did as the Lord commanded to him; he hocked their horses, and burnt their chariots.

10 And he turned again anon, and took Hazor, and smote by sword the king thereof (And at once he turned his army, and then took Hazor, and struck down its king with his sword); for Hazor held by eld time the princehood among all these realms.

11 And he smote all persons that dwelled there, he left not any relics, (or anything of value,) therein, but he wasted all things till to (the) death; also he destroyed that city by burning. (And he struck down all he people who lived there, he left nothing of value, or any remnant, there, but he destroyed everything unto the death; and he burned down that city to the ground.)

12 And he took all (the) cities by compass, and the kings of them, and smote (them), and did (them) away, as Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded to him,

13 without [the] cities that were set in the great hills, and in [the] little hills; and Israel burnt (not) the other cities; flame wasted only one city, Hazor, the strongest. (but the men of Israel did not burn down the cities that were set in the great hills, or in the little hills; their fire burned down only one city, Hazor, the strongest.)

14 And (then) the sons of Israel parted to themselves all the prey, and the work beasts of these cities, when all the men of them were slain.

15 As the Lord commanded to his servant Moses, so Moses commanded to Joshua, and Joshua fulfilled all things; neither soothly he passed (over) one word of all the behests, that the Lord commanded to Moses (he did not pass over one word of all the commands, that the Lord had commanded to Moses).

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.

21 Joshua came in that time, and killed (the) Anakim, that is, (the) giants, from the hilly places of Hebron, and of Debir, and of Anab (from the hill country of Hebron, and Debir, and Anab), and from all the hill (country) of Judah, and of Israel, and did away their cities.

22 He left not any man of the generation of Anakim in the land of the sons of Israel, without the cities of Gaza, and Gath, and Ashdod (except in the cities of Gaza, and Gath, and Ashdod), in which alone they were left.

23 Then Joshua took all the land, as the Lord spake to Moses, and he gave it into (a) possession to the sons of Israel, by their parts and lineages (and he gave it to the Israelites for a possession, a portion to each tribe); and (so) the land rested from battles.

Joshua 11 Commentary

Chapter 11

Divers kings overcome at the waters of Merom. (1-9) Hazor is taken and burned. (10-14) All that country subdued, The Anakims cut off. (15-23)

Verses 1-9 The wonders God wrought for the Israelites were to encourage them to act vigorously themselves. Thus the war against Satan's kingdom, carried on by preaching the gospel, was at first forwarded by miracles; but being fully proved to be of God, we are now left to the Divine grace in the usual course, in the use of the sword of the Spirit. God encouraged Joshua. Fresh dangers and difficulties make it necessary to seek fresh supports from the word of God, which we have nigh unto us for use in every time of need. God proportions our trials to our strength, and our strength to our trials. Joshua's obedience in destroying the horses and chariots, shows his self-denial in compliance with God's command. The possession of things on which the carnal heart is prone to depend, is hurtful to the life of faith, and the walk with God; therefore it is better to be without worldly advantages, than to have the soul endangered by them.

Verses 10-14 The Canaanites filled up the measure of their iniquity, and were, as a judgment, left to the pride, obstinacy, and enmity of their hearts, and to the power of Satan; all restraints being withdrawn, while the dispensations of Providence tended to drive them to despair. They brought on themselves the vengeance they justly merited, of which the Israelites were to be executioners, by the command the Lord gave to Moses.

Verses 15-23 Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for their day to fall will come. The land rested from war. It ended not in a peace with the Canaanites, that was forbidden, but in a peace from them. There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which they shall enter, when their warfare is accomplished. That which was now done, is compared with what had been said to Moses. God's word and his works, if viewed together, will be found mutually to set each other forth. If we make conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise. But the believer must never put off his armour, or expect lasting peace, till he closes his eyes in death; nay, as his strength and usefulness increase, he may expect more heavy trials; yet the Lord will not permit any enemies to assault the believer till he has prepared him for the battle. Christ Jesus ever lives to plead for his people, and their faith shall not fail, however Satan may be permitted to assault them. And however tedious, sharp, and difficult the believer's warfare, his patience in tribulation may be encouraged by the joyfulness of hope; for he will, ere long, rest from sin and from sorrow in the Canaan above.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 11

This chapter relates how that the kings of the northern parts of Canaan combine together against Joshua, Jos 11:1-5; and that the Lord encouraged him to fight with them, and did deliver them into his hands, who, with all their people, were smitten by him, Jos 11:6-11; and how that he took their cities, and destroyed the inhabitants of them, and took the spoil of them for a prey, Jos 11:12-15; and so became master of the whole country, both southern and northern, which is described Jos 11:16-20; and the chapter is concluded with an account of his cutting off the Anakim from various parts, which finished the conquest of the whole land, Jos 10:21-23.