New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Joshua 11
1
Jabin was the king of Hazor. He heard about the battles Israel had won. So he sent a message to Jobab. Jobab was the king of Madon. Jabin sent the same message to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph.
Reference
📍 Locations
People
2
He also sent it to a lot of other kings. Some ruled in the mountains in the north. Some ruled in the Arabah Valley south of Kinnereth. Others ruled in the western hills. Still others ruled in Naphoth Dor in the west.
Reference
📍 Locations
3
Jabin sent the same message to the people of east Canaan and west Canaan. He sent it to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites. They lived in the central hill country. He also sent it to the Hivites who lived below Mount Hermon in the area of Mizpah.
Reference
📍 Mizpah 2
4
Those kings marched out with all of their troops. They had a large number of horses and chariots. It was a huge army. The fighting men were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.
Reference
5
All of those kings gathered their armies together to fight against Israel. They set up camp together at the Waters of Merom.
📍 Merom
6
The Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, "Do not be afraid of them. By this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel. All of them will be killed. You must cut the legs of their horses. You must burn up their chariots."
Reference
7
So Joshua and his whole army attacked them suddenly. They fought against them at the Waters of Merom.
Reference
📍 Merom
Parallel theme
Joshua 10:9
8
The Lord handed them over to Israel. Israel won the battle over them. They hunted them down all the way to Greater Sidon. They chased them to Misrephoth Maim. They chased them to the Valley of Mizpah in the east. Not one of them was left alive.
Reference
📍 Locations
9
Joshua did to them what the Lord had directed him to do. He cut the legs of their horses. He burned up their chariots.
Reference
References Lord
Joshua 11:6
10
At that time Joshua turned back. He captured Hazor. He killed its king with his sword. Hazor was the most important city in all of those kingdoms.
Reference
📍 Hazor 1
11
The army of Israel killed everyone in Hazor with their swords. Its people had been set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. Israel's army didn't spare anything that breathed. Then Joshua burned up the city.
Reference
📍 Hazor 1
Parallel theme
Joshua 10:40
12
Joshua took all of those royal cities and their kings. He and his men killed everyone in those cities with their swords. He totally destroyed them. He did just as Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded.
Reference
References Lord
Deuteronomy 7:2
13
Many cities were built on top of earlier cities that had been destroyed. Israel didn't burn up any of those except Hazor. Joshua burned it up.
Reference
📍 Hazor 1
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 30:18
14
The army of Israel kept for themselves the livestock and everything else they took from those cities. But they killed all of the people with their swords. They completely destroyed them. They didn't spare anyone who breathed.
15
The Lord had commanded his servant Moses to do all of those things. Moses had passed that command on to Joshua. And Joshua carried it out. He did everything the Lord had commanded Moses.
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 20:20
Acts 20:27
Deuteronomy 12:32
References Lord
Deuteronomy 7:2
Deuteronomy 4:5
Deuteronomy 31:7
Deuteronomy 4:2
2 Chronicles 30:12
References Moses
Joshua 1:7
16
So Joshua took the whole land. He took the central hill country and the whole Negev Desert. He took the whole area of Goshen. He took the western hills. He took the Arabah Valley. He took the mountains of Israel and the hills around them.
Reference
17
He took the area that begins at Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. The area ends at Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. Joshua captured the kings who ruled over that whole land. He struck them down and killed them.
Reference
📍 Locations
18
He fought battles against all of those kings for a long time.
19
Only the Hivites who lived in Gibeon made a peace treaty with the people of Israel. No other city made a treaty with them. So Israel captured all of those cities in battle.
20
The Lord himself made the hearts of their people stubborn. He made them go to war against Israel so he could totally destroy them. He wanted to wipe them out. He didn't show them any mercy. The Lord had commanded Moses to destroy the people of Canaan.
Reference
Parallel theme
Romans 9:18
Exodus 14:17
Exodus 9:16
References Lord
Exodus 4:21
Deuteronomy 7:16
Deuteronomy 2:30
Judges 14:4
21
At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites. They lived all through the hill country of Judah and Israel. They lived in Hebron, Debir and Anab. Joshua totally destroyed the Anakites and their towns.
Reference
📍 Anab
22
There weren't any Anakites left alive in Israel's territory. But a few were left alive in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.
Reference
📍 Locations
23
So Joshua took the whole land, just as the Lord had directed Moses. Joshua gave the land to Israel as their very own. He divided it up and gave each tribe its share. Then the land had peace and rest.
Summary of Joshua 11
Joshua chapter 11 recounts Israel's campaign against the kings and armies of the northern region of Canaan. A vast alliance gathers to fight Israel, but the Lord delivers Israel into Joshua's hands. The chapter also provides a summary of the broader Canaan conquest and indicates that Joshua had continued the work of Moses. By the end of the chapter, the major wars have largely been fought, and the land has rest.
Following Israel's victories in the southern region of Canaan, the news of Israel's successes filtered northward to the kings. Jabin, king of Hazor, was the first to rise to the challenge. Hazor was the pre-eminent city of the north and Jabin gathered a great coalition of kings and armies to oppose Israel.
The alliance included kings from the northern hill country, the Arabah south of Chinneroth, the lowlands, and the regions around Dor. The chapter also names the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Hivites. The various peoples were gathered together in opposition to Israel. Their numbers were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they had an abundance of horses and chariots. Compared to what Israel had previously faced, there was an overwhelming force arrayed against them.
When Israel saw this vast array of troops, the Lord assured Joshua that He would deliver all of them into Israel's hands. The Lord also directed Joshua to cripple the enemy's horses and burn their chariots.
Joshua and his army therefore marched against the northern alliance and Israel surprised the enemy near the waters of Merom. The enemy forces were vanquished and scattered in different directions.
Joshua pursued the enemy and captured their cities. Israel obeyed the Lord concerning the horses and chariots which were disabled and burnt.
However, the battle was not entirely against one city. Joshua waged war against the northern alliance until they had been broken. The chapter presents it as another victory given to Israel by the Lord.
Joshua then turned his attention to Hazor, the pre-eminent city of the north and the instigator of the coalition which had fought Israel. Joshua captured the city and executed its king.
Hazor was then burned. The destruction of Hazor is mentioned specifically because it had been the head of all those kingdoms. The other cities were generally left standing, however, their goods and livestock became spoil for Israel.
The Israelites destroyed the people of the cities they captured as directed by the commands given through Moses to Joshua. The chapter provides a repeated reference to the destruction as part of the judgment associated with Israel's conquest of Canaan.
Joshua waged war throughout the entire northern region. He captured the hill country, the southern region, the land of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel and their surrounding lowlands.
The chapter provides a summary of Joshua's military achievements. He defeated the kings and took their cities and Israel gained control over a large portion of the land.
A noteworthy omission from the list of enemies of Israel mentioned in the chapter is the Gibeonites. They had made peace with Israel in the previous chapter. The northern kings who fought Israel were part of the continuing resistance to the Israelite advance.
Joshua 11 also indicates clearly that Israel's victories did not come about simply because Israel had superior military resources. The chapter presents a repeated emphasis that it was the Lord who had delivered the enemies into Joshua's hands. Israel still had to fight, march, pursue their enemies and capture cities, however, their success is stated as the fulfillment of God's promise that He would give them the land.
The chapter provides a broad summary of Joshua's obedience. It states that he did everything the Lord had commanded Moses, and that Moses had commanded Joshua. Joshua is therefore presented as continuing the instructions and leadership that Israel had already received.
This is an important aspect of the chapter for Joshua is not establishing his own independent rule which creates his own rule for the nation. His leadership is connected to the law and instructions that Israel had already received.
Joshua 11 also records the destruction of the Anakim from the hill country. The people of the Anakim were the giants who had terrified the Israelite spies many years earlier. Joshua removed them from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and other areas.
The only Anakim left were in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, which were later associated with the Philistines.
The mention of the Anakim connects Joshua 11 with the events associated with the time of Moses. Earlier, the people of Israel had seen the giants and had been afraid, but Caleb and Joshua had expressed faith in the assurance of God. Now, many years later, Joshua had led Israel into the land and the Anakim had been defeated in the areas under Israel's control.
The chapter concludes with the statement that Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had said to Moses, and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by tribe.
After the campaigns, the land had rest from war.
This statement is significant as Joshua 11 is not indicating that every part of Canaan had been permanently settled or that every enemy had been eradicated from the land. The following chapter will provide a list of kings defeated by Moses and Joshua. Later chapters will also mention the areas which remained to be possessed. However, Joshua 11 marks the completion of the major military campaigns that have established Israel's presence in the land.
The chapter also indicates that the situation has changed greatly since Israel approached Canaan. At the beginning of the wilderness period, the Israelites had been afraid to enter the land because of its walled cities and its strong inhabitants. Now Joshua had led them through a series of victories over those kinds of enemies.
The northerners had gathered a vast coalition of armies in their strength. The forces were compared with the sand of the seashore and equipped with horses and chariots. However, the Israelites were directed not to fear. Joshua obeyed the commands of God and attacked the northern alliance and defeated them.
There is a pattern across the early chapters of Joshua. Israel crosses the Jordan, defeats Jericho and suffers defeat at Ai because of Achan's sin and then recovers and defeats Ai, deals with the Gibeonite situation, wins the southern campaign and now defeats the northern alliance. Each step sees Israel further in the land.
Joshua chapter 11 accordingly marks a major point in the conquest of Canaan. The northern kings gathered one of the largest armies Israel had faced, but the alliance was defeated. Hazor, the pre-eminent city of the coalition, was destroyed, the major military campaigns were completed and the land received a period of rest from war. The chapter closes with Joshua having done the things the Lord had directed through Moses, and Israel receiving the land as an inheritance. The conquest was not the end of Israel's work in Canaan, but the major battles of Joshua had brought the nation to a new stage and the focus turned to the division and possession of the land by the tribes.
Following Israel's victories in the southern region of Canaan, the news of Israel's successes filtered northward to the kings. Jabin, king of Hazor, was the first to rise to the challenge. Hazor was the pre-eminent city of the north and Jabin gathered a great coalition of kings and armies to oppose Israel.
The alliance included kings from the northern hill country, the Arabah south of Chinneroth, the lowlands, and the regions around Dor. The chapter also names the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Hivites. The various peoples were gathered together in opposition to Israel. Their numbers were as numerous as the sand on the seashore, and they had an abundance of horses and chariots. Compared to what Israel had previously faced, there was an overwhelming force arrayed against them.
When Israel saw this vast array of troops, the Lord assured Joshua that He would deliver all of them into Israel's hands. The Lord also directed Joshua to cripple the enemy's horses and burn their chariots.
Joshua and his army therefore marched against the northern alliance and Israel surprised the enemy near the waters of Merom. The enemy forces were vanquished and scattered in different directions.
Joshua pursued the enemy and captured their cities. Israel obeyed the Lord concerning the horses and chariots which were disabled and burnt.
However, the battle was not entirely against one city. Joshua waged war against the northern alliance until they had been broken. The chapter presents it as another victory given to Israel by the Lord.
Joshua then turned his attention to Hazor, the pre-eminent city of the north and the instigator of the coalition which had fought Israel. Joshua captured the city and executed its king.
Hazor was then burned. The destruction of Hazor is mentioned specifically because it had been the head of all those kingdoms. The other cities were generally left standing, however, their goods and livestock became spoil for Israel.
The Israelites destroyed the people of the cities they captured as directed by the commands given through Moses to Joshua. The chapter provides a repeated reference to the destruction as part of the judgment associated with Israel's conquest of Canaan.
Joshua waged war throughout the entire northern region. He captured the hill country, the southern region, the land of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel and their surrounding lowlands.
The chapter provides a summary of Joshua's military achievements. He defeated the kings and took their cities and Israel gained control over a large portion of the land.
A noteworthy omission from the list of enemies of Israel mentioned in the chapter is the Gibeonites. They had made peace with Israel in the previous chapter. The northern kings who fought Israel were part of the continuing resistance to the Israelite advance.
Joshua 11 also indicates clearly that Israel's victories did not come about simply because Israel had superior military resources. The chapter presents a repeated emphasis that it was the Lord who had delivered the enemies into Joshua's hands. Israel still had to fight, march, pursue their enemies and capture cities, however, their success is stated as the fulfillment of God's promise that He would give them the land.
The chapter provides a broad summary of Joshua's obedience. It states that he did everything the Lord had commanded Moses, and that Moses had commanded Joshua. Joshua is therefore presented as continuing the instructions and leadership that Israel had already received.
This is an important aspect of the chapter for Joshua is not establishing his own independent rule which creates his own rule for the nation. His leadership is connected to the law and instructions that Israel had already received.
Joshua 11 also records the destruction of the Anakim from the hill country. The people of the Anakim were the giants who had terrified the Israelite spies many years earlier. Joshua removed them from the hill country, from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and other areas.
The only Anakim left were in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod, which were later associated with the Philistines.
The mention of the Anakim connects Joshua 11 with the events associated with the time of Moses. Earlier, the people of Israel had seen the giants and had been afraid, but Caleb and Joshua had expressed faith in the assurance of God. Now, many years later, Joshua had led Israel into the land and the Anakim had been defeated in the areas under Israel's control.
The chapter concludes with the statement that Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had said to Moses, and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by tribe.
After the campaigns, the land had rest from war.
This statement is significant as Joshua 11 is not indicating that every part of Canaan had been permanently settled or that every enemy had been eradicated from the land. The following chapter will provide a list of kings defeated by Moses and Joshua. Later chapters will also mention the areas which remained to be possessed. However, Joshua 11 marks the completion of the major military campaigns that have established Israel's presence in the land.
The chapter also indicates that the situation has changed greatly since Israel approached Canaan. At the beginning of the wilderness period, the Israelites had been afraid to enter the land because of its walled cities and its strong inhabitants. Now Joshua had led them through a series of victories over those kinds of enemies.
The northerners had gathered a vast coalition of armies in their strength. The forces were compared with the sand of the seashore and equipped with horses and chariots. However, the Israelites were directed not to fear. Joshua obeyed the commands of God and attacked the northern alliance and defeated them.
There is a pattern across the early chapters of Joshua. Israel crosses the Jordan, defeats Jericho and suffers defeat at Ai because of Achan's sin and then recovers and defeats Ai, deals with the Gibeonite situation, wins the southern campaign and now defeats the northern alliance. Each step sees Israel further in the land.
Joshua chapter 11 accordingly marks a major point in the conquest of Canaan. The northern kings gathered one of the largest armies Israel had faced, but the alliance was defeated. Hazor, the pre-eminent city of the coalition, was destroyed, the major military campaigns were completed and the land received a period of rest from war. The chapter closes with Joshua having done the things the Lord had directed through Moses, and Israel receiving the land as an inheritance. The conquest was not the end of Israel's work in Canaan, but the major battles of Joshua had brought the nation to a new stage and the focus turned to the division and possession of the land by the tribes.