The Histories · Old Testament
Joshua 11
The northern coalition and a summary of the campaigns
General context
Jabin of Hazor gathers a northern coalition whose troops are compared to the seashore's sand in number, accompanied by many horses and chariots. They assemble at Merom. The Lord tells Joshua not to fear and commands him to disable the horses and burn the chariots. Israel attacks suddenly, pursues the coalition and carries out those commands. Joshua captures Hazor, kills its inhabitants and burns it. Other royal cities are taken and their people killed, while livestock and goods are retained; the chapter singles out Hazor as burned among the cities described in verse 13. A wider summary says the wars lasted a long time, Gibeon alone made peace, and the Lord hardened the opposing peoples' hearts for destruction without mercy. Anakim are removed from the hill country, with survivors named in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. The closing statement says Joshua took the whole land, distributed it by tribes, and the land rested from war.
Cited passages: Joshua 11:1, Joshua 11:2, Joshua 11:3, Joshua 11:4, Joshua 11:5, Joshua 11:6, Joshua 11:7, Joshua 11:8, Joshua 11:9, Joshua 11:10, Joshua 11:11, Joshua 11:12, Joshua 11:13, Joshua 11:14, Joshua 11:15, Joshua 11:16, Joshua 11:17, Joshua 11:18, Joshua 11:19, Joshua 11:20, Joshua 11:21, Joshua 11:22, Joshua 11:23
Joshua 11 (KJV)
1And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
2And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the borders of Dor on the west,
3And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
4And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
5And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
6And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
7So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
8And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
9And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
10And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.
11And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.
12And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.
13But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn.
14And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.
15As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
16So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
17Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.
18Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
19There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.
20For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
21And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
22There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.
23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The text names Hazor as the former head of the coalition's kingdoms and Merom as the assembly place. Its horse command is hough in KJV, hock in ASV and an explicit cutting of leg muscles in BBE; it does not describe merely releasing the animals. For the unburned cities, KJV says they stood in their strength, while ASV and BBE describe cities on mounds. The campaign lasts a long time, not just the one promised day of victory at Merom. The closing whole-land statement stands beside specified Anakim survivors and Joshua 13's announcement that much land remains to possess. The book preserves both the sweeping summary and those limits.
Cited passages: Joshua 11:5, Joshua 11:6, Joshua 11:9, Joshua 11:10, Joshua 11:13, Joshua 11:18, Joshua 11:19, Joshua 11:20, Joshua 11:21, Joshua 11:22, Joshua 11:23, Joshua 13:1, Joshua 13:2, Joshua 13:3, Joshua 13:4, Joshua 13:5, Joshua 13:6
Literary context
The coalition's apparent abundance of military strength is followed by a sudden reversal and the destruction of its equipment. The account repeatedly connects Joshua's actions with commands passed from the Lord through Moses. Its explicit explanation of hardened hearts attributes the absence of mercy to divine purpose; that is a theological claim made by the narrative. The final movement is from campaigns to inheritance and rest, even as named survivors keep the reader from treating the summary as a complete account of every place and person.
Cited passages: Joshua 11:4, Joshua 11:5, Joshua 11:6, Joshua 11:7, Joshua 11:8, Joshua 11:9, Joshua 11:14, Joshua 11:15, Joshua 11:16, Joshua 11:17, Joshua 11:18, Joshua 11:19, Joshua 11:20, Joshua 11:21, Joshua 11:22, Joshua 11:23
Key moments
- The coalition at Merom (Joshua 11:5). The gathered kings camp at the waters of Merom to fight Israel.
- Horses are hamstrung and chariots burned (Joshua 11:9). Joshua cuts the horses' leg muscles and burns the coalition's chariots, carrying out the command.
- Hazor is burned (Joshua 11:11). The narrator reports the killing of Hazor's inhabitants and the burning of the city.
- Survivors are named (Joshua 11:22). Gaza, Gath and Ashdod are explicitly named as places where Anakim remain.
- The land rests from war (Joshua 11:23). The campaign summary closes with tribal inheritance and rest.
For reflection
How does reading the named survivors and the statement about remaining land affect your understanding of the chapter's broad closing claim? Let the text's specific details remain beside its summary.
People in this chapter
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