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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
11:1-12:24 Conquest of the North and a List of Defeated Kings. Just as the southern campaign resulted as a natural and necessary sequel to Israel's defense of the Gibeonites, so the northern campaign takes shape as a defensive measure against the coalition of northern kings gathered around Jabin of Hazor (see map). The account gives a terse description of what must have been fierce battles, more like 10:29-43, in contrast to chs. 6 and 8 and 10:1-28. This is probably because 11:6-9 makes the main point. The idea of compliance with God's instructions given through Moses is a recurring theme (cf. 11:9, 12, 15, 20, 23), with 11:19-20 giving the narrator's theological assessment. Chapter 12 lists the kings defeated under the leadership of Moses (12:1-6) and Joshua (12:7-24), bringing the basic conquest narrative to a close.
11:1 Jabin, king of Hazor, is not to be confused with the "Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor" during the time of Deborah and Barak (Judg. 4:2). The West Semitic name Jabin, which may mean something like "(he) builds," is attested for rulers of Hazor in the Mari texts (), the Amarna texts (), etc., often in compound names employing the name of a deity. Thus, "Jabin" may have been a dynastic name especially associated with Hazor. Hazor (Tell el-Qedah)--located about
11:4 The great horde mustered by the northern city-kings is described colorfully as in number like the sand that is on the seashore. Their chariots were of light construction, with four-spoked wheels, and were drawn by two horses (contrast the "chariots of iron" of 17:16-18).
11:5 Merom, if correctly identified with Tell Qarnei Hittin, lay
11:6 In keeping with the biblical prohibition against amassing and placing confidence in military hardware (cf. Deut. 17:16), Joshua is to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots. The former would have involved cutting the horses' equivalent of the Achilles tendon, which would at the very least make the animal unfit for any military use (see also 2 Sam. 8:4).
11:10-15 That Hazor was head of all those kingdoms (v. 10) is not surprising, given its size (see note on v. 1) and prominent location beside a major north-south trade route. Having decimated the northern-coalition forces at Merom (vv. 7-9), Joshua turned back to Hazor, struck its king with the sword (v. 10) along with all who were in it, and finally burned Hazor with fire (v. 11). Joshua struck the other coalition cities as well, devoting them to destruction (v. 12; see Introduction: The Destruction of the Canaanites, but none of these cities was burned except Hazor alone (v. 13). Archaeologists looking for physical signs of Israel's conquest must keep in mind that only three sites (Jericho in 6:24, Ai in 8:28, and Hazor) are explicitly said to have been burned. The Israelites were, after all, to live in towns and houses they had not built and to enjoy vineyards and olive groves they had not cultivated (Deut. 6:10-11). The archaeology of Hazor attests several violent destructions by fire, including in
11:16-20 Not unlike the brief summary of the southern campaign in 10:40-42, the summary following the successful completion of the northern campaign is cast in absolute phrases, describing how Joshua took all that land, from the far south to the far north. The regions that were taken are described in 11:16, and v. 17 demarcates the southern and northern boundaries of the entire conquered area. Though some mistakenly assume the conquest under Joshua to have been a blitzkrieg, in fact it took a long time (v. 18), perhaps about . This number is calculated from information provided for Caleb, Joshua's fellow spy in Numbers 13-14. Caleb was
11:21-22 That Joshua cut off the Anakim is highly significant. This race of giants, beside whom the spies under Moses felt like "grasshoppers" (Num. 13:33), terrified
11:23 This verse begins the transition from the subjugation phase of the conquest (Joshua took the whole land) to the allocation/occupation phase (Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments). The latter notice anticipates the events of chs. 13-19. And the land had rest from war. More fighting remains to be done when the Israelites attempt to occupy the conquered territories, but the Lord has proven true to the promises of 1:3-5, and the land lies subdued before them (cf. 18:1).
12:1-24 Now that the land has been conquered, and before it is apportioned, the full extent of the conquest is summarized. Verses 1-6 describe the land beyond the Jordan (from the vantage point of Israel, now west of the Jordan). This land consisted of the territories of the Transjordanian kings whom Israel had conquered under Moses' leadership (Num. 21:21-35), that Moses had allocated to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Num. 32:33). Joshua 12:7-24 lists the kings whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan (v. 7), the total coming to
12:1 took possession of their land. If the emphasis in the first half of the book of Joshua is on the Lord's faithfulness in giving Israel the land, it now falls to Israel to prove faithful in taking possession, that is, occupying the territories that will be allocated to them. The words rendered "possess" or "possession" appear with increased frequency in the second half of Joshua (in this chapter, see vv. 6-7).
12:9 The list of defeated kings (see map) begins with the king of Jericho and generally follows the sequence of the preceding narrative: central, southern, and northern campaigns. That some kings not mentioned in the preceding narrative appear in the list reminds the reader that historical reportage can be selective; the Joshua narratives are meant to be more than a mere catalog of historical information.
