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Joshua 11:14

in Joshua 11

The Israelites took for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but they put all the people to the sword until they had completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone who breathed.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And 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 that breathed.

KJV

And 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.

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This verse in Joshua 11

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

All the spoil of these cities - Israel took - With the exception of those things which had been employed for idolatrous purposes; see Deu 7:25.

This site's exposition

all the cities of those

on Joshua 11:12-14

Only Hazor is burnt. The towns that stood still in their strength are left standing, which Keil and Delitzsch read as the cities sitting on their own mounds, so Israel receives houses it did not build, exactly as Deuteronomy 6:10-11 promised. Spoil and cattle are kept as a prey under the allowance of Deuteronomy 20:14, and the contrast with Jericho is sharp, since there the whole city was the accursed thing at Joshua 6:18-19 and Achan died over a wedge of gold. Jericho was the firstfruits and went whole to God, and the rest of the land is not held under that rule.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Remained with their walls intact. Their walls were not destroyed like Yericho, whose walls fell, and similarly Ai, as it is said, “[And Yehoshua burned Ai] and made it into a mound forever, a ruin.” 3 See Chapter:28 above.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Joshua 11:13:1, via Sefaria, The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְ֠כֹלand all

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • שְׁלַ֞ל[the] booty of

    shelalH7998 →73 times

  • הֶעָרִ֤יםthe cities

    hearimH5892 →1090 times

  • הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙<the> these

    haelehH428 →746 times

  • וְהַבְּהֵמָ֔הand the cattle

    vehabehemahH929 →190 times

  • בָּזְז֥וּthey plundered

    bazezuH962 →43 times

  • לָהֶ֖םfor <the> themselves

    lahem

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • רַ֣קonly

    rakH7535 →109 times

  • אֶֽת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָאָדָ֞ם<the> man

    haadamH120 →

  • הִכּ֣וּthey struck

    hikuH5221 →499 times

  • לְפִי־to [the] mouth of

    lefi-H6310 →498 times

  • חֶ֗רֶב[the] sword

    cherevH2719 →413 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • הִשְׁמִדָם֙had destroyed they

    hishmidamH8045 →90 times

  • אוֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • לֹ֥אnot

    lo'H3808 →5168 times

  • הִשְׁאִ֖ירוּthey left

    hishiruH7604 →133 times

  • כָּל־any

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • נְשָׁמָֽה׃breathing thing

    neshamahH5397 →24 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

13 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Deuteronomy 20:16However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.6 worksDeuteronomy 2:34At that time we captured all his cities and devoted to destruction the people of every city, including women and children. We left no survivors.3 worksNumbers 31:11–12and carried away all the plunder and spoils, both people and animals.2 worksDeuteronomy 6:10–11And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build,2 worksJoshua 11:11The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.2 worksJoshua 10:40So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.2 works
The other 7 cross-references, with their words ▾
Deuteronomy 20:14But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.2 worksNumbers 31:9The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.2 worksJoshua 8:27Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.2 works1 Samuel 14:36And Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until dawn, leaving no man alive!” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied. But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”2 worksDeuteronomy 3:6We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.2 worksJoshua 6:21At the edge of the sword they devoted to destruction everything in the city—man and woman, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.2 worksNumbers 31:15“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 20:14

    But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 8:2

      And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Joshua 22:8

      saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”

    • Numbers 31:9

      The Israelites captured the Midianite women and their children, and they plundered all their herds, flocks, and goods.

  • Through

    Joshua 10:40

    So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 7:2–16

      and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

    • Deuteronomy 7:24

      He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them.

    • Joshua 8:27

      Israel took for themselves only the cattle and plunder of that city, as the LORD had commanded Joshua.

    • 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9

      and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels

  • Through

    Joshua 11:11

    The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

    it leads to

    • Joshua 10:40

      So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the…

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

The Walls of Jericho Fall Down, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Walls of Jericho Fall Down, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 11 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Joshua 11 →