Joshua 11:9
in Joshua 11Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joshua did unto them as Jehovah bade him: he hocked their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
KJV
And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
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This verse in Joshua 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseHe houghed their horses - The Hebrew word עקר akar, which we render to hough or hamstring, signifies to wound, cut, or lop off. It is very likely that it means here, not only an act by which they were rendered useless, but by which they were destroyed; as God had purposed that his people should not possess any cattle of this kind, that a warlike and enterprising spirit might not be cultivated among them; and that, when obliged to defend themselves and their country, they might be led to depend upon God for protection and victory.
This site's exposition
chased them unto great Zidon
on Joshua 11:8-9
The pursuit runs northwest to Zidon on the Phoenician coast and east to the valley of Mizpeh, so the rout scatters in both directions from Merom. Verse 9 reads the two orders of verse 6 back as things done, the houghing and the burning, which is how this book records obedience: the command in God's words, then the same words again in Joshua's actions. The chariot force Israel has just taken is left useless on the ground rather than added to its own strength.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on Joshua 11:1-9
Jabin ("the Intelligent"), which seems to have been a hereditary title (Jud 4:2), took the lead, from Hazor being the capital of the northern region (Jos 11:10). It was situated on the borders of lake Merom. The other cities mentioned must have been in the vicinity though their exact position is unknown.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him--(See Jos 11:6). Houghing the horses is done by cutting the sinews and arteries of their hinder legs, so that they not only become hopelessly lame, but bleed to death.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶם֙ | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אָֽמַר־ | ʾamar- | he had said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| סוּסֵיהֶ֣ם | suseihem | horses their | H5483 → | 140 times |
| עִקֵּ֔ר | ʾiker | he hamstrung | H6131 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַרְכְּבֹתֵיהֶ֖ם | markevoteihem | chariots their | H4818 → | |
| שָׂרַ֥ף | saraf | he burned | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ ס | baesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶם֙to <the> them
lahem
יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
אָֽמַר־he had said
ʾamar-H559 →5305 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
סוּסֵיהֶ֣םhorses their
suseihemH5483 →140 times
עִקֵּ֔רhe hamstrung
ʾikerH6131 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מַרְכְּבֹתֵיהֶ֖םchariots their
markevoteihemH4818 →
שָׂרַ֥ףhe burned
sarafH8313 →117 times
בָּאֵֽשׁ׃ סwith <the> fire
baeshH784 →378 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach 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
Joshua 11:6Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn…
it leads to
- Joshua 10:8
The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”
- 2 Samuel 8:4
David captured from him a thousand chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers, and he hamstrung all the horses except a hundred he kept for the chariots.
- 1 Samuel 11:9
So they said to the messengers who had come, “Tell the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Deliverance will be yours tomorrow by the time the sun is hot.’” And when the messengers relayed this to the…
- Judges 20:28
and Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, served before it.) The Israelites asked, “Should we again go out to battle against our brothers the Benjamites, or should we stop?” The LORD answered,…
- 2 Chronicles 20:16
Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.
- Joshua 10:8
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.