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Joshua 10:21

in Joshua 10

The whole army returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one dared to utter a word against the Israelites.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.

KJV

And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.

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This verse in Joshua 10

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace,.... Sound and well, as not one killed or missing, so not one wounded, as the Vulgate Latin version,"sound and in full number:" none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel; as to curse them, reproach them, and speak ill of them, for invading them, and using them in the manner they did, such was the terror that was upon them.

This site's exposition

until they had finished them off

on Joshua 10:20-21

Verse 20 grants what verse 19 tried to prevent, that survivors reached the fortified cities. Verse 21 closes with “no one dared to utter a word against the Israelites”, which answers to Exodus 11:7. There it marked the plague of the firstborn, and here a country in arms.

This site's exposition

returned safely to Joshua

The army returns to Makkedah in peace. John Gill, following the Vulgate, reads this as returning whole and in full number. Albert Barnes places Joshua by the guarded cave while the pursuit went on, and dates the execution of the kings to the following day.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 12.2 · Written before 253.

proposed

Whoever fights under the leadership of Jesus [Joshua] against opposing authorities ought to merit that which is written about those former warriors: "And the whole people," it says, "returned safely to Jesus [Joshua] and not one of the sons of Israel muttered with his tongue."

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

7 ), Against any of the children of Israel did not a dog move his tongue; no, not against any one man of them. They were not threatened by any danger at all after their victory, no, not so much as the barking of a dog. Not one single Israelite (for the original makes it so particular) was brought into any distress, either in the battle or in the pursuit.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Joshua himself remained at Makkedah with the guards set before the cave. The other warriors would not return from the pursuit until the evening of the overthrow of the Amorites; and the execution of the kings and the capture of Makkedah itself belong, no doubt, to the day following Jos 10:27-28. None moved his tongue - See the marginal reference and note.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The last act, probably the next day, was the disposal of the prisoners, among whom the five kings were consigned to the infamous doom of being slain (De 20:16, 17); and then their corpses were suspended on five trees till the evening.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

None moved his tongue - The whole transaction of this important day had been carried on so evidently under the direction of God that there was not the least murmuring, nor cause for it, among them, for their enemies were all discomfited. There is an expression similar to this, Exo 11:7, on which the reader is requested to consult the note.

The words behind it

16 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.

  • וַיָּשֻׁבוּ֩and they returned

    vaiyashuvuH7725 →1056 times

  • כָל־all

    khol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הָעָ֨םthe people

    haamH5971 →1873 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • הַמַּחֲנֶ֧הthe camp

    hamachanehH4264 →215 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַJoshua

    yehoshua'H3091 →218 times

  • מַקֵּדָ֖הMakkedah

    makedahH4719 →9 times

  • בְּשָׁל֑וֹםin peace

    beshalomH7965 →

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • חָרַ֞ץhe sharpened

    charatzH2782 →

  • לִבְנֵ֧יto [the] people of

    livneiH1121 →4930 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • לְאִ֖ישׁto anyone

    leishH376 →1663 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • לְשֹׁנֽוֹ׃tongue his

    leshonoH3956 →117 times

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

Related verses

4 in all, six open

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

    Isaiah 54:17

    No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their vindication is from Me,” declares the…

    it leads to

    • Romans 8:28–39

      And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

    • Isaiah 54:15

      If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me; whoever assails you will fall before you.

    • John 10:28–30

      I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.

    • Isaiah 50:8

      The One who vindicates Me is near. Who will dare to contend with Me? Let us confront each other! Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me!

    • Romans 8:1

      Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

  • Through

    Exodus 11:7

    But among all the Israelites, not even a dog will snarl at man or beast.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 8:22

      But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I,…

    • Malachi 3:18

      So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

    • Exodus 10:23

      No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

Joshua Commands the Sun to Stand Still — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua Commands the Sun to Stand Still — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Joshua: the study guide →Read Joshua 10 →
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 12.2.

Read on in Joshua 10 →