Joshua 10:29
in Joshua 10Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
KJV
Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:
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This verse in Joshua 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd Joshua passed from Makkedah,.... After he had taken it, and destroyed its inhabitants, and its king: and all Israel with him; that is, all the men of war he took with him from the camp at Gilgal, from whence he went to the relief of Gibeon: unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah; a city that fell to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:42. Jerom (r) says, in his time it was a village, in the region of Eleutheropolis, and was called Libnah; according to Bunting (s) it was but two miles from Makkedah. (r) De loc. Heb. fol.
This site's exposition
On that day Joshua captured Makkedah
on Joshua 10:28-30
From here the chapter runs as a formula, town after town, held together by the refrain “as he had done to the king of Jericho”. The repetition is the writer’s method, since 11:18 says plainly that Joshua waged war a long time with all those kings.
This site's exposition
fought against Libnah
Libnah means white. Albert Barnes takes the name from a natural feature, perhaps the white cliffs on the eastern edge of the Philistine plain. The town fell to Judah at 15:42, and Adam Clarke adds that Sennacherib moved against it after departing from Lachish, at 2 Kings 19:8.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But if we examine the very meanings of the names more eagerly and more diligently, it will be discovered that the significance of the names can have an interpretation at one time of a wicked kingdom, and at another time, of a good kingdom. For example, I think Libnah means "whiteness." But whiteness is understood in different ways, for there is a whiteness of leprosy and a whiteness of light. Therefore, it is possible to indicate diversities in the meaning even of the name itself, and of either condition.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Libnah - The word means “white” or “distinct,” and undoubtedly points to some natural feature of the spot, perhaps the “Garde Blanche” of the Crusaders, a castle which stood on or near the white cliffs which bound the plain of Philistia to the east opposite to Ascalon. It was in the southern part of the hill-country of Judah Jos 15:42, and was one of the cities afterward assigned to the priests Jos 21:13.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
that day Joshua took Makkedah--In this and the following verses is described the rapid succession of victory and extermination which swept the whole of southern Palestine into the hands of Israel. "All these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+odd-straight-quotes
Fought against Libnah - This city was near Makkedah, see Jos 15:42, and fell to the tribe of Judah, Jos 10:20, Jos 10:42, and was given to the priests, Jos 21:13. Sennacherib besieged it, after he had been obliged to raise the siege of Lachish. See 2Ki 19:8; Isa 37:8.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעֲבֹ֣ר | vaiyaavor | and he passed on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| יְ֠הוֹשֻׁעַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| וְכָֽל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| עִמּ֛וֹ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| מִמַּקֵּדָ֖ה | mimakedah | from Makkedah | H4719 → | 9 times |
| לִבְנָ֑ה | livnah | Libnah | H3841 → | 18 times |
| וַיִּלָּ֖חֶם | vaiyilachem | and he engaged in battle | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לִבְנָֽה׃ | livnah | Libnah | H3841 → | 18 times |
וַיַּעֲבֹ֣רand he passed on
vaiyaavorH5674 →556 times
יְ֠הוֹשֻׁעַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
וְכָֽל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֥לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
עִמּ֛וֹwith him
imoH5973 →1050 times
מִמַּקֵּדָ֖הfrom Makkedah
mimakedahH4719 →9 times
לִבְנָ֑הLibnah
livnahH3841 →18 times
וַיִּלָּ֖חֶםand he engaged in battle
vaiyilachemH3898 →177 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
לִבְנָֽה׃Libnah
livnahH3841 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
2 Kings 8:22So to this day Edom has been in rebellion against the hand of Judah. Likewise, Libnah rebelled at the same time.
it leads to
- Joshua 21:13
So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,
- 2 Kings 19:8
When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
- Genesis 27:40
You shall live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you rebel, you will tear his yoke from your neck.”
- Joshua 21:13
Through
Joshua 21:13So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah,
it leads to
- Joshua 15:42
Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
- Joshua 20:7
So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
- Joshua 15:54
Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine cities, along with their villages.
- Joshua 15:42
Through
Joshua 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.
it leads to
- Psalms 137:8–9
O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, blessed is he who repays you as you have done to us.
- Jeremiah 48:18
Come down from your glory; sit on parched ground, O daughter dwelling in Dibon, for the destroyer of Moab has come against you; he has destroyed your fortresses.
- Psalms 137:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 13.2.