Joshua 11:12
in Joshua 11Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and he smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed them; as Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded.
KJV
And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded.
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This verse in Joshua 11
Commentary
1 note on this verseThis 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.
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
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרֵ֣י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַמְּלָכִֽים־ | hamelakhim- | the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָ֠אֵלֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וְֽאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַלְכֵיהֶ֞ם | malkheihem | kings their | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לָכַ֧ד | lakhad | he captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| וַיַּכֵּ֥ם | vaiyakem | and he struck them | H5221 → | 499 times |
| לְפִי־ | lefi- | to [the] mouth of | H6310 → | 498 times |
| חֶ֖רֶב | cherev | [the] sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| הֶחֱרִ֣ים | hecherim | he totally destroyed | H2763 → | 52 times |
| אוֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| צִוָּ֔ה | tzivah | he had commanded | H6680 → | 494 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| עֶ֥בֶד | ʾeved | [the] servant of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וְֽאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
הַמְּלָכִֽים־the kings
hamelakhim-H4428 →2525 times
הָ֠אֵלֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וְֽאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַלְכֵיהֶ֞םkings their
malkheihemH4428 →2525 times
לָכַ֧דhe captured
lakhadH3920 →121 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
וַיַּכֵּ֥םand he struck them
vaiyakemH5221 →499 times
לְפִי־to [the] mouth of
lefi-H6310 →498 times
חֶ֖רֶב[the] sword
cherevH2719 →413 times
הֶחֱרִ֣יםhe totally destroyed
hecherimH2763 →52 times
אוֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
צִוָּ֔הhe had commanded
tzivahH6680 →494 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
עֶ֥בֶד[the] servant of
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Joshua 8:31just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of uncut stones on…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:5–7
Moreover, you are to build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. You must not use any iron tool on them.
- Exodus 20:24–25
You are to make for Me an altar of earth, and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and peace offerings, your sheep and goats and cattle. In every place where I cause My name…
- Exodus 24:5
Then he sent out some young men of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 27:5–7
Through
Deuteronomy 7:2and 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.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:32–33
You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
- Judges 2:2
and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
- Deuteronomy 20:16–17
However, 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.
- Joshua 11:11–12
The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.
- Joshua 10:30
And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel, and Joshua put all the people to the sword, leaving no survivors. And he did to the king of…
- Exodus 23:32–33
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.