Joshua 11:16
in Joshua 11So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So Joshua took all that land, the hill-country, and all the South, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland, and the Arabah, and the hill-country of Israel, and the lowland of the same;
KJV
So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
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This verse in Joshua 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same - This place has given considerable trouble to commentators; and it is not easy to assign such a meaning to the place as may appear in all respects satisfactory. 1. If we consider this verse and the 21st to have been added after the times in which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided, the difficulty is at once removed.
This site's exposition
So Joshua took this entire region
on Joshua 11:16-18
Verse 18 checks any reading of chapters 10 and 11 as a few weeks, since Joshua waged war “for a long period of time”. Caleb’s ages at 14:7-10, forty when sent and eighty-five at Hebron, leave about seven years of campaigning on the usual reckoning.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It is asked how this can be true, since the Hebrews were not altogether able to capture all the cities of those seven nations either in the times after the judges or in the times of the kings. But one must understand it to mean that Joshua never approached any city with hostile intent that he did not capture. Or it may mean that no city remained uncaptured except for those which were in the regions mentioned above. For those regions were enumerated in which there were cities concerning which the conclusion was made: "and he captured all of them in war."
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
All that land - Of Canaan, whose parts here follow. The hill - Or, the mountain, that is, the mountainous country, namely, of Judea. A considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luke i, 39, 65.
So Joshua took all that land,....
Thus the war carried on by the preaching of the gospel against Satan's kingdom was at first forwarded by miracles; but, the war being by them sufficiently proved to be of God, the managers of it are now left to the ordinary assistance of divine grace in the use of the sword of the Spirit, and must not expect hail-stones nor the standing still of the sun.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
So Joshua took all that land--Here follows a general view of the conquest. The division of the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land of Goshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (Jos 10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i. e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions, which is characteristic of the region.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The bare, divided mountain. A smooth mountain. 5 It was so called because there were no trees on it. It was divided between Yaakov and Eisov. The part belonging to Yaakov was bare and smooth as Yaakov himself. See Bereishis:11.
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָ֣רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַזֹּ֗את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הָהָ֤ר | hahar | the hill country | H2022 → | 546 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙ | hanegev | the Negev | H5045 → | 112 times |
| וְאֵת֙ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַגֹּ֔שֶׁן | hagoshen | <the> Goshen | H1657 → | 15 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַשְּׁפֵלָ֖ה | hashefelah | the Shephelah | H8219 → | 20 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעֲרָבָ֑ה | haaravah | the Arabah | H6160 → | 61 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַ֥ר | har | [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וּשְׁפֵלָתֹֽה׃ | ushefelatoh | and Shephelah its | H8219 → | 20 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֣רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַזֹּ֗את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
הָהָ֤רthe hill country
haharH2022 →546 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙the Negev
hanegevH5045 →112 times
וְאֵת֙and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
הַגֹּ֔שֶׁן<the> Goshen
hagoshenH1657 →15 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַשְּׁפֵלָ֖הthe Shephelah
hashefelahH8219 →20 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָעֲרָבָ֑הthe Arabah
haaravahH6160 →61 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַ֥ר[the] hill country of
harH2022 →546 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וּשְׁפֵלָתֹֽה׃and Shephelah its
ushefelatohH8219 →20 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
Ezekiel 36:8But you, O mountains of Israel, will produce branches and bear fruit for My people Israel, for they will soon come home.
it leads to
- Isaiah 27:6
In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole world with fruit.
- Isaiah 27:6
Through
Joshua 9:1Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites,…
it leads to
- Numbers 34:6
Your western border will be the coastline of the Great Sea; this will be your boundary on the west.
- Exodus 3:17
And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
- Numbers 34:6
Through
Joshua 12:8the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):
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…
- Joshua 9:1
Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites,…
- Joshua 10:40
Through
Joshua 11:21At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction,…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:2
The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them, and you have heard it said, “Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?”
- Numbers 13:22–23
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 9:2
Through
Joshua 10:41Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
it leads to
- Joshua 15:51
Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages.
- Joshua 15:51
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON JOSHUA 17; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.