Joshua 11:23
in Joshua 11So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Jehovah spake unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war.
KJV
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
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This verse in Joshua 11
Commentary
10 notes on this verseI do not see that Jesus [Joshua] the son of Nun took possession of all the earth. For how much of the earth does one take who seizes only Judea? But our Lord Jesus truly took possession of all the earth, because a multitude of believers from all over the earth and out of all the nations flock to him. After these things, after "Jesus [Joshua] took possession of all the earth," it is also added, "And the earth rested from wars."
This site's exposition
So Joshua took the entire land
The chapter closes with “the land had rest from war”, a phrase repeated at 14:15. Judges takes up the formula of the land at rest, first at 3:11. Hebrews 4:8 reads this verse forward, that if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
It did not say that by war Jesus [Joshua] took some and did not take others but that he took all into his possession, that is, he captured and destroyed all. And, indeed, the Lord Jesus has purged every kind of sin and destroyed all. For we all "were irrational, unbelieving, errant, serving various desires, acting in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another," and [we possessed] every type of sin that is found in persons before they believe. Therefore, it is well said that Jesus kills all who have gone to war. For Jesus—who is the Word and the "wisdom of God"—is greater than any kind of sin, no matter how terrible. For he overcomes and conquers all sins. Or do we not believe this, that every kind of sin is carried away when we come to the saving bath? For the apostle Paul also alludes to this, who, when he had enumerated the whole class of sins, adds something after them all and says, "And indeed you were these; but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ." Therefore, in this way, Jesus [Joshua] is said to have seized all in battle and to have destroyed all. It happened that, through the work of the Lord, their heart predominated and they hastened into battle against Israel and were exterminated.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
There failed not one word of the promise. Our successes and enjoyments are then doubly sweet and comfortable to us when we see them flowing to us from the promise (this is according to what the Lord said ), as our obedience is then acceptable to God when it has an eye to the precept. And, if we make conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise.
): The land rested from war. It ended not in a peace with the Canaanites (that was forbidden), but in a peace from them. There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which they shall enter when their warfare is accomplished.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
All that the Lord said unto Moses - God had promised to drive out the nations before them. And now the promise was fulfilled. Our successes and enjoyments are then doubly comfortable, when we see them flowing to us from the promise.
So Joshua took the whole land,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
These words import that Joshua had overcome all overt resistance. There were, however, many districts by no means thoroughly and finally subdued Jos 13:1-6.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Joshua took the whole land--The battle of the take of Merom was to the north what the battle of Beth-horon was to the south; more briefly told and less complete in its consequences; but still the decisive conflict by which the whole northern region of Canaan fell into the hands of Israel [STANLEY].
So Joshua took the whole land - All the country described here and in the preceding chapter. Besides the multitudes that perished in this war, many of the Canaanites took refuge in the confines of the land, and in the neighboring nations. Some suppose that a party of these fugitive Canaanites made themselves masters of Lower Egypt, and founded a dynasty there known by the name of the shepherd kings; but it is more probable that the shepherds occupied Egypt long before the time that Jacob went thither to sojourn. It is said they founded Tingris or Tangier, where, according to Procopius, they erected two white pillars with an inscription in the Phoenician language, of which this is the translation: We Are the Persons Who Have Fled from the Face of Joshua the Plunderer, the Son of Nave or Nun. See Bochart, Phaleg and Canaan, lib. i., c. xxiv., col. 476. Many, no doubt, settled in different parts of Africa, in Asia Minor, in Greece, and in the different islands of the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea: it is supposed also that colonies of this people were spread over different parts of Germany and Sclavonia, etc., but their descendants are now so confounded with the nations of the earth, as no longer to retain their original names, or to be discernible. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel - He claimed no peculiar jurisdiction over it; his own family had no peculiar share of it, and himself only the ruined city of Timnath-serah, in the tribe of Ephraim, which he was obliged to rebuild. See Jos 19:49, Jos 19:50, and see his character at the end of the book, Jos 24:33 (note). And the land rested from war - The whole territory being now conquered, which God designed the Israelites should possess at this time. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כְּ֠כֹל | kekhol | according to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֣ר | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָה֮ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁה֒ | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיִּתְּנָהּ֩ | vaiyitenah | and he gave it | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| לְנַחֲלָ֧ה | lenachalah | to an inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל | leyisrael | to Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כְּמַחְלְקֹתָ֖ם | kemachlekotam | according to divisions their | H4256 → | 42 times |
| לְשִׁבְטֵיהֶ֑ם | leshivteihem | to tribes their | H7626 → | 190 times |
| וְהָאָ֥רֶץ | vehaaretz | and the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| שָׁקְטָ֖ה | shaketah | it was at peace | H8252 → | |
| מִמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ פ | mimilchamah | from war | H4421 → | 320 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֜עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָ֗רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
כְּ֠כֹלaccording to all
kekholH3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֣רhe had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָה֮Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁה֒Moses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיִּתְּנָהּ֩and he gave it
vaiyitenahH5414 →2011 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֨עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
לְנַחֲלָ֧הto an inheritance
lenachalahH5159 →222 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֛לto Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
כְּמַחְלְקֹתָ֖םaccording to divisions their
kemachlekotamH4256 →42 times
לְשִׁבְטֵיהֶ֑םto tribes their
leshivteihemH7626 →190 times
וְהָאָ֥רֶץand the land
vehaaretzH776 →2504 times
שָׁקְטָ֖הit was at peace
shaketahH8252 →
מִמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ פfrom war
mimilchamahH4421 →320 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
Psalms 46:9He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:4
Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against…
- Micah 4:3–4
Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take…
- Micah 5:10
“In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will remove your horses from among you and wreck your chariots.
- Joshua 11:9
Joshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
- Isaiah 60:18
No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders. But you will name your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
- Isaiah 2:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 15.7 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 15.5.