Deeper Commentary
Jos 10:1 Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken
Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; and that as he had done to Jericho and
her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of
Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them-
Adonizedek King of Jerusalem was the
counterpart of Melchizedek. He falsely claimed to be 'Lord of
righteousness'. He looks ahead to the latter day antiChrist figure in
Jerusalem who will mimic the Lord Jesus, a fake or 'anti' Christ, who is
lord of the kings of the earth / land, to be destroyed by the latter day
Joshua-Jesus. For it is the Lord Jesus who is to be declared lord of the
kings of the earth, and not Adonizedek. In Rev. 17:18 the harlot Jerusalem
reigns of the kings of the earth / land in the last days. And this was
typified in this history of Adonizedek.
Jos 10:2 The people of Jerusalem were very afraid, because Gibeon was a
great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than
Ai, and all its men were mighty-
Their humility before Yahweh, as explained on Josh. 9, was therefore
the more commendable, seeing they were known as the strongest of the
Canaanite cities.
Jos 10:3 Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of
Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir
king of Eglon saying-
Hoham means “Jehovah of the multitude”, and adds to the body of
possible evidence that some tribes had begun claiming Yahweh as their God.
This gives significance to the title "Yahweh, God of Israel", not the god
of a similar name claimed by some of the Canaanites.
Jos 10:4 Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon; for it has
made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel-
There is a parallel between Adonizedek asking others to "come up to
me and help me", and Gibeon in response asking "Come up
to us... and help us" (:6). The theme is developed that
all concerned were weak and in need of external help. And the only
ultimate external help was in God.
Jos 10:5 Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem,
the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king
of Eglon, gathered themselves together and went up, they and all their
armies, and encamped against Gibeon and made war against it-
God worked through Joshua's unwisdom about the Gibeonites in order to
gather together the Canaanites and destroy them. If Joshua had been proud
and impenitent about his mistake with the Gibeonites, who would have
killed them or not gone to rescue them. But he was humble enough to
continue going along with God's program after his unwisdom, and God in
turn worked through this- by gathering together the Canaanites and giving
Joshua a great victory over them.
Jos 10:6 The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal saying,
Don’t abandon your servants! Come up to us quickly, and save us, and help
us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country have
gathered together against us-
By treating the Gibeonites as Israel, Joshua was led to a great
victory over the Canaanites. Had he ignored their plea for help, this
would not have been granted perhaps in the dramatic way it was. The way of
love and integrity often leads us to further blessing, within God's wider
plan. See on :4.
Jos 10:7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, and all the people of war with
him, and all the mighty men of valour-
There appears to be a difference between the mighty men of valour,
and the "people of war". Perhaps the vanguard refers to the men of the two
and a half tribes, who were to go in advance into battle. Or the idea may
be that "all the people" were strengthened with bravery / valour, hence
LXX "he and all the people of war with him, every one mighty in strength".
We note a difference in the attitude now, and that after the victory at
Jericho, where the Israelites considered that just two or three thousand
of them could overcome the 12,000 men of Ai. Now Joshua takes his entire
fighting force with him.
Jos 10:8 Yahweh said to Joshua, Don’t fear them, for I have delivered them
into your hands. Not a man of them will stand before you-
The continual reassurance of Joshua could imply he struggled to
maintain faith in the promises of God which meant he should not fear
(Josh. 1:5).
Jos 10:9 Joshua therefore came on them suddenly-
It
shouldn’t just be the nearness of the Lord’s return that makes us urgent.
Our decisions to give over each part of our lives, radically, to Jesus
should be made not just because life is short and the Lord is at the door;
but also because it might otherwise be too late to undo the damage a
self-engrossed life has already caused, to the self and to others. Rebekah
responded immediately to the call to go marry Isaac, in a story which is
clearly to be read as an acted parable of the search for a bride for
Jesus. Her ‘quick’ response is one of her characteristics (Gen.
24:18,20,26,46,64). Abraham likewise “rose up early” after his night time
vision, requiring him to offer his son to God (Gen. 22:1,3). Joshua
“therefore” started to attack the confederacy of local kings, in the
middle of the night, immediately after God had assured him of victory
(Josh. 10:9). David could write: “I made haste, and delayed not to keep
thy commandments” (Ps. 119:60). We cannot be passive on receiving the
opportunity to serve God. We will urgently seek to do something with what
we have been enabled to do for the Lord: “The servant who got five bags
went quickly to invest the money and
earned five more bags” (Mt. 25:16 NCV).
He went up from Gilgal all night-
From Gilgal to Gibeon was about 20 miles, so they marched all night.
Jos 10:10 Yahweh confused them before Israel, and He slew them with a
great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them by the way of the ascent of
Beth Horon, and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah
We note the confusion between what Yahweh did and what Israel did;
because so clearly He was with them giving the victory. It is typical of
the victories God won for His people that He uses some elements which
could only have been from Him. Here, the mental confusion from Him, and
later the hailstones. This was because He so dislikes any boasting in
human strength. The ascent of Beth Horon would refer to "Upper Beth
Horon", about four hours march away from Gibeon.
Jos 10:11 It happened that as they fled from before Israel, while they
were at the descent of Beth Horon, that Yahweh cast down great stones from
the sky on them to Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from
the hailstones than those whom the children of Israel killed with the
sword-
The seventh vial records the destruction of Babylon,
who receives "the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath" in the
form of huge hailstones (Rev. 16:19,21). This equates the
nations who are gathered to Armageddon with Babylon, which we will see is
primarily a symbol of the powers within the land promised to Abraham,
based upon this historical situation. The cup of the
wrath of God alludes to Zech. 12:2,3, where the surrounding nations also are "gathered together" and have burdened themselves with Jerusalem are made to
drink "a cup of trembling" by reason of doing so. The
punishment with giant hailstones recalls how Israel's local enemies were
destroyed in the time of Joshua/Jesus.
Jos 10:12 Then Joshua spoke to Yahweh in the day when Yahweh delivered up
the Amorites before the children of Israel; and he said in the sight of
Israel, Sun, stand still on Gibeon! You, moon, stop in the valley of
Aijalon!-
This reflects amazing spiritual ambition and faith in prayer; he
commanded things to happen, so sure of the prayer being heard. However, I
suggest on :15 that :12-15 are a citation from the poetic book of Jasher.
This would explain the usage of poetic language in an otherwise literal,
factual account. This is not to say that we cannot read it literally,
although there are many problems with that.
The Amorites fled to the south-west, so Joshua was west of Gibeon at this point. The sun would be in the east over Gibeon, and the moon in the west over the valley of Ajalon. This would only have been the situation before noon, quite soon after dawn, with the moon still not set in the west. So we assume the battle and this prayer were in the early morning; Joshua and his men had marched from Gilgal through the night to launch a dawn attack (:9).
Jos 10:13 The sun stood still and the moon stayed, until the nation had
avenged themselves of their enemies-
Samson took vengeance on the Philistines (Jud. 15:5; 16:28), when the Law
taught that Israel were not to take vengeance (same word) on each
other (Lev. 19:18), but could do so on their enemies (Num. 31:2; Dt.
32:43 cp. Josh. 10:13).
Isn’t this written in the book of
Jashar?-
See on :12,15. It has been suggested that this was a book of poems (2
Sam. 1:18), and therefore the language of the sun delaying to go down is
therefore to be read poetically. And indeed it is so that figurative
language is used, with stars fighting (Jud. 5:20) and the heavens being
bowed down (Ps. 18:7-17). But I consider that to be an attempt to water
down the miracle, and the context here is simply not that of such poetic
language. Hab. 3:11 appears to consider this literal. And we are only
eager to do that because it requires less faith to believe. There are a number of references in Scripture to books like the book of
Jasher (e.g. Josh. 10:13) which we no longer have available to us. Whether
they were inspired or not, we don't know; but the point is, they are no
longer available to us because God knows that we do not need them. By
contrast, the elaborate rituals of the Mosaic Law have been
preserved for us; God would not have inspired and preserved books like
Leviticus unless they were important for us.
The sun stayed in the midst of the sky and didn’t hurry to go down
about a whole day-
I have no problem in understanding this in literal terms, although
there is another approach to :12-15. See on :12,15. It could even be
that the sun returning by ten degrees (2 Kings 20:10) was a correction or
compensation for this in the universe. But the sun literally staying still
in the sky would have meant the entire solar system, perhaps the entire
cosmos, was affected. By the prayer of a man here on earth.
But the comment that so much was achieved "at one time" (Josh.
10:42) may hint at a compression of time to enable it. "The sun stood
still" may well be intended to teach that the meaning of time was
collapsed by God, rather than that the sun literally stood still (Josh.
10:12,13). And the sun standing still over Gibeon is mentioned in Is.
28:21 as typical of the time when Yahweh will do "His strange work, and
bring to pass his act, his strange act" in the last days. The same may be
true when the shadow went back for Hezekiah. The movement of the planets
need not have been altered; the meaning of time was simply suspended. Rev.
8:12, also speaking of the last days, says that “the day shone not for a
third part of it, and the night likewise”. Could this mean that one day
and one night last only two thirds of their usual length, whilst the
judgments of the fourth Angel are poured out upon the land? I would
suggest that the Lord had in mind the suspension of time when he asked
that "the hour might pass from him" in Gethsemane (Mk. 14:35); rather than
asking to escape the cross in this request, he was perhaps asking for it
all to happen in only a moment of real time.
Jos 10:14 There was no day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh
listened to the voice of a man; for Yahweh fought for Israel-
Israel did not obey / hearken to the voice of Yahweh, and He did not
hearken to their voice in prayer (Dt. 1:45; 9:23; 28:15; Josh. 5:6; Jud.
2:20; 6:10 cp. Dt. 8:20 s.w.). 2 Kings 18:12 states this specifically. God
hearkened to Joshua's voice in prayer (Josh. 10:14) because Joshua
hearkened to His voice. It was to be the same with Saul. He didn't hearken
to God's voice (1 Sam. 15:19) and God didn't hearken to Saul's voice in
prayer in his final desperation at the end of his life (1 Sam. 28:18). If
God's word abides in us, then our prayer is powerful, we have whatever we
ask, because we are asking for things according to His will expressed in
His word (Jn. 15:7).
For the scope of the miracle, see on :13.
Jos 10:15 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to Gilgal-
This seems out of place, for Joshua would hardly have received the
long day as answer to his prayer, and returned to Gilgal. Surely he would
have immediately continued chasing the Amorites, as described in the
following verses. It could be a conclusion of the matter, repeated in :43,
and then the next verses explain how the conclusion was reached. That sort
of thing happens often in Biblical narrative. But there is the possibility
that this :15 concludes a quotation from the book of Jasher (:13). This
would then support the argument that the language of the sun and moon
standing still is part of a more figurative, poetic account which is being
cited from the book of Jasher, a book of songs and poetry. This would help
explain why we have an apparent interjection of poetic language in the
midst of an otherwise factual narrative.
Jos 10:16 These five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at
Makkedah-
The account of conquest has many connections with Abraham's arrival
in the land; for the Israelites were Abraham's seed. Kings fleeing and
dying recalls the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fleeing and perishing in
Gen. 14:10.
Jos 10:17 Joshua was told saying, The five kings are found, hidden in the
cave at Makkedah-
This may have been a specially fortified cave, with food inside it.
Some of the caves were like small palaces.
Jos 10:18 Joshua said, Roll large stones to the mouth of the cave, and set
men by it to guard them-
The scene recalls that at the Lord's burial. They were pronounced as
it were already dead and buried. There may be an allusion or word play
upon the fact that through circumcision, God had rolled [away] the
reproach of Egypt (s.w. Josh. 5:9). These are the only usages of the word
for "roll" in Joshua. If indeed Joshua is making such a word play, then
his point is that circumcision, covenant relationship with God, is related
to victory over their enemies. See on :19.
Jos 10:19 but don’t stay-
The sense of urgency and not wasting time on anything is repeated by
the Lord Jesus when sending out His people to preach.
Pursue your enemies, and attack their rearguard. Don’t allow them
to enter into their cities; for Yahweh your God has delivered them into
your hand-
"Pursue your enemies" is a quotation from the blessings for obedience
to the covenant (Lev. 26:7,8). See on :18. Joshua had purposefully fled
before the men of Ai in recognition that Israel deserved defeat, as they
had broken covenant. But he is also confident that by grace, undeservedly,
they were receiving the blessings for obedience to it.
Jos 10:20 It happened, when Joshua and the children of Israel had finished
killing them with a very great slaughter until they were consumed, and the
remnant which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities-
Joshua's enthusiasm of :19 had apparently not been shared by all the
people. For Joshua had urged the soldiers to chase the Amorites so that
they didn't enter fortified cities.
Jos 10:21 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-
Not moving the tongue against a man is language appropriate to dogs.
The Canaanites are likened to dogs, now scared of the humans who are now
amongst them. The implication may be that there were Gentiles living in
Makkedah who weren't destroyed at that time (:28), but who said nothing against the
Israelites. But the LXX gives another perspective: "And all the people
returned safe to Joshua to Makeda; and no one of the children of Israel
murmured with his tongue". There were no complaints against Joshua [cp.
the murmuring of the people against Moses], because there was not a single
Israelite casualty.
Jos 10:22 Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those
five kings out of the cave to me-
This may connect with the way the Canaanites were scared to open
their mouths against the Israelites (:21). But the Israelites opened the
mouth of the cave and brought out the Canaanite kings. The impression is
that Israel were so much in supremacy. There may also here be the
intentional modelling of the future resurrection from the tomb / grave, to
face judgment- and then to die the second death, represented by their
bodies returning to the cave- see on :27
Jos 10:23 They did so, and brought those five kings out of the cave to
him: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon-
Joshua could have been the Messianic king who was to triumph over the
kings of the earth / land promised to Abraham. But his victories weren't
permanent, and so his potential could have been fulfilled at the
restoration, and so the images of being "terrible to the kings of the
earth" (Ps. 76:12) and "treading upon princes" (Is. 41:25) are taken from
Joshua's work and used by the restoration prophets. But the restoration
from Babylon also failed to fulfil all the prophetic potential; and so
these things were reapplied and rescheduled to the future work of the Lord
Jesus. In this sense Joshua appears to be a type of the Lord Jesus, his
namesake.
Jos 10:24 It happened that when they brought those kings out to Joshua,
that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of
the men of war who went with him, Come near, put your feet on the necks of
these kings. They came near, and put their feet on their necks-
Joshua’s conquest of the Canaanite tribes inevitably
looks forward to the work of his greater namesake at the second coming.
See on :22 for how this came about.
Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, is replete with reference to the latter
day anti-Christ figure who will rule there in the last days. He leads a
confederacy of Arab nations against Joshua-Jesus, and is destroyed with
hailstones (Josh. 10:11)- an event which is the basis for the latter day
prophecy of Rev. 16:21. We think too of the "five kings" who fell before
the Lord Jesus at the point of Rev. 17:10. Joshua’s men placing their feet upon the necks of
their enemies is the prototype of all enemies being subdued
under the Lord in the last day; and the way “the Lord God of Israel fought
for Israel” at this time (Josh. 10:42) is the basis of many latter day
statements to the same effect.
Jos 10:25 Joshua said to them, Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong
and courageous, for Yahweh will do this to all your enemies against whom
you fight-
As Joshua had been told to be strong and of good courage in order to
take the land, so he had to tell others. As God charged him
to be courageous and obedient to the book of the Law, so Joshua on his
deathbed charged his people (Josh. 1:7,8 cp. 23:6). Joshua had faithfully
followed, and now he became the leader who was to be faithfully followed.
Jos 10:26 Afterward Joshua put them to death, and hanged them on five
trees. They hung on the trees until the evening-
The Lord's crucifixion had this public element to it. His victory
over sin, as a result of His temporary death, was publically and openly
proclaimed on the cross. Our preaching of the cross therefore carries with
it, axiomatically, this sense of public, open proclamation. For the idea
of a body hanging on a tree was of public proclamation.
Jos 10:27 It happened at the time of the going down of the sun that Joshua
commanded, and they took them down off the trees-
We see here that one dimension of crucifixion on a tree was public
shame and public instruction. These were all aspects of the Lord's death.
Dt. 21:23 had commanded this taking down bodies of criminals from the tree
where they were exhibited, by evening; even condemned criminals were to be
shown some respect. For after dark wild animals and birds would have eaten
them. We see here reflected how God truly takes no pleasure in the death
of the wicked. We need not unduly fear condemnation, for God doesn't want
to condemn people.
And threw them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves,
and laid great stones on the mouth of the cave-
This was how things had been before they were taken out of the cave
to face judgment. I suggested on :22 that this was all a consciously acted
parable of resurrection, judgment and then returning to the grave in the
second death.
Which remain to this very day-
I would consider the book of Joshua to have largely been written by
Joshua, under Divine inspiration, although edited [again under Divine
inspiration] for the exiles. And the book of Judges likewise. For the
exiles too were set to reestablish God's Kingdom in the land and to
inherit it again as the Israelites first did. The phrase "to this day"
occurs several times in Joshua / Judges, and appears to have different
points of historical reference (Josh. 4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; 8:28,29; 9:27;
10:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10; 22:3; 23:8,9; Jud. 1:26; 6:24; 10:4;
15:19; 18:12). I would explain this by saying that the book was edited a
number of times and the remains of those edits remain in the text. For
God's word is living and made relevant by Him to every generation.
Jos 10:28 Joshua took Makkedah on that day and struck it with the edge of
the sword, with its king. He utterly destroyed them and all the souls who
were in it. He left none remaining. He did to the king of Makkedah as he
had done to the king of Jericho-
See on :21. The people of Makkedah were terrified of the Israelites,
they were as dogs too scared to even open their mouths against them (:21).
"Utterly destroyed" is the word used for destruction or devotion to
Yahweh. It seems that all the Canaanites had the opportunity for
repentance. The trumpet blasts were to be understood by the people of
Jericho as a call to repentance, which they ignored (Am. 3:6; Is. 18:3).
This would then explain why the cities were devoted to Yahweh in
destruction, which was the punishment for a city which turned away from
Yahweh (Dt. 13:12-14).
Jos 10:29 Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah,
and fought against Libnah-
"All Israel" could suggest that the ordinary people accompanied the
soldiers. Or as often in Joshua, "the people" are paralleled with "the men of
war". The idea may be that ordinary unarmed civilians also accompanied
them; or that the "men of war" were representative of the people. For it
was to be their conquest. The land was to be taken by "them", the people,
and not simply due to military actions.
Jos 10:30 Yahweh delivered it also, with its king, into the hand of
Israel. He struck it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls who
were in it. He left none remaining in it. He did to its king as he had
done to the king of Jericho-
See on :29. The comment of Josh. 24:13 is that the Israelites lived
in such cities, in houses which they had not built. We wonder whether they
simply picked up the idols they found there and began worshipping them.
Jos 10:31 Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, to Lachish,
and encamped against it, and fought against it-
The very same phrase is to be used of how the Assyrians "encamped
against" these very same cities and fought against them (2 Chron. 32:1;
Is. 37:8). And it was Yahweh who "encamped against" them (s.w. Is. 29;3),
manifest in the Assyrians. The Assyrian and Babylonian campaigns against
Israel were therefore conscious inversions of Joshua's victories at this
time. The obvious reason for it was that God's people had become like the
Canaanites, and were being judged as they were.
Jos 10:32 Yahweh delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel. He took it on
the second day, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with all the
souls who were in it, according to all that he had done to Libnah-
Striking a city with the edge of the sword and completely destroying
all life within it was what Israel did to the cities of Canaan (Josh.
10:32 etc.). But the phrase is that of Dt. 13:15, about what should be
done to an apostate Israelite city who turned to idolatry. This explains
why the account of Joshua's campaigns list cities like Libnah and Lachish,
against which the Assyrians "encamped" and fought against them (2 Chron.
32:1; Is. 37:8 = Josh. 10:31). Israel were judging the Canaanite cities
for their idolatry; the fact they committed the same meant that they were
more than hypocritical. They had done that which they had judged. And they
thereby become a warning for us.
Jos 10:33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua
struck him and his people, until he had left him none remaining-
God continues His style of bringing the Canaanite kings into
engagement with Joshua. Clearly it was His will that Israel should assume
full control of Canaan. Lachish has been the subject of extended
archaeological research, and all the evidence is that at the time of the
conquest, it was heavily supported by Egypt and had many indications of
Egyptian presence and culture. Perhaps the shedding of so much blood was
psychologically necessary for Israel to feel they were taking vengeance
upon Egypt.
Jos 10:34 Joshua passed from Lachish, and all Israel with him, to Eglon;
and they encamped against it and fought against it-
The repeated references to Joshua and the people 'passing' from town
to town (:29,31,34) are another of the many connections with Abraham when
he first entered the land. For he too "passed through the land... and the
Canaanite was then in the land" (Gen. 12:6 s.w.). Israel were being taught
that they were indeed the seed of Abraham, and were to have his faith.
Circumstances are at times arranged in our lives, so that we too may
perceive the similarities between ourselves and Biblical characters whose
faith we are to follow.
Jos 10:35 They took it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the
sword. He utterly destroyed all the souls who were in it that day,
according to all that he had done to Lachish-
"On that day" contrasts with taking Lachish on the second day (:32).
The idea is that there was no lengthy siege, but the cities fell almost
immediately. If indeed literally all the inhabitants were slain (but see
on :39), then the amount of blood shed was huge. This was genocide on a
scale perhaps unequalled in Biblical history. Every few days the
Israelites were personally slaying thousands of people. The psychological
trauma on the murderers would have been huge. For they likely had no very
advanced weapons capable of killing large numbers of people very easily.
See on :33.
Jos 10:36 Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron;
and they fought against it-
Joshua took Hebron but Israel did not follow up
his victory, and the local inhabitants returned; Caleb then took it (Josh.
15:13), but again, by Samson's time, the Philistines were back. See on
:37. It's rather like the constant cycle of purges of idolatry throughout
Israel's history. The victories of a few great individual reformers failed
to touch the people. And that is perhaps the abiding tragedy of God's
people.
Jos 10:37 They took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, with its
king and all its cities, and all the souls who were in it. He left none
remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but he utterly
destroyed it, and all the souls who were in it-
I suggest on :39 that "none remaining" may not be literally true. For
Hebron was soon in Canaanite hands again (Josh. 15:39) and was again in
Samson's time. The victories of Joshua were simply not followed up by
Israel, and this becomes the tragedy of how the victory of the Lord Jesus
is also not followed up by us as it should be.
Jos 10:38 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought
against it-
Again, as lamented on :37, Joshua's victory against Debir wasn't
followed up by God's people; for we find the Canaanites again living there
soon afterwards (Josh. 11:21; 15:15). Israel were too easily
satisfied with a parcel of land to call their own; and that is the danger
in modern society too. All wider vision of God's Kingdom and the potential
possible is subsumed beneath the mire of mediocrity.
Jos 10:39 He took it, with its king and all its towns. They struck them
with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls who were
in it. He left none remaining. As he had done to Hebron, so he did to
Debir and to its king; as he had done also to Libnah and to its king-
"He left none remaining" may not mean that literally everyone was
killed. For the phrase is used by Jeremiah of how "none escaped nor
remained" in Jerusalem as a result of the Babylonian invasion (Lam. 2:22).
And yet clearly some did (see on :35). There was in fact a 'remnant' which
remained although in a broader sense 'none remained'.. This would explain
why there were still Canaanites who remained after Joshua's campaigns, and
who grew up again to be thorns in Israel's side, especially in the period
of the Judges.
Jos 10:40 So Joshua struck all the land, the hill country, the South, the
lowland, the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but he
utterly destroyed all that breathed, as Yahweh the God of Israel
commanded-
Joshua was very good at obedience to clear commandments (Josh.
4:10,17; 8:27; 10:40). But when he had to articulate his faith in God in
unexpected situations, e.g. when the ambassadors from Gibeon arrived, or
when the first attack on Ai failed, he seems to have performed poorly.
Legalistic obedience is no use in those cases when principles need to be
applied. Josh. 5:13,14 can be read as a rebuke of Joshua, wanting to boil
everything down to black and white, wanting to see God as either
personally for him or against him; when the essence is to seek to discern
and do God’s will. He very strictly adhered to God’s commandments with
legalistic obedience, e.g., about how to approach and deal with Jericho,
or how to cross the flooded Jordan and build an altar; and time and again,
we read in Joshua of how he strictly relayed and obeyed the Divine
commandments given by Moses (Josh. 8:31,33,35; 11:12,15,20; 14:2,5; 17:4;
21:2,8). Yet as with any literalistic or legally minded person, it was
hard for Joshua to apply the principles behind the laws to situations
which weren’t specifically addressed by Divine revelation, where
legalistic obedience wasn't what was required.
Jos 10:41 Joshua struck them from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the
country of Goshen, even to Gibeon-
This marks the extent of the conquered territory; from Gibeon on the
east to Gaza / Goshen in the south west, on the border of Egypt; to Kadesh
Barnea in the south east. It would have been strange for Joshua to return
to Kadesh Barnea, from where he had been sent out as a spy 40 years
previously. "Goshen" could be the town in Judah of Josh. 15:51,
but "the country of Goshen" could also refer to the area where the
Israelites had lived in Egypt.
Jos 10:42 Joshua took all these kings and their land at one time, because
Yahweh, the God of Israel, fought for Israel-
See on :12. The comment that so much was achieved "at one time" may hint at a compression of time to enable it.
The reference appears to be to the effects of this one day, rather than a
general statement. For overall, God did not give Israel the land "at one
time" in the sense of an extended period, but rather drove the nations out
relatively slowly (Dt. 7:22). Or perhaps God's ideal intention for Israel
wasn't fulfilled, and therefore according to some later plan of action, He
gave Israel the land "at one time" (Josh. 10:42).
Jos 10:43 Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal-
This repeats :15; see note there for why this is.
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