Joshua 10

Adonizedec was the king of Jerusalem. He heard that Joshua had captured Ai and completely destroyed it. Joshua had done to Ai and its king exactly what he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were now living among them.

1Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; 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;

Note"Utterly destroyed" translates a Hebrew term (herem) for a practice in which a captured town was handed over to God entirely: nothing was kept as plunder and no inhabitants were spared. It was a religious act, not ordinary looting, and the same word is used throughout this chapter. (Jerusalem at this point is a Canaanite city with its own king; Israel does not hold it until David's time, centuries later.) The peace treaty with Gibeon was made in the previous chapter, after the Gibeonites disguised themselves as travelers from far away and tricked Israel into swearing an oath to spare them.

2Adonizedec and his people were very afraid, because Gibeon was a large city, as big as one of the cities where a king lived. It was larger than Ai, and all its men were strong fighters.

2That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

NoteGibeon is compared to a royal city rather than called one because, unlike its neighbors, it had no king of its own; the previous chapter shows it governed by its elders. Adonizedec's alarm is partly at a large armed city switching sides.

3So Adonizedec king of Jerusalem sent this message to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon:

3Wherefore Adonizedec king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,

NoteA "king" in Canaan at this time ruled a single walled city and the villages around it, not a country. Several such kings existed within a day or two's march of each other, which is why five of them can combine here.

4"Come up here and help me. Let's attack Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and the people of Israel."

4Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.

5So the five Amorite kings joined forces: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. They and all their armies marched up, set up camp facing Gibeon, and attacked it.

5Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

Note"Amorite" is used in these books both for a particular people and, as here, as a broad label for the inhabitants of the Canaanite hill country.

6The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal: "Don't hold back from helping us, your servants. Come to us quickly. Save us and help us, because all the Amorite kings who live in the hill country have joined together against us."

6And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.

NoteGilgal was Israel's base camp on the plain near Jericho, close to the Jordan and far below Gibeon in altitude (hence "come up." The march was roughly twenty miles, climbing some three thousand feet.) Calling themselves Joshua's "servants" is treaty language: by the agreement of the previous chapter Gibeon had become a subject ally, which obliged Israel to defend it.

7So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his whole army, including all the best fighting men.

7So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valour.

8The LORD said to Joshua, "Don't be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to stand against you."

8And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.

9Joshua marched all night from Gilgal and attacked them by surprise.

9Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.

10The LORD threw the enemy into confusion in front of Israel. Israel defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them up the road toward Bethhoron, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

10And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.

NoteBeth-horon was a pair of villages, Upper and Lower, on the main road running from the hill country down to the coastal plain. The road drops steeply between them, which is why the enemy is described first as being chased up toward Beth-horon and then, in the next verse, fleeing down the slope.

11As they ran from Israel down the slope from Bethhoron, the LORD threw large hailstones down on them from the sky, all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.

11And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

12On the day the LORD handed the Amorites over to the people of Israel, Joshua spoke to the LORD. In front of all Israel he said, "Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Ajalon."

12Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

NoteThe Valley of Ajalon lies west of Gibeon, on the plain below the Beth-horon descent. The sun standing over Gibeon and the moon over Ajalon places the two in opposite parts of the sky at once, the picture of a morning when a setting moon and a risen sun are both visible.

13So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation had paid back its enemies. This is written in the book of Jasher: "So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to set for about a full day."

13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

NoteThe Hebrew verbs behind "stood still" and "stayed" mean to stop or to be still, and can also mean to be silent or to cease acting; readers from ancient times onward have disagreed over whether Joshua asks the sun to halt in its course or to hold back its blazing heat. The translation leaves the question open. The book of Jasher ("the upright one") was a collection of poems about Israel's heroes, now lost; it is quoted again at 2 Samuel 1:18. The verse cites it as a source outside this book, which is why the wording shifts into poetry.

14There has never been a day like that one, before or since, when the LORD listened to a man's voice this way. The LORD was fighting for Israel.

14And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

15Then Joshua and all Israel with him went back to the camp at Gilgal.

15And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

NoteThis return to Gilgal comes before the Makkedah episode that follows, and the same sentence appears again at the end of the chapter, verse 43. The oldest Greek translation of Joshua does not have this verse at all. It reads most naturally as the closing line of the older account quoted in verses 12–14, with the narrative then resuming where verse 11 left off.

16The five kings had run away and hidden themselves in a cave at Makkedah.

16But these five kings fled, and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah.

17Joshua was told, "The five kings have been found. They are hiding in the cave at Makkedah."

17And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.

18Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them.

18And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it for to keep them:

19But the rest of you, don't stop. Chase your enemies and strike down the ones at the back. Don't let them get back into their cities, because the LORD your God has handed them over to you."

19And stay ye not, but pursue after your enemies, and smite the hindmost of them; suffer them not to enter into their cities: for the LORD your God hath delivered them into your hand.

20Joshua and the Israelites finished killing them in a very great slaughter, until they were wiped out. The few who survived escaped into cities with walls around them.

20And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them entered into fenced cities.

21The whole army came back safely to Joshua at the camp at Makkedah. No one dared say a word against the Israelites.

21And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel.

NoteThe Hebrew is an idiom, literally that no one "sharpened his tongue" against the Israelites, used for a silence in which not even a word of complaint or defiance is risked.

22Then Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me."

22Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.

23They did so and brought the five kings out of the cave: the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.

23And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

24When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he called together all the men of Israel. He said to the army commanders who had gone with him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks.

24And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

NotePlacing a foot on a defeated enemy's neck was a recognized gesture of total victory across the ancient Near East, shown in Egyptian and Mesopotamian art and referred to in their royal inscriptions. Joshua has the commanders, not himself, perform it, making it a lesson for the army.

25Joshua said to them, "Don't be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and brave, because this is what the LORD will do to every enemy you fight."

25And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

26After that Joshua struck the kings down and killed them. He hung their bodies on five trees, and they hung there until evening.

26And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

NoteThe hanging happens after the kings are killed: the bodies were put on display, a public shaming of the corpse rather than a means of execution.

27At sunset Joshua gave the order, and they took the bodies down from the trees and threw them into the cave where the kings had hidden. Then they piled large stones against the mouth of the cave, and those stones are still there today.

27And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.

NoteTaking the bodies down at sunset follows the rule in Deuteronomy 21:22–23, which forbids leaving an executed body exposed overnight. "Which remain until this very day" is the writer speaking to his own readers, and shows the account was written down long after the events, when the stone-blocked cave could still be pointed out.

28That same day Joshua captured Makkedah and killed everyone in it with the sword, including its king. He completely destroyed every person there and left no one alive. He did to the king of Makkedah what he had done to the king of Jericho.

28And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.

Note"Killed with the sword" renders a Hebrew phrase, literally "struck it to the mouth of the sword," used throughout these chapters as a set formula for capturing a place by force.

29Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it.

29Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:

30The LORD handed that city and its king over to Israel too. Joshua killed everyone in it with the sword and left no one alive there. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho.

30And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel; and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain in it; but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho.

31Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish. They camped around it and attacked it.

31And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it:

32The LORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and they captured it on the second day. Joshua killed everyone in it with the sword, just as he had done at Libnah.

32And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

33Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish, but Joshua struck him down along with his people, until no one was left alive.

33Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish; and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.

NoteNote that Gezer itself is not said to be taken, only its king and the force he brought to Lachish. Gezer stayed in Canaanite hands for centuries afterward (Joshua 16:10; 1 Kings 9:16).

34Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon. They camped around it and attacked it.

34And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon, and all Israel with him; and they encamped against it, and fought against it:

35They captured it that same day and killed everyone in it with the sword. That day Joshua completely destroyed every person there, just as he had done at Lachish.

35And they took it on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

36Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it.

36And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron; and they fought against it:

37They captured it and killed its king, everyone in its surrounding towns, and every person in it with the sword. Joshua left no one alive, just as he had done at Eglon. He completely destroyed the city and everyone in it.

37And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon; but destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.

38Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and attacked it.

38And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it:

39He captured it, along with its king and all its surrounding towns. They killed them with the sword and completely destroyed every person there, leaving no one alive. Joshua did to Debir and its king what he had done to Hebron, and what he had done to Libnah and its king.

39And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.

40So Joshua conquered the whole region: the hill country, the dry southern land, the western foothills, and the mountain slopes, along with all their kings. He left no one alive but completely destroyed everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.

40So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.

NoteThe four regions are the standard geographical divisions of the land west of the Jordan: the central hill country; the Negev, the dry grazing land in the south; the Shephelah, the low foothills between the hills and the coastal plain; and the slopes running down from the hills toward the Dead Sea.

41Joshua conquered them from Kadeshbarnea as far as Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.

41And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even unto Gibeon.

NoteThis Goshen is a district in southern Canaan, later listed among the towns of Judah (Joshua 15:51). It is not the Goshen in Egypt where Israel had lived. Kadesh-barnea is the desert oasis far to the south where Israel had camped during the wilderness years; Gaza is on the Mediterranean coast. The two names mark the outer limits of the area covered, not places Joshua is said to have captured.

42Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

42And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

Note"At one time" means in a single continuous campaign, without returning home between battles, the point being the speed of the whole operation.

43Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal.

43And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.