|  Home  |  Old Testament Studies  |  Joshua Table of Contents  |  Previous Section  |  Next Section  |

JOSHUA 10

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects (reading cycle #3). Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:1-5
 ¹Now it came about when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king), and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were within their land, ²that he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. ³Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron and to Piram king of Jarmuth and to Japhia king of Lachish and to Debir king of Eglan, saying, ⁴"Come up to me and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the sons of Israel." ⁵So 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 together and went up, they with all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

10:1,3 "Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem" This name means "my Lord is just" or "righteous" (BDB 11) and is related etymologically to the title "Melchizedek" (king is/of righteous, BDB 575) who was the priest/king of the city of Salem.

This is the first use of the term "Jerusalem" in the Bible. The Septuagint has "Adoni-bezek" (a place name). The city was originally called "Salem" (cf. Gen. 14:18). Later, it is called Jebus (cf. Jdg. 19:10,11; 1 Chr. 11:4). It was given to Benjamin but it is right on the border with Judah. The lower city was captured in Joshua's day but the upper city (fortress) was not captured until David's day (cf. 2 Sam. 5:6ff). We learn from the archaeological discovery of the Amarna tablets, around 1400 b.c., that they called the city "Urusalem."

SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, JERUSALEM, ZION

▣ "utterly destroyed" This refers to the Hebrew concept of "holy war" called the herem (BDB 355, KB 353, Hiphil IMPERFECT). This meant that a city (i.e., Ai) was dedicated to God; it became so holy that everything that breathed, including men and animals, must be killed. We see this same kind of situation at the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6).

SPECIAL TOPIC: CURSE (OT)

▣ "had made peace" This VERB (BDB 1023, KB 1532, Hiphil PERFECT) means "to finish" or "to bring to completion" (e.g., 2 Sam. 10:19; 2 Kgs. 22:44), therefore, it denotes the results of their covenant with Joshua (cf. Jos. 10:4; 9:15).

10:2 "feared" This VERB (BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT with waw) is used several times in Joshua

1. revere ‒ Jos. 4:14, Moses
2. revere ‒ Jos. 4:24; 22:25; 24:14, YHWH
3. fear ‒ Jos. 8:1; 10:8; 11:6, YHWH tells Joshua to not fear
4. fear ‒ Jos. 9:24; 10:2, the Gibeonites and Jerusalemites fear Israel
5. fear ‒ Jos. 10:25, Joshua tells Israel to not fear

SPECIAL TOPIC: FEAR (OT)

▣ "Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities" Although it was large and well fortified like one of the royal cities, it was not one because it apparently had no king and was in a league with several other cities (cf. Jos. 9:17).

▣ "all its men were mighty" This is a word play between

1. Gibeon (BDB 149)
2. "great" (BDB 152)
3. "mighty" (gibborim, BDB 150).

10:3 "Hebron. . .Jarmuth. . .Lachish. . .Eglon" These sites are all located in the southern hill country of Judah and Benjamin. The inhabitants were all of Amorite descent. We also learn from the Amarna tablets that all of these cities appear in this ancient document except for the city of Hebron which was also called "Kiriath-arba" (cf. Jos. 20:7). This, again, shows the historicity of this account.

10:4 Notice the verbal commands.

1. "Come up with me," BDB 748, KB 828, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. "Help me," BDB 740, KB 810, Qal IMPERATIVE
3. "Let us attack," BDB 645, KB 679, Hiphil IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense

10:5 "camped by" This refers to a siege.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:6-11
 ⁶Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us." ⁷So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and all the valiant warriors. ⁸The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you." ⁹So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night from Gilgal. ¹⁰And the Lord confounded them before Israel, and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of the ascent of Beth-horon and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-horon, the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

10:6 Israel's covenant with Gibeon promised military protection.

Verse 6 contains several IMPERATIVES in the message the Gibeonites sent to Joshua.

1. "do not abandon your servants" (lit. "slacken your hands"), BDB 951, KB 1276, Hiphil JUSSIVE, cf. Jos. 1:5; Deut. 4:31; Ps. 138:8
2. "come up to us quickly," BDB 748, KB 828, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Jos. 10:4
3. "save us," BDB 446, KB 448, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
4. "help us," BDB 740, KB 810, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. Jos. 10:4

Numbers 3 and 4 are used synonymously.

▣ "Amorites" See SPECIAL TOPIC: PRE-ISRAELITE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE.

Are there two groups of fighting men or two designations of one large group? The second phrase is used several times in Joshua (cf. Jos. 1:14; 8:3; 10:7 and also Jdg. 6:12; 11:1). From the usage in Jos. 8:3 it seems to refer to two groups (regular soldiers and an elite group of special soldiers, NET), but LXX, JPSOA, and REB traanslations suggest one group.

10:8 "Do not fear them" The VERB (BDB 431, KB 432) is a Qal IMPERFECT, used in a JUSSIVE sense. It is a recurrent message of God to His people.

1. Abraham ‒ Gen. 15:1
2. Hagar ‒ Gen. 21:17
3. Isaac ‒ Gen. 26:24
4. Israel (by Moses) ‒ Exod. 14:13; 20:20; Deut. 1:21; 20:3; 31:6
5. Israel (by Joshua) ‒ Jos. 8:1; 10:25

▣ "for I have given them into your hands" This is a recurrent Hebrew idiom of military defeat (cf. Deut. 7:24; Jos. 6:2; 8:1,18).

SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND

▣ "not one of them shall stand before you" This is another Hebrew idiom of military defeat (cf. Deut. 7:24; 11:25; Jos. 1:5; 23:9)

▣ It is interesting to me to see the relationship between the sovereign word of God recorded in Jos. 10:8 and the required human effort recorded in Jos. 10:9 and 11. Although God assured them of the victory, they still had to prepare for the battle and form a strategy to defeat the Canaanites. It is this tension between God's sovereignty and man's free will that is found so often in the Bible.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ELECTION/PREDESTINATION AND THE NEED FOR A THEOLOGICAL BALANCE

SPECIAL TOPIC: PRE-DESTINATION (CALVINISM) VS. HUMAN FREE WILL (ARMINIANISM)

▣ This chapter expresses well the concept of holy war as YHWH's judgment against the Canaanites (cf. Gen. 15:16; Lev. 18:24-28).

1. YHWH's own statements, Jos. 10:8
2. the narrator, Jos. 10:10-11,14,30,42
3. Joshua's words, Jos. 10:19,25

10:9 "by marching all night" This was no small effort to save a Canaanite population. Israel felt bound to Gibeon by Joshua's covenant oath.

▣ "from Gilgal" In Hebrew "Gilgal" means "circle" (BDB 166). It was the first campsite of the Jews as they crossed the Jordan River. See fuller note at Jos. 9:6. Apparently the five kings of these large city states in southern Canaan had attacked Gibeon because they had made peace with the Israelites.

This VERB (BDB 243, KB 251) is often used with YHWH as the SUBJECT (cf. Exod. 14:24; 23:27; Deut. 7:23; Jos. 10:10; Jdg. 4:15; 1 Sam. 7:10; 2 Chr. 15:6) and is part of the technical terminology of "holy war" (herem).

All of the VERBS in Jos. 10:10 are SINGULAR, implying that they refer to YHWH (notice Jos. 10:11 and Jos. 10:12), but the suffixes are PLURAL, implying Israel. In reality YHWH is the power and Israel the instrument of His power.

1. "confounded/confused," BDB 243, KB 251, Qal IMPERFECT with waw
2. "slew," BDB 645, KB 697, Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw
3. "pursued," BDB 922, KB 1191, Qal IMPERFECT with waw
4. "struck," BDB 645, KB 697, Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw

▣ "the ascent of Beth-horon. . .Azekah and Makkedah" These geographical sites are uncertain. We are not sure whether the first is to the east or to the west of Gibeon. The last two are to the south.

10:11 "the Lord threw large stones from heaven on them" Here is God using natural means with supernatural timing, location, and intensity (exactly like the plagues of Egypt). In reality more of the enemy died from the hailstones (cf. Isa. 30:30) than from the Israelites' sword. This shows the tension between Jos. 10:8 and 9 in a different way.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:12-14
 ¹²Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon." ¹³So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.

10:12 "O sun, stand still at Gibeon" Verses 12b-13 are a poem (from the book of Jashar) which shows God's control of nature. As He controlled the hailstones, He can

1. slow down or stop the rotation of the earth (cf. Isa. 38:7-8)
2. stop the morning light (this is the meaning of the Hebrew "stand still," literally, "be silent," BDB 198, KB 226, Qal IMPERATIVE in Jos. 10:12 and Qal IMPERFECT with waw in Jos. 10:13, e.g., 1 Sam. 18:9; Jer. 47:6); and thereby keep the sun from shining on the Israelis who were traveling by night to reach Gibeon or allowing them to move up undetected (cf. Jos. 10:10)
3. send a storm that darkened the day (i.e., made it cooler for the tired Israeli troops). It is uncertain whether this is merely a poetic account (cf. Jdg. 5:20) or if it is to be taken literally (cf. Isa. 38:7-8), as the sun actually stood still
   1. longer night
   2. longer day
   3. darkness of a storm), or shined less brightly (i.e., cooler)

For those who believe in a supernatural God exactly what happened is not as important as knowing that God is sovereign over time, history, and nature. Theologically this shows YHWH's control over the heavenly bodies (Babylonian deities). These astral gods must now help the Israelites conquer the Canaanites.

10:13 "book of Jashar" Jashar means "upright" (BDB 449). This book was an ancient Israeli collection of war poems. It is also mentioned in 2 Sam. 1:17ff. This book has been lost except for the biblical quotes.

10:14 "There was no day like that before it or after it, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man" This is a strange phrase. It may be part of the poem from the book of Jashar. YHWH responded to Joshua's prayer request. All of the other military strategies were given by YHWH; this miracle was possibly Joshua's idea.

▣ "for the Lord fought for Israel" This VERB (BDB 535, KB 526, Niphal PARTICIPLE) is used several times for YHWH's acting on Israel's behalf (cf. Jos. 10:42; 23:3,10; Exod. 14:14; Deut. 1:30; 3:22; 20:4). This is where the imagery of YHWH as the diviine warrior comes from.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:15
 ¹⁵Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp to Gilgal.

10:15 "all Israel" This refers to the military troops who traveled all night to reach Gibeon, not to all of those who came out of Egypt.

This verse seems out of place. Surely Joshua did not return to Gilgal until after the military events described in Jos. 10:16-21. The NASB, 1970 edition, makes it part of the paragraph which includes poetry from the book of Jashar (i.e., part of Jos. 10:12-13), possibly the quote extends through Jos. 10:15.

It is also possible that Gilgal refers to another city close to Shechem.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:16-21
 ¹⁶ Now these five kings had fled and hidden themselves in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷It was told Joshua, saying, "The five kings have been found hidden in the cave at Makkedah." ¹⁸Joshua said, "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and assign men by it to guard them, ¹⁹but do not stay there yourselves; pursue your enemies and attack them in the rear. Do not allow them to enter their cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand." ²⁰It came about when Joshua and the sons of Israel had finished slaying them with a very great slaughter, until they were destroyed, and the survivors who remained of them had entered the fortified cities, ²¹that all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace. No one uttered a word against any of the sons of Israel.

10:18-19 These verses contain several commands from Joshua.

1. "Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave," BDB 164, KB 193, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. "Assign men to guard them," BDB 823, KB 955, Hiphil IMPERATIVE plus BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
3. "Do not stay there yourselves," BDB 763, KB 840, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
4. "Pursue your enemies," BDB 922, KB 1191, Qal IMPERATIVE

A Translator's Handbook on the Book of Joshua, from United Bible Societies, suggests that #2 may refer to local Gibeonites who showed Joshua the cave (p. 146).

This refers to the rear guard (cf. Duet. 25:18). Israel was to aggressively attack and continue to attack until all were dead—no mercy, holy war!

10:21 "all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah" Verses 15 and 43 state that the camp was at Gilgal. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Jos. 10:21 and 43 are omitted. Possibly, the campsite mentioned in Jos. 10:21 was a temporary one and the main camp was still at the original site, Gilgal.

This was a Hebrew idiom of contempt (literally, "to cut" or "to sharpen," BDB 358, KB 356, Qal PERFECT, cf. Exod. 11:7), which refers to other Canaanite tribes. As YHWH did in His victory over Egypt, so now He does a similar thing (silence the Canaanites, i.e. Exod. 11:7).

Notice the possible ways to understand the VERB and OBJECT.

1. no Israelites were hurt/wounded in the battle
2. no Israelite spoke negatively of the military action
3. no Canaanite spoke badly of Israel
4. no Canaanite tribe thought of attacking Israel

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:22-27
 ²²Then Joshua said, "Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave." ²³They did so, and brought these five kings out to him from 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 these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came near and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵Joshua then said to them, "Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the Lord will do to all your enemies with whom you fight." ²⁶So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening. ²⁷It came about at sunset that Joshua gave a command, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

10:22 Here are two more commands from Joshua.

1. "open," BDB 834, KB 986, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. "bring out," BDB 422, KB 425, Hiphil IMPERATIVE

10:24 Here again are two more commands from Joshua.

1. "come near," BDB 897, KB 1132, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. "put," BDB 962, KB 1321, Qal IMPERATIVE

Notice the repetitive form of Hebrew narrative (two Qal IMPERATIVES; two Qal IMPERFECTS).

▣ "put your feet on the necks of these kings" The term "neck" (BDB 848) was a symbol of strength. This is an idiom of the complete defeat and subservience (cf. Deut. 33:29; 1 Kgs. 5:3; Ps. 110:1) of these Canaanite kings.

10:24 The surviving warriors and leaders were subjected to humiliating treatment in the Ancient Near East. There are several verbal metaphors used which may be derived from actual events.

1. putting your foot on the neck of the defeated foe
   1. Gen. 49:8
   2. Jos. 10:24
2. treading on the enemy
   1. 2 Sam. 22:39
   2. Ps. 44:5
   3. Ps. 60:12
   4. Ps. 108:13
   5. Isa. 63:3 (of YHWH)
      (this may relate to Gen. 3:15)
3. vanquished as footstool
   1. 1 Kgs. 5:3
   2. Ps. 18:38
   3. Ps. 47:3
   4. Ps. 110:1
      (a-c may relate to metaphor #2)

10:25 "Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous" Again this verse contains several commands from Joshua. YHWH is symbolically speaking through him.

1. "do not fear," BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
2. "do not be dismayed," BDB 369, KB 365, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
3. "be strong," BDB 304, KB 307, Qal IMPERATIVE
4. "be courageous," BDB 54, KB 65, Qal IMPERATIVE

This is the exact same message that God gave to Joshua. Faith is crucial (cf. Deut. 20:8; Jdg. 7:3).

10:26-27 "he hung them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening" The five kings were first killed with swords (i.e., struck) and then impaled on a stake. From Deut. 21:22,23 we learn what a humiliating act this was in the eyes of the Jews. To be unburied was worse than being dead. We can see how Joshua used this as a sign to ridicule this united Canaanite opposition to the Israeli advance.

SPECIAL TOPIC: HANG

10:27 "to this very day" This is the textual mark of a later editor.

SPECIAL TOPIC: LATER EDITORIAL ADDITIONS TO DEUTERONOMY

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:28
 ²⁸Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Thus he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

10:28 Makkedah was also under the herem (BDB 355, KB 353, Hiphil PERFECT) as Jericho and Ai (good article in NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 368-369) had been. Libnah would be also (cf. Jos. 10:29-39), as well as Lachish (good article in NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 862-864), Gezer, Eglon, Hebron (good article in NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 698-700), and Debir.

▣ "he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it. He left no survivor" The holy war (herem, cf. Jos. 8:8) judgment is repeated several times (Hiphil, cf. Jos. 8:22; 10:28,30,33,39,40; 11:8,14; Num. 21:35; Deut. 2:34; 3:3).

SPECIAL TOPIC: CURSE (OT)

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:29-30
 ²⁹Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah, and fought against Libnah. ³⁰The Lord gave it also with its king into the hands of Israel, and he struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor in it. Thus he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

10:30 Just as in Jos. 10:10, the VERBS are SINULAR:

1. YHWH gave ‒ BDB 678, KB 733, Qal IMPERFECT with waw
2. he struck it ‒ BDB 645, KB 697, Hiphil IMPERFECT with waw
3. he left no survivor ‒ BDB 983, KB 1375, Hiphil PERFECT
4. he did to its king just as he had done to the king of Jericho ‒ BDB 793, KB 889, Qal IMPERFECT with waw and Qal PERFECT

This could refer to Joshua as YHWH's instrument of judgment through conquest or theologically, like Jos. 10:10, of the power and victory belonging to YHWH.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:31-32
 ³¹And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³²The Lord gave Lachish into the hands of Israel; and he captured it on the second day, and struck it and every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:33
 ³³Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lchish and Joshua defeated him and his people until he had left him no survivor.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:34-35
 ³⁴And Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon, and they camped by it and fought against it. ³⁵They captured it on that day and struck it with the edge of the sword; and he utterly destroyed that day every person who was in it, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:36-37
 ³⁶Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron, and they fought against it. ³⁷They captured it and struck it and its king and all its cities and all the persons who were in it with the edge of the sword. He left no survivor, according to all that he had done to Eglon. And he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it.

10:36-37 The capture of Hebron is a good example of conflicting data or partial data recorded in the OT. There are several different traditions about its capture.

1. Jos. 10:36-37 ‒ Joshua completely destroyed it, its leadership and its surrounding villages
2. Jos. 14:6-14; Jdg. 1:20 ‒ Caleb captured the city, its hills and its Anakim (giants) inhabitants
3. Judg. 1:10 ‒ Judah captured the city, its hills and the descendants of Anak (the giants)

This is one of many examples of the confusion which modern interpreters face in trying to sort out the historical aspects of this period. It is helpful to remember that the OT is a combination of history and theology. It is not modern, western, chronological, cause and effect, recording of events! We may not know the exact details of the military encounters but the covenant theology is consistent!

SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS USED FOR TALL/POWERFUL WARRIORS OR PEOPLE GROUPS (giants)

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:38-39
 ³⁸Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Debir, and they fought against it. ³⁹He captured it and its king and all its cities, and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed every person who was in it. He left no survivor. Just as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, as he had also done to Libnah and its king.

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): JOSHUA 10:40-43
 ⁴⁰ Thus Joshua struck all the land, the hill country and the Negev and the lowland and the slopes and all their kings. He left no survivor, but he utterly destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea even as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen even as far as Gibeon. ⁴²Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

10:40-43 These verses are a geographical summary of the military campaign up to this point (i.e., southern Canaan). Notice the continued use of the term "utterly destroy all who breathe." Again, this refers to humans and animals because they became dedicated to God (i.e., herem, BDB 355).

10:40 In Jos. 10:40 several topological and geographical areas are mentioned.

1. "the hill country," BDB 249, refers to the highlands of Judah, cf. Jos. 11:3,21; 15:48; 18:12; 20:7; 21:11 (not 11:2)
2. "the Negev," BDB 616, means the semi-arid pasture lands of southern Judah, cf. Jos. 15:19,21-23
3. "the lowlands," BDB 1050, strip of land west of the Judean hill country, cf. Jos. 15:33 (not 11:2)
4. "the slopes," BDB 78, the hillsides to the east of the Judean hills, sloping toward the Dead Sea, cf. Jos. 12:8 (on eastern side of Jordan, cf. Jos. 12:3; 13:20; Deut. 3:17; 4:49)

10:41 "Gaza" See a good article in NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 652-653.

▣ "Goshen" The land of Goshen mentioned here is not the one in Egypt, but the one in Canaan (cf. Jos. 15:51).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. Why did these Canaanite kings attack one of their own cities?
2. How is 10:12-13 related to the concept of natural law?
3. Why did Joshua hang the dead kings on trees until dark?
4. What does the term "holy war" imply and why?

|  Home  |  Old Testament Studies  |  Joshua Table of Contents  |  Previous Section  |  Next Section  |

Copyright © 2014 Bible Lessons International