Joshua 11, Conquest of the Northern Kingdoms

The Israelites have subdued much of southern Canaan and overcome a dozen small kingdoms or more.  We now move into the northern kingdoms of Canaan.

Joshua 11: 1-5, The king of Hazor organizes opposition

When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph, and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the western foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west; to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots--a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.

    

All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.

This paragraph mimics the beginnings of the previous chapter.  Here the northern kings unite. The king of Hazor, out of fear of this new power in the region, organizes opposition to Israel.  The army is said to be "huge"and "as numerous as the sand on the seashore," a clear example of hyperbole.

(NIV footnotes: In verse 2, "in Naphoth Dor" may mean "in the heights of Dor.")

Joshua 11: 6-8, YHWH is with Joshua

The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots."

    

So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left.

Despite the "huge" army, God leads Joshua to victory.

Joshua 11: 9-12, "Total destruction"

Joshua did to them as the LORD had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

     

At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.)  Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anything that breathed, and he burned up Hazor itself. Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.

Once again, the author emphasizes "total destruction".   As always, the NIV footnotes explain that the Hebrew word for that phrase really means "completely devoted to God."

Joshua 11: 13-15, Hazor burned

Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds--except Hazor, which Joshua burned. The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed.

    

As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.

In verse 15, we are reminded that Joshua has followed Moses in obedience to God.

Joshua 11: 16-20, Region conquered

So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. 

    

He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death.

    

Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time.

     

Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Joshua has waged three campaigns in Canaan.  In the first chapters we see the Israelites cross the Jordan and move into the land around Jericho, just north of modern Jerusalem, in the center of Canaan.  In chapter 10, the Israelites conquer southern Canaan (Jerusalem and south) and in this chapter, they conquer northern Canaan.

Below, from a website of Garry Stevens, is a map of the three campaigns of Joshua.

(This map was found here.)

Joshua 11: 21-23, Rest

At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.

    

So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

Israel's conquest is complete and finally the land has rest.

The concept of "rest", for the land and the people, will reappear at various places in the Old Testament and New Testament. The concept will be capped off by the New Testament letter to the Hebrews, which argues that although Yəhōšua (Joshua) brought rest to the land of Israel, only MessiahYēšūaʿ  (Yeshua, an alternate form of Joshua) could bring permanent rest to the people of Israel.