Joshua 11


Joshua 11 is the eleventh chapter of the Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible or in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to Joshua, with additions by the high priests Eleazar and Phinehas, but modern scholars view it as part of the Deuteronomistic History, which spans the books of Deuteronomy to 2 Kings, attributed to nationalistic and devotedly Yahwistic writers during the time of the reformer Judean king Josiah in 7th century BCE. This chapter focuses on the conquest of the land of Canaan by the Israelites under the leadership of Joshua, a part of a section comprising Joshua 5:13–12:24 about the conquest of Canaan.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 23 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.

Analysis

The narrative of the Israelites conquering the land of Canaan comprises verses 5:13 to 12:24 of the Book of Joshua and has the following outline:

Victory over the Northern Alliance (11:1–15)

The narrative of the northern conquest begins with the familiar formula,'when x heard'—here Jabin, king of Hazor, who then formed an alliance with kings around the area to prepare for the battle against the Israelites. No specific military or strategic plan is detailed of a march north by Joshua and Israel, except for an image of a surprise attack to the alliance camp at Merom. The fulfilment of YHWH's command is the most important element in the narrative of Joshua's success, which also includes the hamstringing of the Canaanites' horses and the burning of their chariots. The following conquest extends to the Mediterranean far to the north at Sidon, then turning south-eastwards over Lake Huleh towards Hazor, which is burned after the execution of the herem, whereas other cities are also destroyed, but not burned.

Verses 1–3

  • "Jabin": this name is associated with a later defeat of the same city of Hazor in Judges 4–5, which may indicate a dynastic appellation.
  • "Hazor" was the largest city in Joshua's time of conquest, with as many as 40,000 inhabitants, perhaps ten times larger than Jerusalem, based on the information from extra-biblical ancient documents such as the Amarna letters. Archaeology explorations reveal that this city was burnt in the thirteenth century BCE —as recorded in Judges 4–5, implying some revival in city's fortunes in the period after Joshua— not to be rebuilt as a fortified city again until the time of Solomon.

    Summaries of taking the land (11:16–23)

Verses 16–20 summarize the area of the land now under Israel's control, from south to north — Mount Halak on the borderland of Edom in the far south-east; Baal-gad near Mt. Hermon in the far north. The victory over the kings of the land is emphasized by a repetition, with the exception of Gibeon, underlined by the rationale: God 'hardened their hearts' against Israel, so that they might be utterly destroyed. The Anakim had inspired fear in Israel, when the spies first surveyed the land, but the report of the victory here removed the misplaced fear, and witnesses the promise fulfillment of Deuteronomy 9:1–3. The phrase 'the land had rest from war' recalls Deuteronomy 12:10, which anticipates the life of Israel in the land after all wars are won and the land is divided among all tribes.

Verse 23

This verse summarizes the activities recorded in the book thus far. The note that the land was divided for the tribes of Israel and that the land rested were past events for the narrator, but are still future in the narrative.
  • "The whole land" refers to 'the territory west of the Jordan River' that was conquered under Joshua's leadership, because the area east of Jordan was taken under the leadership of Moses.