Joshua 10 Study Notes

10:1 King Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem was the leader of the key city in the region of the Gibeonites. The name may mean “my lord is righteous.” The second element of the name, (Hb) tsedeq, also occurs with Melchizedek king of (Jeru-)Salem in Gn 14. Some have suggested here a dynastic name that is used of the leader of Jerusalem in succeeding generations.

10:2 Adoni-zedek had heard about Joshua’s victory against Ai, and he and his people were greatly alarmed. This suggests that things had returned to what they were in 5:1, where all the Canaanites were fearful of Israel. Gibeon lay immediately north of Jerusalem, dominating the plateau and providing key strategic routes to the coastal plain on the west and to the Jordan Valley on the east. Gibeon’s defection threatened Jerusalem’s trade and contact with the north as well as the west and east. If all the men of Gibeon were warriors, this suggests a warlike town whose sole reason for being was to wage war and collect tribute from defeated enemies. If Gibeon joined Israel’s side, it could no longer be counted upon to remain loyal to Jerusalem, thus posing a threat.

10:3 The names of the kings of these towns preserve authentic forms and elements of names found in Canaanite Palestine between 1500 and 1200 BC. The towns themselves included three (Hebron . . . Lachish, and Eglon) that formed a line of towns south of Jerusalem and across the entire Judean hill country and desert. The town of Jarmuth, probably identified with modern Tel Yarmut, lay to the east of Jerusalem between the Sorek and Elah Valleys that stretched east-west and formed major access routes between the coastal plain and the area of Jerusalem.

10:4-5 Verse 4 recalls the only Canaanite correspondence between Canaanite kings in the Bible. The need to attack Gibeon was based on their peace treaty with Israel. The fact that local towns and cities had their own armies is known from the fourteenth-century BC Amarna Letters, where many of the towns were so defended. These local militias largely disappeared after the rise of the Israelite monarchy.

10:6 Gibeon’s appeal to Joshua and the Israelites was based on their peace treaty of 9:15. This agreement, while requiring Gibeonites to serve Israel, also assumed that Gibeon would be protected from its enemies by the stronger party, Israel. Such was a common arrangement for suzerain-vassal treaties in the ancient Near East.

10:7-43 This section describes the battle by using a series of perspectives. There is often a summary description, such as here in vv. 7-10, followed by more details in the text. The work of God, as Israel’s leader in the war, is described first (vv. 11-15). Then there is consideration of the leaders of the enemy coalition (vv. 16-27) and details of battles with the towns in the southern coalition (vv. 28-40). Finally, there is a summary and a note on Israel’s return to camp.

10:8 God’s admonition to Joshua to not be afraid of them occurred previously in 8:1 in anticipation of the battle and victory over Ai. See also 1:9 and the promise that not one of them will be able to stand against you (1:5).

10:9 The idea of marching all night was not unprecedented in the ancient world, but it was not common because it could exhaust the soldiers and thus ruin their effectiveness.

10:10 As at the victory against Egypt at the exodus (Ex 14:24), God threw them into confusion before Israel. This tactic is characteristic of God’s warfare against his enemies. God was responsible for a great slaughter at Gibeon. He chased the survivors westward through the pass of Beth-horon, the major access route for armies between the plateau of Gibeon and the coastal plain. As they fled westward they would reach Azekah, a site not far from Jarmuth, the hometown of one of the enemy armies. The site of Makkedah (modern Khirbet el-Qom) was close to Hebron, Lachish, and Eglon. Thus the two places represent the final stand of the enemy armies against Israel’s God. Close to their homes, with their backs against the wall, they had nowhere to go.

10:11 The idea that God would use hailstones against Israel’s enemy suggests a concern to communicate to Israel and the surrounding peoples that God was sovereign over all things and would even use nature against Israel’s enemies.

10:12 Some argue that Joshua in his prayer addressed the sun and moon as deities. This is unlikely in context because in the three previous communications in the chapter (vv. 4, 6, and 8), the addressee is never named in the message itself, but only in the introduction. The same is true here. Instead of addressing the sun and moon as deities, Joshua addressed God and then was given the authority to command the sun and moon. The pass of Beth-horon leads westward into the Valley of Aijalon. It was here that Joshua wished to continue or otherwise to succeed in the battle.

10:13 Here is the confirmation of the preceding verse. Miraculously, the sun and moon ceased in their course across the sky. This enabled Israel to complete its destruction of the enemy. The Book of Jashar is also mentioned in 2Sm 1:18, where it introduces David’s eulogy for Saul and Jonathan.

10:14 Verses 11-14 summarize how the Lord fought for Israel. God’s part in the miracle was of primary significance. Had he not fought, Israel would not have won. Because he fought, Israel could not lose and needed only to follow up on the victory. God hears and responds to prayer elsewhere in Scripture (e.g. Nm 14:11-21; Dt 9:19). But the wording here, listened to a man (lit “to the voice of a man”) is used with God as the subject elsewhere only in Nm 21:3 and 1Kg 17:22. In other contexts it can also mean “obey.”

10:15 Israel’s return to the camp at Gilgal anticipated the end of the war and the identical conclusion in v. 43. Thus vv. 11-15 describe the activity of God as fighting for Israel while the remainder of the chapter focuses on the events of Israel and of its enemies.

10:16 Sometime before the end of the battle with the enemy armies, the five kings (v. 3) had hidden in the cave at Makkedah (v. 10).

10:17-21 When Joshua learned where the kings were hiding, he put a guard on the cave and ordered the army to continue pursuing the enemy so they could not escape to their fortified centers. The note that a few survivors ran away to the fortified cities anticipates vv. 28-42 and the destruction of the various fortified centers.

10:22-24 Commands given by Joshua in vv. 22 and 24a are followed word-for-word in vv. 23 and 24b. The Israelite army was in complete unison and obedience to their leader, and a great victory was accomplished.

10:24 The act of the military commanders placing their feet on the necks of these kings signified the subjugation of the kings and their rule to the army of Israel (Jr 28:14; 30:8; Ezk 21:29).

10:25 Joshua repeated the words of encouragement that God had given to him in 1:5-9.

10:26-27 Joshua’s actions toward the kings duplicate those toward the king of Ai (8:29) with execution, hanging on trees until sunset, and then “burial” in a cave with a pile of stones to mark the site. See the note at 4:8-9.

10:28-40 The capture and destruction of Makkedah (v. 28), Libnah (vv. 29-30), La-chish (vv. 31-33), Eglon (vv. 34-35), Hebron (vv. 36-37), and Debir (vv. 38-39) followed in rapid sequence.

10:33 A fourth town in the sequence, Gezer, was not attacked but is mentioned as providing an army to fight against Israel at Lachish. The city of Lachish was strategically located. Egyptian inscriptions show that it was probably the base for Egypt’s empire in southern Canaan. Its defeat would have been among the most important events of Joshua’s entire southern campaign.

10:40 A summary of the victories by region is presented in this verse. The effect is to describe a complete destruction leaving no survivors. This is a stylized, hyperbolic statement celebrating the victorious southern campaign. The reality, however, is that many Canaanites did escape, as will be apparent in chap. 13 and in Jdg 1. Here the emphasis is on the obedience of Joshua and Israel in following God’s commands from Dt 20:16-18.

10:41 This summary defines all the towns in the south as far north as Gibeon. Goshen cannot refer to Egypt but must describe an otherwise unknown region (11:16). In 15:51 the town is associated with a district in the tribe of Judah.

10:42 In one campaign is literally “at one time.” Emphasis is on how quickly it was completed because the Lord fought for Israel (note the occurrence of this phrase in v. 14).

10:43 The return of all Israel to the camp at Gilgal signaled the end of the campaign and the peace that resulted so Israel could rest.