Joshua 10
Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition
10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho and its king. He also heard how the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.
Jerusalem was about five miles south of Gibeon. Jericho and Ai were defeated. Gibeon and their allies were protected by a peace treaty. This means that Jerusalem was next in line to receive Jehovah’s wrath.
10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified because Gibeon was a large city like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors.
King Zedek and his citizens were deeply troubled.
10:3 So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon:
King Zedek sent an urgent message to four other surrounding kings.
10:4 “Come to my aid so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”
It was a traitorous act for Gibeon to join with Israel. Therefore, the five kings were going to join together and destroy Gibeon.
10:5 So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon.
The five-king southern confederacy attacked Gibeon.
10:6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon your subjects! Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.”
Gibeon was about to be destroyed. Gibeon sent a runner to Joshua, who was camped at Gilgal. But why should Joshua help people who had deceived him?
10:7 So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal.
Joshua was greatly outnumbered but he saw this situation as an opportunity to defeat all five enemy kings at one time.
10:8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you. Not one of them can resist you.”
Jehovah confirmed to Joshua that he would be victorious.
10:9 Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal.
Joshua marched 30 miles on a night journey. His men were severely fatigued. This attack may have begun at night. This night march and night attack surprised the five kings.
10:10 The Lord routed them before Israel. Israel thoroughly defeated them at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
Jehovah gave the Israel soldiers supernatural strength and energy in order to defeat the southern confederation.
10:11 As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
Jehovah rained down hailstones on the southern confederacy.
10:12 The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon! O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”
Joshua needed to kill all of the fleeing armies before nightfall. Once night fell, the Amorite soldiers would be covered by darkness.
The Canaanites worshiped the sun and the moon. Joshua asked for the sun and moon to remain still so that he could finish the genocide of the Amorites.
Skeptics like to point out that this is a scientific error, because the sun does not stand still. Joshua was speaking from the perspective and appearance of how he observed things on earth. People still do the same thing today, even in the scientific community. Almanacs and journals record the hours of sunrise and sunset, yet no one accuses them of scientific error.
10:13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day.
Notice that the rotation of the earth was slowed down from a 24 hour day to a 48 hour day. The Scroll of the Upright One is also called “the Book of Jasher.” It has since disappeared.
10:14 There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed a man, for the Lord fought for Israel!
This was a very unique day in history. The legends and traditions of a long day are recorded in the ancient traditions in Greece, Egypt, American Indians, South Sea Islanders, and many other ancient nations. Reports that a missing day occurred in the NASA space computer program are false.
10:15 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
After the genocide of the southern confederation, Joshua returned to his camp at Gilgal.
10:16 The five Amorite kings ran away and hid in the cave at Makkedah.
The five kings escaped and hid in a cave at Makkedah. This cave was in the hill country. Since there were so many caves, Jehovah must have led the Israelite army to the correct cave.
10:17 Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
The army gave Joshua a current intelligence report about the situation.
10:18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and post guards in front of it.
Joshua trapped the five kings in the cave.
10:19 But don’t you delay! Chase your enemies and catch them! Don’t allow them to retreat to their cities, for the Lord your God is handing them over to you.”
The first priority was to kill the five armies.
10:20 Joshua and the Israelites almost totally wiped them out, but some survivors did escape to the fortified cities.
A few Amorite soldiers escaped to the fortified cities.
10:21 Then the whole army safely returned to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah. No one dared threaten the Israelites.
The entire Israeli army returned to camp.
10:22 Joshua said, “Open the cave’s mouth and bring the five kings out of the cave to me.”
Now that the southern campaign armies had been killed, Joshua would deal with the five kings.
10:23 They did as ordered; they brought the five kings out of the cave to him – the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 10:24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up and put their feet on their necks.
Placing the feet on the necks of enemy kings was a mid-eastern symbol of the complete subjugation of the defeated enemy.
10:25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! Be strong and brave, for the Lord will do the same thing to all your enemies you fight.
Joshua encouraged his troops with the same words that Jehovah used to encourage Joshua. He predicted to his Israelite soldiers that all of their victories would be in this same manner.
10:26 Then Joshua executed them and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening.
The five kings were executed and hung on trees.
10:27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take them down from the trees. They threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled large stones over the mouth of the cave. (They remain to this very day.)
The stones were another memorial to teach future generations of the power of Jehovah.
Joshua Launches a Southern Campaign
10:28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho.
Joshua continued the genocide on the Canaanites who were living in the southern plains.
10:29 Joshua and all Israel marched from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against it. 10:30 The Lord handed it and its king over to Israel and Israel put the sword to all who lived there; they left no survivors. They did to its king what they had done to the king of Jericho.
Joshua finished his southern campaign by moving from north to south. King Sennechereb of Assyria would follow this same path in the future, but it would come against Israel. The first city to fall was Makkedah.
10:31 Joshua and all Israel marched from Libnah to Lachish. He deployed his troops and fought against it. 10:32 The Lord handed Lachish over to Israel and they captured it on the second day. They put the sword to all who lived there, just as they had done to Libnah.
Lachish was the second city to fall.
10:33 Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, but Joshua struck down him and his army until no survivors remained.
Gezer was the next Canaanite city to fall.
10:34 Joshua and all Israel marched from Lachish to Eglon. They deployed troops and fought against it. 10:35 That day they captured it and put the sword to all who lived there. That day they annihilated it just as they had done to Lachish.
Eglon was the next Canaanite city to fall.
10:36 Joshua and all Israel marched up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it. 10:37 They captured it and put the sword to its king, all its surrounding cities, and all who lived in it; they left no survivors. As they had done at Eglon, they annihilated it and all who lived there.
Hebron was the next Canaanite city to fall.
10:38 Joshua and all Israel turned to Debir and fought against it. 10:39 They captured it, its king, and all its surrounding cities and put the sword to them. They annihilated everyone who lived there; they left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king what they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.
Debir was the next Canaanite city to fall.
10:40 Joshua defeated the whole land, including the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands, the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivors. He annihilated everything that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 10:41 Joshua conquered the area between Kadesh Barnea and Gaza and the whole region of Goshen, all the way to Gibeon. 10:42 Joshua captured in one campaign all these kings and their lands, for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 10:43 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
Joshua completed his southern campaign, finding victory at every battle.