World English Bible · Entering the land
Joshua 10
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Now when king of heard how had taken , and had it; as he had done to and her king, so he had done to and her king; and how the inhabitants of had made peace with Israel, and were among them, they were very afraid, because was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than , and all its men were mighty. Therefore king of sent to Hoham king of , Piram king of , Japhia king of , and king of , saying, "Come up to me and help me. Let's strike ; for they have made peace with and with the ." Therefore the five kings of the , the king of , the king of , the king of , the king of , and the king of , gathered themselves together and went up, they and all their armies, and encamped against , and made war against it. The men of sent to at the camp at , saying, "Don't abandon your servants! Come up to us quickly and us! Help us; for all the kings of the that in the hill country have gathered together against us." So went up from , he and the whole army with him, including all the of valor. said to , "Don't fear them, for I have them into your hands. Not a man of them will stand before you." therefore came to them suddenly. He marched from all night. confused them before Israel. He killed them with a great slaughter at , and chased them by of the ascent of , and struck them to and to . As they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of , hurled down great stones from on them to , and they . There were more who from the hailstones than those whom the killed with . Then spoke to in the day when up the before the . He said in the sight of Israel, "Sun, stand still on ! You, moon, stop in the valley of !" The sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the nation had themselves of their . Isn't this written in the book of Jashar? The sun stayed in the middle of , and didn't hurry to go down about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, that listened to the voice of a man; for fought for Israel. returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to . These five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at . 17 was told, saying, "The five kings have been found, hidden in the cave at ." said, "Roll large stones to cover the cave's entrance, and set men by it to guard them; but don't stay there. Pursue your , and attack them from the rear. Don't allow them to enter into their cities; for your has them into your hand." When and the had finished killing them with a very great slaughter until they were consumed, and which remained of them had entered into the fortified cities, all the people returned to the camp to at in peace. None moved his against any of the . Then said, "Open the cave entrance, and bring those five kings out of the cave to me." They did so, and brought those five kings out of the cave to him: the king of , the king of , the king of , the king of , and the king of . When they brought those kings out to , called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who went with him, "Come near. Put your feet on the necks of these kings." They came near, and put their feet on their necks. said to them, "Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed. Be strong and courageous, for will do this to all your against whom you fight." Afterward struck them, put them to , and hanged them on five trees. They were hanging on the trees . At the time of the going down of the sun, commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and threw them into the cave in which they had hidden themselves, and laid great stones on the of the cave, which to this very day. took on that day, and struck it with the edge of , with its king. He it and all the who were in it. He left no one remaining. He did to the king of as he had done to the king of . passed from , and all Israel with him, to , and fought against . 30 it also, with its king, into the hand of Israel. He struck it with the edge of , and all the who were in it. He left no one remaining in it. He did to its king as he had done to the king of . passed from , and all Israel with him, to , and encamped against it, and fought against it. 32 into the hand of Israel. He took it on the second day, and struck it with the edge of , with all the who were in it, according to all that he had done to . Then Horam king of came up to help ; and struck him and his people, until he had left him no one remaining. passed from , and all Israel with him, to ; and they encamped against it and fought against it. They took it on that day, and struck it with the edge of . He all the who were in it that day, according to all that he had done to . went up from , and all Israel with him, to ; and they fought against it. 37They took it, and struck it with the edge of , with its king and all its cities, and all the who were in it. He left no one remaining, according to all that he had done to ; but he it, and all the who were in it. returned, and all Israel with him, to , and fought against it. He took it, with its king and all its cities. They struck them with the edge of , and all the who were in it. He left no one remaining. As he had done to , so he did to , and to its king; as he had done also to , and to its king. So struck all the land, the hill country, the South, the lowland, the slopes, and all their kings. He left no one remaining, but he all that breathed, as , the of Israel, commanded. struck them from even to , and all the country of , even to . took all these kings and their land at one time because , the of Israel, fought for Israel. returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp to .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Entering the land, 1250 BC to 1200 BC ›
Israel crossing into Canaan and contending with fortified city-states, each with its own king, in a land Egypt had recently dominated and was now losing its grip on.
- The collapse
- The whole eastern Mediterranean is coming apart. Within about fifty years the Hittite empire falls, its capital burns, the Mycenaean palaces are destroyed, Ugarit is wiped out mid-correspondence, and Egypt is fighting for its life against seaborne invaders. Nobody fully knows why. Drought, earthquake, migration, and the failure of interlocking trade are all in the explanation.
- Egypt
- Still strong enough to record a victory over a people called Israel on a stone monument around 1207 BC, the earliest mention of the name outside the Bible. But Egyptian control of Canaan is slipping, and within a generation it is gone.
- Canaan
- Not a country but dozens of walled towns, each with its own king, its own god, and its own quarrel with the next valley. This is why the book of Joshua reads as a list of kings rather than a war with a nation.
- Further afield
- Iron is beginning to replace bronze across the region, partly because the tin trade that made bronze possible has broken down. The Olmec are building San Lorenzo. The Zhou are about to overthrow the Shang in China.