Yosua 11:1-9

Israel Defeats a Northern Coalition

11:1 When King Jabin of Hazor ¹  heard the news, he organized a coalition, including ²  King Jobab of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Acshaph, 11:2 and the northern kings who ruled in ³  the hill country, the Arabah south of Kinnereth, ⁴  the lowlands, and the heights of Dor to the west. 11:3 Canaanites came ⁵  from the east and west; Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites from the hill country; and Hivites from below Hermon in the area ⁶  of Mizpah. 11:4 These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots. ⁷  11:5 All these kings gathered and joined forces ⁸  at the Waters of Merom to fight Israel.

11:6 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn ⁹  their chariots.” 11:7 Joshua and his whole army caught them by surprise at the Waters of Merom and attacked them. ¹⁰  11:8 The Lord handed them over to Israel and they struck them down and chased them all the way to Greater Sidon, ¹¹  Misrephoth Maim, ¹²  and the Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained. 11:9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned ¹³  their chariots.

[11:1]  ¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[11:1]  ² tn Heb “he sent to.”

[11:2]  ³ tn Heb “and to the kings who [are] from the north in.”

[11:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Chinneroth,” a city and plain located in the territory of Naphtali in Galilee (BDB 490 s.v. כִּנֶּרֶת, כִּנֲרוֹת).

[11:2]  sn Kinnereth was a city in Galilee located near the Sea of Galilee (Deut 3:17). The surrounding region also became known by this name (1 Kgs 15:20; cf. Matt 14:34), and eventually even the lake itself (Josh 12:3; cf. Luke 5:1).

[11:3]  ⁵ tn The verb “came” is supplied in the translation (see v. 4).

[11:3]  ⁶ tn Or “land.”

[11:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “They and all their camps with them came out, a people as numerous as the sand which is on the edge of the sea in multitude, and [with] horses and chariots very numerous.”

[11:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and came and camped together.”

[11:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “burn with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.

[11:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them at the Waters of Merom suddenly and fell upon them.”

[11:8]  ¹¹ map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[11:8]  ¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see HALOT 2:641).

[11:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.