Commentary - Joshua 11:10-15

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks the decisive conclusion of the northern campaign in the conquest of Canaan. Having routed the massive coalition of kings assembled by Jabin of Hazor at the waters of Merom, Joshua now presses his advantage to its final and terrible conclusion. The text is stark, brutal, and unflinching, describing the complete annihilation of the inhabitants of these cities in obedience to the command of God. This is not simple warfare for territory; it is the execution of a divine sentence. The key themes are the totality of the judgment, the significance of Hazor as the head of the rebellion, and the absolute, unquestioning obedience of Joshua. He is presented as the faithful servant, carrying out the instructions given to Moses generations before. This section serves as a crucial hinge in the book, wrapping up the central military campaigns (Josh. 6-12) and setting the stage for the division of the land (Josh. 13-21). It is a graphic depiction of what the Bible calls herem, or devotion to destruction, a concept that is deeply offensive to modern sensibilities but is central to understanding the holiness of God, the gravity of sin, and the nature of the typological warfare that points to Christ's ultimate victory over His enemies.

The passage emphasizes a chain of command: Yahweh commanded Moses, Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did. There was no deviation, no hesitation, no mitigation of the sentence. This radical obedience is the central virtue highlighted in the text. The destruction is not portrayed as a frenzied bloodlust, but as a solemn, judicial act. The burning of Hazor alone is noted, indicating its unique status as the ringleader of the opposition. Ultimately, this entire event must be read through a gospel lens. The Canaanites, having filled up the measure of their sin, receive the judgment they deserve. This earthly judgment is a shadow of the final judgment to come. And Joshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus, is the one who secures the inheritance for God's people by destroying their enemies. It is a bloody picture, but it points to a bloodier cross, where the greater Joshua absorbed the full measure of God's wrath against sin so that we, who were also enemies of God, might be spared.

Outline

Context In Joshua

Joshua 11 is the climax of the conquest narratives that begin in chapter 6 with the fall of Jericho. The book has shown Israel's victories in the central campaign (Jericho, Ai) and the southern campaign (the Gibeonite alliance and the defeat of the five Amorite kings). This chapter details the northern campaign, the final major military obstacle to Israel's possession of the land. The chapter begins by describing the mustering of an immense Canaanite army, led by Jabin, king of Hazor, which Yahweh delivers into Joshua's hand (11:1-9). Our passage (11:10-15) describes the direct aftermath of that victory. It is the "mopping up" operation, where the sentence of judgment is carried out on the now-defeated kings and their cities. This section provides the summary statement for the entire conquest, setting the stage for the long list of defeated kings in chapter 12 and the subsequent allotment of the land to the tribes. The repeated emphasis on the command of Moses connects Joshua's actions directly back to the instructions given in Deuteronomy (e.g., Deut 7:1-6; 20:16-18), establishing his faithfulness as the new leader of Israel.

Key Issues

The Unflinching Obedience of the Executioner

We live in a sentimental age, an age that finds it very difficult to process a passage like this. We want our religion to be affirming, our God to be therapeutic, and our saviors to be gentle. But the God of the Bible is holy, and His holiness burns against sin. The Canaanites were not peaceful agrarians being displaced by land-hungry nomads. The Bible is clear that the land was vomiting them out for their profound moral and spiritual corruption (Lev. 18:25). God had given them centuries to repent, going all the way back to the time of Abraham (Gen. 15:16), but their iniquity was now "full."

In this context, Joshua is not acting as a conquering general in the modern sense. He is acting as God's appointed executioner. The command to "devote them to destruction" (herem) was a judicial sentence. It meant that these people and their cities were being consecrated to God for judgment. This is why Israel was not permitted, in these specific instances, to take plunder for themselves in the usual way. The spoil was contaminated, devoted to God's holy wrath. Joshua's great virtue here is that he does not flinch. He does not second-guess the command. He does not form a committee to discuss whether God's orders are compatible with contemporary ethics. He simply obeys. This is the stark and demanding faith that the situation required. He left nothing undone. This is the model of faithfulness under the old covenant, a faithfulness that points us to the perfect faithfulness of the Lord Jesus, who also did everything the Father commanded Him, even to the point of death on a cross.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 Then Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor formerly was the head of all these kingdoms.

After the main battle at the waters of Merom, Joshua makes a strategic turn back. He doesn't just scatter the army; he goes for the head of the snake. Hazor is identified as the capital city, the ringleader of this northern confederacy. Its king, Jabin, was the organizing force behind the opposition. In any spiritual or physical warfare, it is essential to identify and deal with the leadership. Joshua understands this. The capture of Hazor is not just one more city; it is the symbolic and strategic decapitation of the northern resistance. The phrase "at that time" roots this action firmly in the immediate context of the great victory God had just given them. There is no delay. The momentum of God-given victory is to be pressed, not squandered.

11 And they struck every person who was in it with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction; there was no one left who breathed. And he burned Hazor with fire.

The language here is brutally precise and absolute. "Every person" was struck. The Hebrew phrase for "devoting them to destruction" is herem. This was not simply killing the combatants; it was the execution of every living soul. The text adds an emphatic clarification: "there was no one left who breathed." This leaves no room for misunderstanding. This was total annihilation, a judicial act of divine judgment carried out by human instruments. Then, uniquely among the northern cities, Joshua "burned Hazor with fire." This mirrors the treatment of Jericho and Ai. Burning a city was a sign of utter and final judgment, reducing the center of Canaanite rebellion to ashes and rubble. It was a visible sign that this place was consecrated to God's wrath.

12 And Joshua captured all the cities of these kings and all their kings, and he struck them with the edge of the sword, and he devoted them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded.

The action extends from the capital, Hazor, to all its allied cities. The pattern is the same: capture the cities, execute the kings, and devote the populace to destruction. The key phrase here is the justification for this terrible action: "just as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded." This is crucial. Joshua is not acting on his own initiative. He is not motivated by cruelty or bloodlust. He is acting in direct, explicit obedience to a prior command from God, mediated through Moses (cf. Deut. 20:16-17). The violence is therefore framed not as an atrocity, but as an act of profound faithfulness. Joshua's sword is the instrument of God's word. This is covenantal warfare, and the terms were set by the covenant Lord.

13 However, Israel did not burn any cities that stood on their mounds, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned.

The narrator adds a point of clarification. While the people were executed according to the command of herem, the infrastructure of the cities was largely left intact. The phrase "cities that stood on their mounds" refers to established, fortified towns. Israel was to inherit these cities, to live in houses they did not build (Deut. 6:10-11). The exception proves the rule: "Hazor alone." Its complete destruction by fire set it apart, marking it as the epicenter of the rebellion and therefore the focus of the most intense form of judgment. This was a calculated, discriminating judgment, not a wild, indiscriminate rampage.

14 Now all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, the sons of Israel took as their plunder; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them. They left no one remaining who breathed.

Here we see a distinction in the application of herem compared to Jericho. In Jericho, everything, including the spoil, was devoted to destruction (Josh. 6:17-19). Here, in the northern campaign, the people are devoted to destruction, but the cattle and goods are given to Israel as plunder. This was consistent with the instructions in Deuteronomy (Deut. 20:14), which allowed for plunder in certain cases. But the text immediately pivots back to the unyielding severity of the command regarding human life. The contrast is stark. Possessions could be kept, but the people had to be utterly destroyed. Again, the narrator repeats the absolute phrase for emphasis: "They left no one remaining who breathed." The priority was the removal of the corrupting pagan influence from the land of promise. God was giving His people a clean slate, and the cleansing was a bloody one.

15 Just as Yahweh had commanded Moses His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did; he left nothing undone of all that Yahweh had commanded Moses.

This is the summary statement and the ultimate commendation of Joshua. It traces the chain of command and the perfection of the obedience. The origin of the command is Yahweh Himself. The transmission was through Moses. The execution was by Joshua. And the quality of the execution was flawless: "he left nothing undone." This is the pinnacle of faithfulness in a servant. He hears the master's word and carries it out completely, without addition or subtraction. This is what it means to be strong and courageous. It is not about personal bravery in the face of a superior foe, but about the moral courage to obey an unpopular and difficult command from God precisely because it is a command from God. This complete obedience is what secured the land for Israel and what makes Joshua a compelling type of Christ, who perfectly accomplished all the will of the Father.

Application

First, we must reject any attempt to soften this passage or to make excuses for God. God is God. He gives life, and He has the absolute right to take it. The judgment on Canaan is a terrifying preview of the final judgment, where all who are not found in Christ will face a wrath far more terrible than the edge of Joshua's sword. The Canaanites stand as a perpetual reminder that sin has consequences and that God's patience, while long, is not infinite. This should instill in us a holy fear and drive us to the cross.

Second, we must understand the nature of our own spiritual warfare. The conquest of Canaan is a type, and our warfare is the antitype. But our weapons are not carnal (2 Cor. 10:4). We do not fight with swords of steel, but with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Our "herem" is directed not against people of flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness, and most pointedly, against the sin in our own hearts. We are called to be ruthless with our own sin. We are to devote our lust, our pride, our greed, and our idolatry to utter destruction. We are to leave "no one left who breathed" when it comes to the old man. This is the daily, brutal work of sanctification.

Finally, we must look to the true Joshua. Joshua of Nun was faithful, leaving nothing undone. But he could not give the people final rest because of their own sin. The Lord Jesus, our Joshua, left nothing undone in His work of redemption. He perfectly obeyed the Father, drank the full cup of wrath against our sin, and defeated our ultimate enemy, Satan, through His death and resurrection. He has secured for us an eternal inheritance, a heavenly Canaan. Our task now is to walk in the obedience of faith, trusting in His finished work, and to "leave nothing undone" of all that He has commanded us in the Great Commission. We are to go into all the world, and by the preaching of the gospel, plunder the kingdom of darkness, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.