TEXT [Commentary]

2.   End of the northern campaign (11:16-23)

16 So Joshua conquered the entire region—the hill country, the entire Negev, the whole area around the town of Goshen, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley,[*] the mountains of Israel, and the Galilean foothills. 17 The Israelite territory now extended all the way from Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir in the south, as far north as Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon in the valley of Lebanon. Joshua killed all the kings of those territories, 18 waging war for a long time to accomplish this. 19 No one in this region made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites of Gibeon. All the others were defeated. 20 For the LORD hardened their hearts and caused them to fight the Israelites. So they were completely destroyed without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

21 During this period Joshua destroyed all the descendants of Anak, who lived in the hill country of Hebron, Debir, Anab, and the entire hill country of Judah and Israel. He killed them all and completely destroyed their towns. 22 None of the descendants of Anak were left in all the land of Israel, though some still remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

23 So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the LORD had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war.

NOTES

11:16 the hill country. This is the southern hill country of Judah.

the entire Negev. See Introduction, “The Physical Geography of Canaan.”

Goshen. See note on 10:41.

the western foothills, the Jordan Valley. See Introduction, “The Physical Geography of Canaan.”

the mountains of Israel. Lit., “the hill country of Israel,” here, the hill country of what would be known as Ephraim and Manasseh (later, Samaria), and of lower and upper ­Galilee—i.e., the hill country that was not Judah.

the Galilean foothills. Heb., shepelah [TH8219, ZH9169]. The western foothills of Ephraim and Manasseh south of Mount Carmel sometimes are referred to as a shepelah, as are the western foothills of lower Galilee (see note on 11:2), though neither region is identical in its geomorphology to the Judean Shephelah. Either, or both, may be intended here.

11:17 Mount Halak . . . Seir. This is a mountain northeast of Kadesh-barnea, toward the Dead Sea and Seir, which is in Edom east of the Arabah trough that runs south from the Dead Sea.

Baal-gad . . . Lebanon. This location is low on the western slopes of Mount Hermon in the north.

11:21 the descendants of Anak. This was a people whom Israel had feared because of their greater-than-normal height; see the fearful report of the 10 spies in Num 13:22, 28, 33.

11:22 Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. These were three of the five major Philistine cities.

COMMENTARY [Text]

This pericope is the second of three successive summaries, the second of three concentric circles. The first partial summary, 11:12-15, is but a bare outline of the northern campaign. This one (11:16-23), following immediately, is a larger circle. Longer and a bit more comprehensive (though not much) in its details, it offers intriguing conclusions about the scope and larger meanings of Joshua’s conquests. The third summary comprises all of chapter 12.

In 11:16, seven regions are listed. This cannot be accidental; the author was making a statement. Joshua’s role as a conqueror was finished—successfully, triumphantly, perfectly. Joshua had cleared four regions in the south, most of the southern half of the Land of Promise and nearly all the hill country and adjacent areas. In three regions representing most of the northern hill country, and even in some of the valley areas, he had done the same. None of the Canaanite peoples, living mostly on the periphery of the hill country, were able to prevent Israel from undertaking the long and arduous process of settling what had been, heretofore, largely empty country.

The short, almost offhand notice of Joshua’s “waging war for a long time to accomplish this” (11:18) provides a needed balance. Though the initial victories in both campaigns were quick and decisive, dealing with desperate local resistance in place after place was a longer process. Even advancing without opposition took time; armies almost never sustain significant movement over a long period. The total campaign for Canaan may have lasted about seven years (cf. commentary on 14:6-10) after Israel crossed the Jordan River. Not only faith, but also perseverance, was needed.

It is fitting that the descriptions of Joshua’s campaigns for the land should end with the notice that “the descendants of Anak” were vanquished in the territory Israel would settle (11:21-22). The 10 spies (Num 13:28, 33) had discouraged Israel from entering the land in the previous generation with their report of the Anakites and their great size. What must Joshua’s victorious soldiers have thought of their fathers’ lack of faith, which had cost them entry into the Land of Promise?

In 15:13-14, Caleb is named as the one taking Kiriath-arba (or, Hebron); in Judges 1:10, it is the tribe of Judah. The simplest explanation may be that Caleb was a Kenizzite, a member of a non-Israelite clan that had allied itself with Judah. It is proper, in one account, to attribute an action or accomplishment to the overall commander (Joshua); in another, to name the tribe (Judah); and in still another, to name the person who apparently took the leading role in the action, and who received the place as his inheritance (Caleb).

God had appeared to Joshua at the beginning of this enterprise, and told him, “Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you” (1:7). With respect to the entrance into the land, the author could now report that Joshua had done “just as the LORD had instructed Moses” (11:23). “Dividing the land among the tribes” (11:23) is the major theme of the second half of Joshua; this notice is proleptic. The reader is invited to anticipate the good things to come for Israel.

The last statement of the chapter, “so the land finally had rest from war” (11:23) is literally, “the land was quiet from war.” Here already, this statement has a theological and metaphorical dimension. God’s faithful people receive God’s gifts as a “special possession”; rest is one of God’s best gifts. Rest is more than the cessation of active warfare; rest includes life in harmonious relationship with God, with God’s people, and with God’s land. This simple, delightful declaration, too, anticipates the second half of the book.