Joshua 10:28 kjv
And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that were therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.
Joshua 10:28 nkjv
On that day Joshua took Makkedah, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them?all the people who were in it. He let none remain. He also did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Joshua 10:28 niv
That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Joshua 10:28 esv
As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Joshua 10:28 nlt
That same day Joshua captured and destroyed the town of Makkedah. He killed everyone in it, including the king, leaving no survivors. He destroyed them all, and he killed the king of Makkedah as he had killed the king of Jericho.
Joshua 10 28 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Divine Command & Justice (Herem) | ||
| Deut 7:2 | ...you must utterly destroy them... | Command for complete destruction of certain Canaanite nations. |
| Deut 20:16-18 | ...you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, so that they may not teach you to do all their detestable practices... | Explicit command to devote Canaanite cities to destruction to prevent spiritual contamination. |
| Lev 18:24-25 | "Do not defile yourselves...for by all these the nations which I am driving out before you have defiled themselves..." | Land polluted by inhabitants' practices; reason for their expulsion/judgment. |
| Gen 15:16 | "But in the fourth generation, they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." | God's patience with Canaanites' sin, predicting future judgment. |
| Exod 23:23-24 | "My angel will go before you...you shall not bow down to their gods..." | God promises to drive out nations due to their idolatry and wickedness. |
| Ps 9:8 | "He will judge the world in righteousness..." | Highlights God's nature as a righteous judge. |
| Rom 2:5 | "...storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." | Underscores divine wrath against unrepentant sin. |
| Heb 10:31 | "It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God." | Acknowledges the severity of God's judgment. |
| Conquest & Annihilation | ||
| Josh 6:17 | "...the city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction." | Specific herem command for Jericho. |
| Josh 6:21 | "They devoted to destruction everything in the city, both men and women, young and old..." | Fulfillment of herem against Jericho, serving as the pattern. |
| Josh 8:26 | "Joshua did not draw back his hand...until he had devoted all the inhabitants of Ai to destruction." | Another instance of herem in the conquest, against Ai. |
| Josh 11:11-12 | "Every person in it they struck with the edge of the sword, devoting them to destruction; they left no one who breathed." | Describes the widespread herem in the northern campaign. |
| Num 21:2-3 | "...if you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." | Early vow leading to herem against the Canaanites, resulting in Hormah. |
| Deut 9:5 | "Not because of your righteousness...but because of the wickedness of these nations..." | Clarifies the basis of God's judgment against the Canaanites. |
| Joshua's Obedience & God's Faithfulness | ||
| Josh 21:43-45 | "So the LORD gave Israel all the land...Not one word of all the good promises...failed..." | God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises of the land, achieved through obedience. |
| Josh 10:40 | "So Joshua struck the whole land...he left no survivor..." | Summary statement of the extent of the southern campaign's destruction. |
| The Nature of God's Judgment (Broader Scope) | ||
| Matt 13:40-42 | "So it will be at the close of the age...and throw them into the fiery furnace..." | Parable indicating ultimate divine judgment on evil at the end of time. |
| Rev 19:15 | "From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations..." | Prophetic image of final, comprehensive judgment executed by God's Word. |
| 2 Thes 1:8-9 | "...inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel..." | Future divine judgment on ungodliness, a spiritual echo of earthly judgment. |
| Lev 20:23 | "You shall not walk in the customs of the nation that I am driving out before you..." | Reiteration of the reason for the herem and Israel's required distinctness. |
Joshua 10 verses
Joshua 10 28 Meaning
On that specific day, Joshua successfully captured the city of Makkedah. In accordance with God's command, he utterly destroyed everyone within it, including its king, by the sword, leaving no one alive. This act of complete destruction mirrored the method Joshua had previously employed against the city of Jericho and its king.
Joshua 10 28 Context
Joshua 10:28 describes the beginning of Joshua's southern campaign after the decisive victory over the five Amorite kings. Having trapped and executed the five kings at Makkedah, Joshua immediately turns his attention to conquering the cities. Makkedah is the very first city systematically destroyed by Joshua and the Israelite army following this pivotal battle. The chapter details a rapid sequence of conquests—Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir—all dealt with in a similar manner of complete destruction (herem). This verse signifies the swift continuation of the conquest as foretold and commanded by the Almighty, demonstrating Joshua's obedience and the fulfillment of the divine covenant to dispossess the wicked inhabitants of Canaan and give the land to Israel. Historically, the Canaanites were steeped in egregious practices, including child sacrifice, cultic prostitution, and divination (Deut 18:9-12, Lev 18), making the conquest a judicial act of purification for the land before Israel's inhabitation.
Joshua 10 28 Word analysis
- "That day": Implies immediate action, directly following the victory against the five Amorite kings and their execution at the cave of Makkedah (Josh 10:27). It shows Joshua's decisive leadership and the sustained momentum of the conquest.
- "Joshua captured Makkedah": Makkedah (
מַקֵּדָה- Maqqēḏâ), meaning "place of shepherds," was strategically important in the Shephelah (foothills). "Captured" (לָכַד- lakad) indicates military success in seizing the city. - "and put its king and all who were in it to the sword": This phrase refers to the practice of
חרם(ḥerem), often translated as "devotion to destruction" or "the ban." It signifies a consecrated obliteration where everything is utterly destroyed for the Almighty. This was not random slaughter but a divinely ordained judicial act against the Canaanite nations due to their profound wickedness (Gen 15:16, Lev 18:24-28). It involved striking (הָכָה- hakah, to strike, kill) byלְפִי־חֶרֶב(lᵉp̱ī-ḥereḇ), "by the mouth/edge of the sword," ensuring no one remained. - "He left no survivors": This powerfully reiterates the absolute nature of the
ḥerem. The Hebrew verb here isהִשְׁאִיר(hish'ir), "to leave, to allow to remain," negated (לֹא הִשְׁאִיר). This totality was crucial to prevent future religious and moral syncretism, protecting Israel from being corrupted by the abominable practices of the land's previous inhabitants (Deut 7:2-6). - "He treated the king of Makkedah as he had treated the king of Jericho": This is a direct parallel. The fate of Jericho and its king (Josh 6:21) set the precedent and standard for the conquest. The reference assures the reader that Joshua was consistently obedient to the divine command for
ḥerem, establishing a uniform policy across conquered cities as ordained by the Almighty. This underscores the authority behind the action – it was not Joshua's personal decree but the fulfillment of divine instruction.
Joshua 10 28 Bonus section
The concept of herem warfare, as depicted in this verse, is a significant theological discussion point. It's critical to understand that this was a unique divine commission, bounded by specific historical context and purpose, rather than a blueprint for general military action or ethical conduct across all eras. Scholars emphasize that herem was an act of holy war designed to prevent the spiritual and moral defilement of Israel by the extremely wicked practices of the Canaanites. It represented God's judicial holiness, the removal of evil from a land promised to His covenant people, preparing them to be a distinctive nation for Himself. This extreme measure underlines the gravity of sin in the Almighty's eyes and His resolve to preserve a people through whom salvation would eventually come. It speaks to God's uncompromising purity and His righteous opposition to profound wickedness.
Joshua 10 28 Commentary
Joshua 10:28 initiates the account of Joshua's systematic and relentless conquest of the southern cities of Canaan, immediately following the decisive rout of the five Amorite kings. The verse highlights the herem command in practice: the utter destruction of all inhabitants and their kings. This act was not an expression of human savagery or expansionist conquest for material gain. Rather, it was a precise, divinely mandated judgment upon the deeply corrupted Canaanite cultures, whose iniquity, marked by abominable practices like child sacrifice and pervasive idolatry, had reached its full measure. By wiping out every soul and leaving no survivors, Israel prevented spiritual contamination, fulfilling their holy mission as God's instrument of judgment and cleansing the land for a holy people. The explicit comparison to Jericho underscores Joshua's unwavering obedience to the pattern set forth by the Almighty, ensuring that God's justice and purification were consistently applied to establish His righteous kingdom. This particular command of herem was unique to the conquest era and directed at specific nations for specific reasons, thus setting a specific and non-replicable historical precedent, reflecting God's unique actions at a specific moment in redemptive history rather than a universal war ethic.