Joshua 11:20 kjv
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Joshua 11:20 nkjv
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Joshua 11:20 niv
For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Joshua 11:20 esv
For it was the LORD's doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
Joshua 11:20 nlt
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.
Joshua 11 20 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Exod 4:21 | "...I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go." | God hardens Pharaoh's heart to display power. |
| Deut 2:30 | "But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass... the Lord your God hardened his spirit..." | God hardens heart to fulfill His judgment. |
| Rom 9:18 | "So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills." | God's sovereign prerogative in hardening. |
| Isa 6:9-10 | "Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull..." | God hardens hearts to judgment through prophet's message. |
| 2 Thes 2:10-12 | "...because they did not receive the love of the truth... Therefore God sends them a strong delusion..." | Judgment upon those who reject truth. |
| Deut 7:2 | "and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them." | Direct command for total destruction (herem) and no mercy. |
| Deut 20:16-18 | "But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes... that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable practices..." | Command for herem in the Promised Land to prevent idolatry. |
| Lev 27:29 | "No one devoted to destruction (herem) may be ransomed; he must surely be put to death." | Herem signifies absolute and irreversible consecration for destruction. |
| Num 21:2-3 | "...Then you will devote their cities to destruction... So the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities." | Early instance of herem enacted by Israel. |
| 1 Sam 15:3 | "Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." | Herem applies to other enemies of God later. |
| Josh 10:40 | "So Joshua struck all the land... for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel." | God fighting for Israel confirms His initiative. |
| Gen 15:16 | "And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." | God waits for wickedness to reach its fullness before judgment. |
| Deut 9:4-5 | "Do not say in your heart... 'It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in...' it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you..." | Canaanite wickedness is the basis for their expulsion. |
| Lev 18:24-28 | "...the land became unclean... so the land vomited out its inhabitants... Do not defile yourselves..." | Canaanite abominations (e.g., child sacrifice) made the land unclean, leading to their expulsion. |
| Josh 21:43-45 | "Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers... Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." | God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises and commands. |
| Josh 23:14-16 | "...just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you... so the Lord will bring upon you all the evil things..." | Warning about the consequences of disobedience, showing God's word is reliable. |
| Deut 1:30 | "The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you..." | Reassurance of God's active presence in battle. |
| Deut 3:22 | "You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you." | Reiteration of divine intervention in Israel's wars. |
| Num 33:55-56 | "But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides... And I will do to you as I thought to do to them." | Consequences of not obeying the herem command. |
| Ps 78:55 | "He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a heritage and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents." | God's sovereign act in giving the land to Israel. |
Joshua 11 verses
Joshua 11 20 Meaning
Joshua 11:20 reveals that the Canaanite kings’ resistance to Israel was divinely ordained. It states that the Lord intentionally hardened their hearts, leading them to engage in battle against Israel. This was so they would be utterly destroyed, receiving no mercy, fulfilling the specific command God had given to Moses concerning the inhabitants of the land.
Joshua 11 20 Context
Joshua 11:20 appears within the larger narrative of Israel's conquest of Canaan. Specifically, it follows Joshua's decisive victories against the northern confederacy led by Jabin, king of Hazor (Josh 11:1-14). After describing the utter destruction of Hazor and other northern cities and kings, this verse provides a theological explanation for why these inhabitants did not seek peace but chose war against Israel. It sets apart Hazor as a unique case where all the people were destroyed by fire. The context is that of divine judgment and the fulfillment of God's covenantal promises to give Israel the land while removing its idolatrous and morally depraved inhabitants. The verse emphasizes divine initiative and sovereignty behind the brutal but necessary military actions, linking back to the precise commands given to Moses concerning the disposition of the land’s original occupants.
Joshua 11 20 Word analysis
- For (כִּי - ki): This conjunction introduces an explanation or a reason. Here, it indicates the divine cause behind the Canaanites' actions.
- it was of the Lord (מֵאֵת יְהוָה - me'ēt Yahweh): Emphasizes divine agency and sovereignty. It means "from the presence of Yahweh," indicating that the initiative and power came directly from God. This affirms that these events were not accidental or purely human-driven.
- to harden their hearts (לְחַזֵּק אֶת-לִבָּם - leḥazzēq et-libbām):
- חַזַּק (chazaq): Meaning to strengthen, make firm, harden, be resolute. While it can imply strengthening for good purposes, in this context, it refers to making them stubborn and resistant to any thought of peace or surrender.
- לִבָּם (libbām): "Their heart." In Hebrew thought, the "heart" signifies the seat of intellect, will, and emotion—the whole inner person. Thus, God influenced their resolve and decision-making against Israel.
- that they should come against Israel in battle (לַמִּלְחָמָה עִם-יִשְׂרָאֵל - lammilḥāmāh ‘im-Yiśrā’ēl): This is the direct result or purpose of the heart-hardening. God purposed that they would engage in war rather than make peace, leading them towards the intended outcome.
- that he might destroy them utterly (לְמַעַן הַחֲרִימָם - lema'an hahaḥărîmām):
- לְמַעַן (lema'an): Means "in order that," indicating divine purpose.
- הַחֲרִימָם (hahaḥărîmām): Derived from the root חרם (charam), signifying "to utterly destroy" or "to put under the ban" (herem). This is a technical term for total devotion of something to God by means of destruction, with no taking of spoil or showing mercy. It means consecrated for destruction to Yahweh. This command removed all temptation for Israel to profit from the idolatrous population, thus protecting their covenant faithfulness.
- that they might receive no mercy (לְבִלְתִּי הֱיוֹת לָהֶם תְּחִנָּה - leḇiltî hĕyôt lâhem tĕḥinnāh):
- תְּחִנָּה (tĕḥinnāh): "Supplication," "plea for mercy" or "favor."
- but that he might destroy them (כִּי אִם לְהַשְׁמִידָם - kî ’im lehašmîḏām): This reiterates the goal of total destruction (root שָׁמַד - shamad, to exterminate). It acts as a definitive statement, reinforcing that the herem was the singular, unavoidable outcome.
- as the Lord commanded Moses (כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת-מֹשֶׁה - ka’ăšer ṣiwwāh Yahweh et-Mošeh): This clause provides the theological justification and authority for Israel’s actions. The severe nature of the conquest was not an act of Israelite brutality, but an act of obedience to divine command. This links directly to commandments found in Deut 7:2-5, 20:16-18, and elsewhere, where God commanded the utter destruction of these particular nations due to their profound wickedness (Gen 15:16). This was a unique, divinely appointed judgment, not a universal template for all warfare.
Words-Group Analysis:
- "For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts... that he might destroy them utterly": This phrase asserts divine sovereignty over historical events and human choices, aligning God's hidden counsel with His manifest judgments. The hardening was a means to an end—the ultimate destruction prescribed by God.
- "that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses": This section underlines the judicial aspect of the conquest. It was a decreed judgment, total and uncompromising, precisely as mandated by God to His covenant people, Moses. This contrasts Israel's wars of divine judgment with the typical conquests of the ancient Near East, portraying them not as opportunistic land grabs but as acts of covenant obedience and execution of divine justice. The lack of mercy was specifically for these nations under these unique circumstances, tied to their persistent, systemic wickedness.
Joshua 11 20 Bonus section
This verse illuminates a critical theological concept: the problem of divine sovereignty and human will. God's hardening of hearts is not presented as making morally good people evil, but as confirming or reinforcing a sinful resistance that already exists, leading to deserved judgment. It removes their opportunity to choose an alternative path (like the Gibeonites did, though through deception) when such an alternative would have hindered God's ultimate justice and purification plan. The 'herem' or 'ban' was an extreme form of judgment and cleansing, uniquely mandated by God for specific nations at a specific time in salvation history. It represented God's uncompromising stance against deep-seated idolatry, child sacrifice, and other heinous practices that made the land "vomit out its inhabitants" (Lev 18:24-28). It also served to protect Israel's nascent monotheistic faith from the corrupting influence of the Canaanite religious practices. This command underscores God's holiness and His commitment to covenant faithfulness.
Joshua 11 20 Commentary
Joshua 11:20 is a profound theological statement regarding God's sovereignty and His administration of justice. It reveals that the resistance faced by Israel was not random opposition but part of God's overarching plan to execute judgment upon the Canaanites. By hardening their hearts, God prevented them from seeking peace, thereby ensuring they would fall in battle and be subject to the herem (utter destruction) that He had commanded through Moses. This eliminates any idea that Israel acted out of independent cruelty; rather, they were instruments of divine judgment against a people whose wickedness had become full (Gen 15:16). The complete and merciless destruction was not for Israel's personal gain but for the sanctification of the land and prevention of future idolatry. It highlights God’s meticulous fulfillment of His promises, both of giving the land to Israel and of punishing the sin of its inhabitants. This particular, divinely initiated herem war was a unique event in biblical history, distinct from standard warfare.