Joshua 17:13 kjv
Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.
Joshua 17:13 nkjv
And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
Joshua 17:13 niv
However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.
Joshua 17:13 esv
Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
Joshua 17:13 nlt
Later, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land.
Joshua 17 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 33:55 | "But if you do not drive out the inhabitants... those you allow to remain will be barbs in your eyes..." | Warning of consequences for failing to drive out. |
| Deut 7:2 | "you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy." | Clear command to utterly destroy and make no covenant. |
| Deut 20:16-17 | "However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them..." | Explicit command for complete destruction of certain peoples. |
| Josh 15:63 | "Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem..." | Parallel failure of Judah to fully dispossess their inhabitants. |
| Josh 16:10 | "They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the Ephraimites..." | Parallel failure of Ephraim to fully dispossess their inhabitants. |
| Judg 1:19 | "The LORD was with Judah; they took possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people of the plains..." | Highlighting Israel's inconsistent success despite divine presence. |
| Judg 1:21 | "The Benjamites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem..." | Another example of a tribe failing to fully drive out. |
| Judg 1:27-28 | "But Manasseh did not drive out the people... When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely." | Directly echoes and repeats Josh 17:13 for emphasis, showing ongoing problem. |
| Judg 1:29-33 | Multiple instances of tribes failing to dispossess all inhabitants. | Reinforces the widespread nature of this disobedience among the tribes. |
| Judg 2:1-3 | "The angel of the LORD went up... and said, 'I brought you up out of Egypt... But you have not obeyed me...'" | Angel's rebuke for their disobedience, stating the consequence: a snare. |
| Judg 2:20-23 | "Therefore the LORD's anger burned against Israel... so I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left behind..." | God's response: leaving enemies to test Israel. |
| Judg 3:1-4 | "These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan..." | Purpose for remaining inhabitants: to test and train Israel. |
| 1 Kgs 9:20-22 | "All the people who were not of Israelite descent—Canaanites... them Solomon conscripted for forced labor, and so they remain to this day." | Solomon later implemented forced labor, distinct in context, but illustrating its continuation. |
| Neh 9:24 | "Their descendants went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites..." | Historical perspective acknowledging God's help despite Israel's failures. |
| Pss 106:34-36 | "They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD had commanded them... They mingled with the nations and adopted their customs." | Explaining the spiritual consequence of this physical failure: syncretism. |
| Isa 1:2-3 | "The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." | Prophetic lament on Israel's rebellion and failure to discern God's ways. |
| Jer 7:23-24 | "But this is what I commanded them: Obey me, and I will be your God... But they did not listen or pay attention..." | Emphasis on the core issue of not listening and obeying God's commands. |
| Hos 8:7 | "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind..." | Principle of consequences for disobedience and rebellion. |
| Mt 6:24 | "No one can serve two masters..." | Illustrates the spiritual impossibility of serving God and remaining tied to idols/enemies. |
| 1 Cor 10:6-10 | "These things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did." | Old Testament failures as warnings for new covenant believers. |
| 2 Cor 6:14 | "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers." | Spiritual application to maintaining separation from corrupting influences. |
| Eph 6:11-12 | "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood..." | Spiritual warfare perspective, complete victory over sin and evil is required. |
| Heb 3:17-19 | "And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?" | Highlights the consequences of disobedience, including failure to enter rest. |
Joshua 17 verses
Joshua 17 13 Meaning
Joshua 17:13 details the Manassite tribe's actions regarding the Canaanites within their allotted territory. Despite Israel growing militarily powerful, they chose to subject the Canaanites to forced labor instead of completely expelling them, as God had commanded. This partial obedience represented a significant compromise and disobedience to divine instruction.
Joshua 17 13 Context
Joshua 17 details the allocation of land to the tribe of Manasseh, particularly its westward expansion across the Jordan. After receiving their inheritance, the chapter outlines specific areas where Manasseh failed to fully drive out the existing Canaanite inhabitants. Verse 13 specifically addresses the cities with unexpelled Canaanites in Manasseh's territory. This narrative serves as a pre-echo to the book of Judges, which extensively details Israel's subsequent cycles of disobedience, oppression, and partial deliverance, largely stemming from this initial failure to completely dispossess the inhabitants of the land, despite having the strength to do so. The historical context is post-conquest, where Israel possessed the strength and divine mandate, yet chose a path of compromise for immediate benefit (forced labor), which ultimately led to long-term spiritual and social problems.
Joshua 17 13 Word analysis
- Yet (וָלֹ֣א, va·lo): A strong adversative conjunction, "but," "yet." It introduces a contrast or counter-action to what might have been expected or what was commanded. Despite Israel's growing strength and divine purpose, their actions diverge.
- when the Israelites grew strong (כִּ֣י חָזְק֔וּ בְּנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, ki chazeqū b’nēi Yisrā’ēl):
- grew strong (חָזְק֔וּ, chazeqū): From the root chazaq (חָזַק), meaning to be strong, courageous, firm, or grow mighty. This highlights that Israel was empowered, implying divine blessing and capability. Their failure was not due to weakness, but choice.
- the Israelites (בְּנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל, b’nēi Yisrā’ēl): "Sons of Israel," refers to the collective nation. The responsibility and failure rests with the community.
- they put the Canaanites to forced labor (וַיִּתְּנ֣וּ אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֗י לָמַס֙, vayyittenū ’et-hak’na‘ani lammas):
- put (וַיִּתְּנ֣וּ, vayyittenū): "And they gave/put/placed." Implies an active decision.
- the Canaanites (אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֗י, ’et-hak’na‘ani): The collective indigenous people of Canaan, specified targets of God's command for expulsion or destruction due to their wickedness and idolatry.
- to forced labor (לָמַס֙, lammas): From mas (מַס), meaning forced labor, task work, or corvée. This was a form of servitude common in the ancient Near East, often demanded by victors from vanquished peoples. It brought economic benefit but violated God's explicit command to completely dispossess the Canaanites to prevent idolatry and corruption.
- but did not drive them out completely (וְהוֹרֵ֥ישׁ לֹֽא־הוֹרִישֻֽׁם׃, vehōrēsh lō-hôrîšūm):
- did not drive out (לֹֽא־הוֹרִישֻֽׁם, lō-hôrîšūm): The verb yarash (יָרַשׁ), "to dispossess, inherit, take possession," used in the Hiphil causative form. The repetition of the root horish horishum ("dispossessing did not dispossess them") serves as an intensifier, emphasizing the utter failure to completely clear them out, reinforcing the command from Deut 7:1-5, Deut 20:16-18, Num 33:52-53, and Exod 23:29-30.
Words-group analysis:
- "Yet when the Israelites grew strong... but did not drive them out completely": This phrase starkly contrasts Israel's capacity (strength given by God) with their action (disobedience). It reveals a choice of convenience and partial obedience over full devotion.
- "put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely": This reveals the core compromise. Rather than adhering to the divine plan for complete eradication to avoid spiritual contamination, Israel opted for economic gain, which introduced the very influences God sought to remove. The economic benefit (forced labor) became a reason for spiritual compromise.
Joshua 17 13 Bonus section
The act of subjecting the Canaanites to mas (forced labor) shows a shrewd but ultimately flawed pragmatism on Israel's part. It represents a common ancient Near Eastern practice by victors over the vanquished. However, for Israel, it went against a specific divine directive given due to the unique spiritual corruption of the Canaanites. This wasn't just a military conquest; it was also a divine judgment and a cleansing operation to protect the purity of God's people. By opting for "human resource" utilization rather than following divine eradication, they missed the profound theological implications of God's command. This established a precedent of tolerating evil for gain, leading to the struggles described in Judges, where these remnant populations became "thorns in your sides" (Num 33:55).
Joshua 17 13 Commentary
Joshua 17:13 is a pivotal verse, encapsulating a pattern of disobedience that defines much of Israel's subsequent history. The failure of the Manassites to completely drive out the Canaanites, despite their acquired strength—a strength undoubtedly gifted by God—underscores a critical moral and spiritual lapse. God had commanded utter expulsion or destruction of the Canaanites not out of caprice, but to prevent the Israelites from adopting their idolatrous and corrupt practices. By instead subjugating them to mas (forced labor), Israel chose temporary economic benefit over complete obedience, integrating the very element of pagan influence that God intended to remove. This compromise was a strategic error with long-term spiritual consequences, as indicated throughout Judges and later prophetic books where syncretism and idolatry plague Israel. It serves as a stark reminder that partial obedience is often disobedience in God's eyes, and that convenient compromise can lead to spiritual detriment and a continued struggle against forces one was commanded to fully defeat. This highlights the ongoing battle believers face in completely surrendering all areas of life to God, not just those that are convenient or profitable.