Joshua 10:1-11

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ¹  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ²  and its king. ³  He also heard how ⁴  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them. 10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified ⁵  because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors. 10:3 So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon: 10:4 “Come to my aid ⁶  so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 10:5 So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon. ⁷ 

10:6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon ⁸  your subjects! ⁹  Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.” ¹⁰  10:7 So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal. ¹¹  10:8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you. ¹²  Not one of them can resist you.” ¹³  10:9 Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal. ¹⁴  10:10 The Lord routed ¹⁵  them before Israel. Israel ¹⁶  thoroughly defeated them ¹⁷  at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass ¹⁸  of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 10:11 As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from ¹⁹  Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, ²⁰  all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

[10:1]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:1]  ² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[10:1]  ³ tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”

[10:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and how.”

[10:2]  ⁵ tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.

[10:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “Come up to me and help me.”

[10:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.”

[10:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”

[10:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “your servants!”

[10:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “have gathered against us.”

[10:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”

[10:8]  ¹² tn Heb “I have given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.

[10:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”

[10:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”

[10:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “caused to panic.”

[10:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. NIV, NRSV), but it is also possible that the Lord should be understood as the referent (cf. NASB “and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon”), or even Joshua (cf. NEB “and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon”).

[10:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”

[10:10]  ¹⁸ tn Or “ascent.”

[10:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “on the descent of.”

[10:11]  ²⁰ tn Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.