Joshua 10:28-39

Joshua 10:28-39

[28] 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.  [29] Then Joshua  passed  from Makkedah,  and all Israel  with him, unto Libnah,  and fought  against Libnah:  [30] And the LORD  delivered  it also, and the king  thereof, into the hand  of Israel;  and he smote  it with the edge  of the sword,  and all the souls  that were therein; he let  none remain  in it; but did  unto the king  thereof as he did  unto the king  of Jericho.  [31] And Joshua  passed  from Libnah,  and all Israel  with him, unto Lachish,  and encamped  against it, and fought  against it: [32] And the LORD  delivered  Lachish  into the hand  of Israel,  which took  it on the second  day,  and smote  it with the edge  of the sword,  and all the souls  that were therein, according to all that he had done  to Libnah.  [33] Then Horam  king  of Gezer  came up  to help  Lachish;  and Joshua  smote  him and his people,  until he had left  him none remaining.  [34] And from Lachish  Joshua  passed  unto Eglon,  and all Israel  with him; and they encamped  against it, and fought  [35] And they took  it on that day,  and smote  it with the edge  of the sword,  and all the souls  that were therein he utterly destroyed  that day,  according to all that he had done  to Lachish.  [36] And Joshua  went up  from Eglon,  and all Israel  with him, unto Hebron;  and they fought  [37] And they took  it, and smote  it with the edge  of the sword,  and the king  thereof, and all the cities  thereof, and all the souls  that were therein; he left  none remaining,  according to all that he had done  to Eglon;  but destroyed  it utterly, and all the souls  that were therein. [38] And Joshua  returned,  and all Israel  with him, to Debir;  and fought  [39] And he took  it, and the king  thereof, and all the cities  thereof; and they smote  them with the edge  of the sword,  and utterly destroyed  all the souls  that were therein; he left  none remaining:  as he had done  to Hebron,  so he did  to Debir,  and to the king  thereof; as he had done  also to Libnah,  and to her king. 

What does Joshua 10:28-39 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Seven other victories followed the battle at Gibeon. In the record of these encounters the writer highlighted two important facts. Israel was obedient to God"s command to exterminate the Canaanites in these cities. Second, it was Yahweh who gave Israel"s enemies into her hands ( Joshua 10:30; Joshua 10:32).
". . . Yahweh has shown himself to be a God who accepts a people who follow him despite their past mistakes." [1]
The purpose of Joshua"s raids was to destroy the military capability of these city-states and to instill fear and confusion in the remaining Canaanites. Archaeology has confirmed that many of these cities did not suffer violent destruction at this time.
" Joshua , at this stage of the campaign, did not seem to be interested in completely destroying each one of the sites, or in occupying them." [2]
"But beyond inflicting immediate loss, this campaign achieved little else by itself-it was a sweep, not an occupation: "Joshua returned and all Israel with him, to the camp, to Gilgal" ( Joshua 10:15; Joshua 10:43). Occupation of the land, to live in it, keep livestock and cultivate crops in it, etc, was a far slower process, visible in part later in Joshua and in Judges." [3]
According to Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831), a philosopher of war, there are three principle military objectives in any war. First, the aggressor must destroy the military power of the enemy so he cannot continue or resume war. Second, he must conquer the land of the enemy so a new military force cannot arise from it. Third, he must subdue the will of the enemy. [4] Joshua accomplished all three of these basic objectives. [5]