10:1-43

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Victory in southern Canaan

(Josh 10:1-43)

The five kings who between them controlled much of southern Canaan saw Joshua’s control of Gibeon as a threat to their security. They decided to conquer Gibeon and so stop any further move south by Israel (Josh 10:1-5).

Joshua faced his biggest battle thus far. He knew that it would be a life-or-death struggle, but God encouraged him with the assurance of victory (Josh 10:6-8).

God then helped make victory possible by causing some unusual changes in the weather that were favourable to Israel but fatal to the enemy (Josh 10:9-15).

The enemy armies were almost destroyed, though some people found refuge in the fortified Canaanite cities (Josh 10:16-21). The five kings were then killed in a public execution, which included symbolic actions to reassure Israel’s military leaders that no enemy could stand before them (Josh 10:22-27).

Encouraged by the victory, Joshua led his forces farther into the southern regions of Canaan, where he conquered the key cities.

These included cities in the foothills leading down to the coast, such as Libnah, Lachish, Gezer and Eglon (Josh 10:28-35), and more elevated cities in the central tableland such as Hebron and Debir (Josh 10:36-39).

The conquest continued till it reached as far south as Kadesh-barnea and as far west as Gaza on the Mediterranean coast. Israel now controlled almost the whole of southern Canaan (Josh 10:40-43).