And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
When the sun was setting, Joshua gave the command, and his men took the bodies down from the trees and threw them into the same cave where the kings had been hiding. Then they piled large stones at the entrance of the cave, and those stones are still there to this day.
This verse describes how Joshua had the bodies of the five defeated kings removed at sunset and buried in the cave where they had originally tried to hide, sealing it with stones as a permanent memorial.
📚 Historical Context
This follows the defeat of five Canaanite kings who had formed an alliance against Israel and the city of Gibeon. According to Israelite law, bodies of executed criminals displayed on trees had to be taken down before nightfall (Deuteronomy 21:23). The phrase 'until this very day' indicates this account was written while the stone memorial could still be seen by readers.
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