And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.
The Israelites took all the valuable things from these cities and all the livestock for themselves. But they killed every person with the sword until they had completely destroyed them, leaving no one alive.
The Israelites took the possessions and animals from the conquered cities but killed all the people as God had commanded them to do.
📚 Historical Context
In the historical context of the Book of Joshua, the Israelites were carrying out God's command to conquer the land of Canaan, which He had promised to their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as part of fulfilling a covenant made centuries earlier. This specific event in Joshua 11 describes the Israelites' defeat of a coalition of northern kings and their armies, where they were instructed to destroy the inhabitants to prevent the spread of idolatry and moral corruption that had long plagued the region. This action reflected the ancient practice of holy war in the ancient Near East, serving as divine judgment on nations whose wickedness had reached a point of no return.
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