Bible Strands
Joshua 10:30
And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel, and Joshua put all the people to the sword, leaving no survivors. And he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Joshua’s campaign after he and the Israelite army moved from Makkedah to Libnah to fight against it. This moment occurs mid-conquest as Joshua systematically subdues southern Canaanite cities.
The words — The verb וַיִּתֵּן (va-yitten) translates literally as "and he gave," emphasizing divine agency in handing the city and its king over to Israel. The phrase בְּיַד (be-yad) means "in the hand of," denoting complete control and deliverance.
The thread — This pattern of total destruction recurs in the conquest narratives, such as the earlier judgment on Jericho in Joshua 6:21 and the later siege of Ai in Joshua 8:26. The theological motif of Yahweh delivering enemies into Israel’s hand appears repeatedly in Deuteronomy 7:24 and Judges 4:7.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that military success depends on divine delivery rather than human strategy. It requires the reader to accept that covenant obedience entails executing divine judgment without deviation or mercy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.