Bible Strands
Joshua 11:16
So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua acts as Israel’s military commander following the defeat of the northern coalition, cataloging the territories captured in direct obedience to the commands previously given to Moses.
The words — The verb וַיִּקַּח (va/yi.kach) literally means "and he took," paired with כָּל הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת (kol ha'aretz ha-zot), "all this land," and הָהָר (ha.har), "the hill country." These terms emphasize complete territorial acquisition rather than temporary military occupation.
The thread — The same geographical categories recur in Joshua 10:41 and Joshua 12:8, while Joshua 11:15 and 11:17 frame this inventory with the fulfillment of Mosaic instruction and the northern-to-southern boundaries of the campaign.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to verify that the conquered territory precisely matches the scope previously commanded, confirming that no region was left unaddressed in the execution of the directive.
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
So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
Cross-references
- Joshua 10:41 Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
- Joshua 11:21 At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.
- Joshua 12:8 the hill country, the foothills, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites):
- Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Numbers 34:2 “Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these boundaries:
- Deuteronomy 34:2 all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
- Joshua 9:1 Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)—
- Joshua 11:2 to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west;
- Ezekiel 17:23 I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches.
- Ezekiel 36:1 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.