Bible Strands
Joshua 11:20
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator explains the outcome of Joshua’s northern campaign immediately after noting that only the Gibeonites secured peace while all other cities refused it. This statement concludes the battle account before the narrative moves to the eradication of the Anakim in the hill country.
The words — The Hebrew phrase לְחַזֵּק לִבָּם (leḥazzēq libbām) literally reads "to strengthen their heart," functioning as the idiomatic equivalent of "to harden their hearts." The causal conjunction כִּי (ki) frames this divine action as the explanation for the preceding military results.
The thread — The text explicitly ties the annihilation to the command Moses previously received, which aligns with the conquest regulations in Deuteronomy 20:16. The pattern of God hardening opponents appears earlier in Exodus 4:21 and is later referenced theologically in Romans 9:18.
Why it lands — The verse states plainly that the nations' destruction resulted from Yahweh's sovereign decision to harden them and the execution of Moses' prior command. It requires the reader to acknowledge that the military outcome was divinely orchestrated rather than a product of Israelite negotiation or strategy.
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
For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Cross-references
- Romans 9:18 Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
- Deuteronomy 20:16 However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.
- Exodus 4:21 The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
- Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
- Deuteronomy 7:16 You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
- Exodus 9:16 But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
- Exodus 14:17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.
- Joshua 11:12 Joshua captured all these kings and their cities and put them to the sword. He devoted them to destruction, as Moses the LORD’s servant had commanded.
- Judges 14:4 (Now his father and mother did not know this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines; for at that time the Philistines were ruling over Israel.)
- 1 Samuel 2:25 If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since the LORD intended to put them to death.