Bible Strands
Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports Joshua’s completion of the northern conquest campaign immediately after the elimination of the Anakim from Israelite territory. This moment marks the transition from military subjugation to the formal distribution of conquered territory.
The words — The verb וַיִּקַּח (va/yi.kach) literally renders "and he took," while דִּבֶּר (di.ver) means "he had spoken." These lexical choices foreground the sequence of divine declaration followed by human execution.
The thread — The pattern of land allotment and divine rest appears in Joshua 21:44, which records the LORD granting rest on every side as previously sworn. The cessation of hostilities also aligns with the war-ending declaration in Psalms 46:9.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to observe that territorial inheritance operates strictly according to spoken commands rather than autonomous strategy. It demands acknowledgment that obedience to explicit instruction directly produces communal stability.
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 the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
Cross-references
- Joshua 21:44 And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.
- Numbers 26:52 Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Psalms 46:9 He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
- Exodus 23:27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Joshua 14:1 Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel.
- Exodus 34:11 Observe what I command you this day. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- 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 1:38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land.
- Deuteronomy 11:23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.
- Deuteronomy 12:9 For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.