Bible Strands
Joshua 12:19
the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the defeated rulers of Canaan in Joshua 12:19 as a formal inventory following the military campaigns of Joshua 11. The text functions as a post-conquest ledger documenting specific city-kings removed from power.
The words — The Hebrew מֶלֶךְ (Me.lekh) means "king," and אֶחָד ('e.Chad) means "one" or "a single." The verse repeats these terms to count the rulers of Madon and Hazor as individual, defeated entities.
The thread — The same two kings appear in Joshua 11:1 as allies in a northern coalition and in Joshua 11:10, where Joshua captures Hazor and puts its king to the sword. Judges 4:2 later references Jabin’s continued dominance in Hazor as a subsequent period of oppression.
Why it lands — The passage requires the reader to acknowledge that Israel’s territorial acquisition involved the precise elimination of named political authorities. It demands attention to how the text enumerates individual rulers to demonstrate the completeness of the conquest.
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
The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
Cross-references
- Joshua 11:1 Now when Jabin king of Hazor heard about these things, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon; to the kings of Shimron and Achshaph;
- Joshua 11:10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms.
- Judges 4:2 So the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his forces was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.