Bible Strands
Joshua 12:21
the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua catalogs defeated Canaanite rulers to document the military completion of the land conquest for Israel. The list functions as a formal inventory of subjugated territories following the campaigns detailed in the preceding chapters.
The words — מֶלֶךְ (Me.lekh) literally means “king,” and אֶחָד ('e.Chad) means “one.” The Hebrew syntax pairs each city name with these terms to count the rulers as singular units.
The thread — The cities reappear in Joshua 17:11 as tribal allotments, Judges 5:19 as a site of Canaanite coalition warfare, and 1 Kings 4:12 as an administrative district under Solomon.
Why it lands — The text catalogs conquered rulers to establish the factual boundary of Israel’s inheritance. It requires the reader to recognize the concrete fulfillment of territorial distribution rather than abstract promise.
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 Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
Cross-references
- Joshua 17:11 Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Judges 5:19 Kings came and fought; then the kings of Canaan fought at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they took no plunder of silver.
- 1 Kings 4:12 Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
- 2 Kings 23:29 During Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.