King Adonizedek of Jerusalem forms an alliance with four other Amorite kings to attack Gibeon, who had made peace with Israel. Joshua responds to Gibeon's plea, and the LORD intervenes with a great slaughter, including hailstones and causing the sun and moon to stand still for a full day. Joshua then captures and executes the five kings, proceeding to conquer and utterly destroy Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir, as the LORD fought for Israel.
Now Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured Ai and devoted it to destruction—doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king—and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living near them.
So Adoni-zedek and his people were greatly alarmed, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were mighty.
Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,
So the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces and advanced with all their armies. They camped before Gibeon and made war against it.
Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”
But you, do not stop there. Pursue your enemies and attack them from behind. Do not let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand.”
So Joshua and the Israelites continued to inflict a terrible slaughter until they had finished them off, and the remaining survivors retreated to the fortified cities.
When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.
At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.
On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. So he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
And the LORD also delivered that city and its king into the hand of Israel, and Joshua put all the people to the sword, leaving no survivors. And he did to the king of Libnah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, and Joshua captured it on the second day. He put all the people to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah.
They captured it and put to the sword its king, all its villages, and all the people. Joshua left no survivors, just as he had done at Eglon; he devoted to destruction Hebron and everyone in it.
And they captured Debir, its king, and all its villages. They put them to the sword and devoted to destruction everyone in the city, leaving no survivors. Joshua did to Debir and its king as he had done to Hebron and as he had done to Libnah and its king.
So Joshua conquered the whole region—the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes, together with all their kings—leaving no survivors. He devoted to destruction everything that breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
Study Notes for Joshua 10
Verse 1
Adonizedek, King of Jerusalem, leads this coalition. Jerusalem was strategically important and its ruler feared Israel's success (Jericho/Ai) and the defection of Gibeon, a powerful city-state that controlled important trade routes.
Verse 3
This alliance involved the five major Amorite city-states in the southern hill country. Their decision to attack Gibeon rather than confront Israel directly shows their concern over Israel’s covenant relationship with the Gibeonites.
Verse 5
The term 'Amorites' is used broadly here to describe the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the central and southern hill country, although specific groups like the Hittites and Canaanites were also present.
Verse 8
This divine assurance, given before the battle, confirms that the victory is guaranteed by God. This promise reinforces the theme that the conquest is fundamentally the Lord’s war, not merely Joshua’s military campaign.
Verse 9
The rapid, all-night march from Gilgal to Gibeon (a distance of about 20 miles uphill) demonstrates Joshua's tactical initiative and his commitment to honoring the covenant made with the Gibeonites (9:15).
Verse 10
The Lord ‘discomfited’ them, meaning He threw the enemy into confusion and panic, initiating the rout that Israel then capitalized upon.
Verse 11
The hailstones represent a direct, supernatural intervention by God (a theophany, or manifestation of God’s power). The text emphasizes that more enemies perished by this divine judgment than by the Israelite army’s swords.
Verse 12
Joshua’s command reflects an extraordinary moment of faith, demanding the lengthening of daylight to ensure the complete and decisive destruction of the enemy forces before they could reach the protection of their cities.
Verse 13
The 'book of Jasher' was a lost collection of ancient Hebrew poems or heroic songs, cited here to confirm the magnitude and notoriety of this miraculous event. The theological point is God's absolute power over creation on behalf of His people.
Verse 14
This verse highlights the uniqueness of the miracle, underscoring Joshua’s exceptional status as a leader whose spoken request was answered by God to secure a military objective.
Verse 15
This verse concludes the narrative of the main battle and the pursuit. Some scholars view it as a literary bracket, anticipating the full return to Gilgal (v. 43) after the subsequent city campaigns.
Verse 24
Placing feet upon the necks of defeated kings was a powerful symbolic act in the ancient Near East, signifying total domination, humiliation, and the transfer of sovereignty. It served as a visible reassurance to the Israelite captains.
Verse 25
Joshua uses the public execution as a teaching moment, applying the immediate military victory to a general principle: God will grant Israel victory over all future enemies.
Verse 26
The kings were subsequently hanged as a public warning, but in accordance with Deuteronomic law (Deut. 21:23), they had to be taken down and buried before sunset to avoid defiling the land.
Verse 28
Makkedah is the first of a series of southern cities destroyed. The phrase 'utterly destroyed' (Heb. herem) refers to the dedication of the city and its inhabitants wholly to God, usually through destruction, as commanded by the covenant law.
Verse 33
Horam, King of Gezer, intervened to assist Lachish, demonstrating a broader regional solidarity against Israel. Gezer was a key fortress city, often under Egyptian influence, located strategically between the coastal plain and the hill country.
Verse 40
This verse summarizes the scope of the campaign, covering the major geographical regions of the southern territory: the central hill country, the Negev (south), the Shephelah (vale), and the springs/foothills. The destruction was carried out precisely as God commanded.
Verse 42
The rapid success of this extensive campaign is explicitly attributed to divine intervention. The theological message is clear: the victories were accomplished 'at one time' because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.
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