TRV
Translation
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
Complete Jewish Bible
For it was ADONAI who caused them to harden their hearts and come against Isra'el in battle, so that they would be utterly destroyed, so that they would not find favor but be destroyed, in keeping with the orders ADONAI had given Moshe.
Berean Standard Bible
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.
American Standard Version
For it was of Jehovah to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
World English Bible Messianic
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Geneva Bible (1599)
For it came of the Lord, to harden their heartes that they shoulde come against Israel in battell to the intent that they shoulde destroye them vtterly, and shewe them no mercie, but that they shoulde bring them to nought: as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Young's Literal Translation
for from Jehovah it hath been to strengthen their heart, to meet in battle with Israel, in order to devote them, so that they have no grace, but in order to destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
See also
See on the biblical-era map
In the KJVVerse 6,128 of 31,102
Study This Verse
Commentary on Joshua 11 verses 15–23
15 ¶ As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
17 Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.
18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
19 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.
20 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.
21 And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
22 There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.
23 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.
We have here the conclusion of this whole matter.
I. A short account is here given of what was done in four things: - 1. The obstinacy of the Canaanites in their opposition to the Israelites. It was strange that though it appeared so manifestly that God fought for Israel, and in every engagement the Canaanites had the worst of it, yet they stood it out to the last; not one city made peace with Israel, but the Gibeonites only, who understood the things that belonged to their peace better than their neighbours, Jos 11:19. It is intimated that other cities might have made as good terms for themselves, without ragged clothes and clouted shoes, if they would have humbled themselves, but they never so much as desired conditions of peace. We here are told whence this unaccountable infatuation came: It was of the Lord to harden their hearts, Jos 11:20. As Pharaoh's heart was hardened by his own pride and wilfulness first, and afterwards by the righteous judgment of God, to his destruction, so were the hearts of these Canaanites. To punish them for all their other follies, God left them to this, to make those their enemies whom they might have made their friends. This was it that ruined them: they came against Israel in battle, and gave the first blow, and therefore might have no favour shown them. Those know not what they do who give the provocation to divine justice, or the authorized instruments of it. Are we stronger than God? Observe here, That hardness of heart is the ruin of sinners. Those that are stupid and secure, and heedless of divine warnings, are already marked for destruction. What hope is there of those concerning whom God has said, Go, make their hearts fat? 2. The constancy of the Israelites in prosecuting this war (Jos 11:18): Joshua made war a long time; some reckon it five years, others seven, that were spent in subduing this land: so long God would train up Israel to war, and give them repeated instances of his power and goodness in every new victory that he gave them. 3. The conquest of the Anakim at last, Jos 11:21, Jos 11:22. Either this was done as they met with them where they were dispersed, as some think, or rather it should seem the Anakim had retired to their fastnesses, and so were hunted out and cut off at last, after all the rest of Israel's enemies. The mountains of Judah and Israel were the habitations of those mountains of men; but not their height, nor the strength of their caves, nor the difficulty of the passes to them, could secure, no, not these mighty men, from the sword of Joshua. The cutting off of the sons of Anak is particularly mentioned because these had been such a terror to the spies forty years before, and their bulk and strength had been thought an insuperable difficulty in the way of the reducing of Canaan, Num 13:28, Num 13:33. Even that opposition which seemed invincible was got over. Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for even their day will come to fall. Giants are dwarfs to Omnipotence; yet this struggle with the Anakim was reserved for the latter end of the war, when the Israelites had become more expert in the arts of war, and had had more experience of the power and goodness of God. Note, God sometimes reserves the sharpest trials of his people by affliction and temptation for the latter end of their days. Therefore let not him that girds on the harness boast as he that puts it off. Death, that tremendous son of Anak, is the last enemy that is to be encountered; but it is to be destroyed, Co1 15:26. Thanks be to God, who will give us the victory. 4. The end and issue of this long war. The Canaanites were rooted out, not perfectly (as we shall find after in the book of Judges), but in a good measure; they were not able to make any head either, (1.) So as to keep the Israelites out of possession of the land: Joshua took all that land, Jos 11:16, Jos 11:17. And we may suppose the people dispersed themselves and their families into the countries they had conquered, at least those that lay nearest to the head-quarters at Gilgal, until an orderly distribution should be made by lot, that every man might know his own. Or, (2.) So as to keep them in action, or give them any molestation (Jos 11:23): The land rested from war. It ended not in a peace with the Canaanites (that was forbidden), but in a peace from them. There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which they shall enter when their warfare is accomplished.
II. That which was now done is here compared with that which had been said to Moses. God's word and his works, if viewed and considered together, will mutually illustrate each other. It is here observed in the close, 1. That all the precepts God had given to Moses relating to the conquest of Canaan were obeyed on the people's part, at least while Joshua lived. See how solemnly this is remarked (Jos 11:15): As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, by whose hand the law was given, so did Moses command Joshua, for Moses was faithful, as a law-giver, to him that appointed him; he did his part, and then he died: but were the commands of Moses observed when he was in his grave? Yes, they were: So did Joshua, who was, in his place, as faithful as Moses in his. He left nothing undone (Heb. he removed nothing) of all that the Lord commanded Moses. Those that leave their duty undone do what they can to remove or make void the command of God, by which they are bound to do it; but Joshua, by performing the precept, confirmed it, as the expression is, Deu 27:26. Joshua was himself a great commander, and yet nothing was more his praise than his obedience. Those that rule others at their will must themselves be ruled by the divine will; then their power is indeed their honour, and not otherwise. The pious obedience for which Joshua is here commended respects especially the command to destroy the Canaanites, and to break down their altars and burn their images, Deu 7:2-5; Exo 23:24; Exo 34:13. Joshua, in his zeal for the Lord of hosts, spared neither the idols nor the idolaters. Saul's disobedience, or rather his partial obedience, to the command of God, for the utter destruction of the Amalekites, cost him his kingdom. It should seem Joshua himself gives this account of his most careful and punctual observance of his orders in the execution of his commission, that in all respects he had done as Moses commanded him; and then it intimates that he had more pleasure and satisfaction in reflecting upon his obedience to the commands of God in all this war, and valued himself more upon that, than upon all the gains and triumphs with which he was enriched and advanced. 2. That all the promises God had given to Moses relating to this conquest were accomplished on his part, Jos 11:23. Joshua took the whole land, conquered it, and took possession of it, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses. God had promised to drive out the nations before them (Exo 33:2; Exo 34:11), and to bring them down, Deu 9:3. And now it was done. There failed not one word of the promise. Our successes and enjoyments are then doubly sweet and comfortable to us when we see them flowing to us from the promise (this is according to what the Lord said), as our obedience is then acceptable to God when it has an eye to the precept. And, if we make conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 15–23. Public domain.
Copy as
Origen of AlexandriaAD 253
HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 15.5
For as long as the hostile powers that work sin in us do not come and incite us to sin or provoke us to fight, they cannot be killed or exterminated. For that reason, therefore, God is said in like manner to permit, even to excite, opposing powers to go out into battle against us so that we may seize the victory and they may pursue destruction.
JeromeAD 420
Against the Pelagians 1.33
“There was no city which the Lord did not deliver to the children of Israel, except perhaps those who lived in Gibeon. Israel violently overthrew all of them because the Lord hardened their hearts that they would fight Israel and be killed and not be shown mercy and die, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.” If it happened by the will of the Lord that Israel not receive or accept peace, then let us say with the apostle, “Why, therefore, does he object? For who can resist the will of the Lord?”
Augustine of HippoAD 430
QUESTIONS ON JOSHUA 18
It is said that “their heart was strengthened through the Lord,” that is, that their heart was hardened, just as in the case of Pharaoh. There can be no doubt that this is justly done by a divine and lofty judgment, when God abandons someone and the enemy takes possession of him; the same applies in this case as in Pharaoh’s. But here something else sets in motion, as it is said that their hearts were emboldened to arise against Israel in war and therefore the Israelites would not show any mercy to them. The Israelites may very well have showed them mercy, if the Canaanites had not gone to war, since God had ordered that none of the Canaanites were to be spared and yet the Israelites had spared the Gibeonites because they had represented themselves as having come from a far-off country and had made a treaty with them. But because the Israelites showed mercy to some, albeit against the command of God, it must be understood that it was said with this intention that the Canaanites waged war in such a manner so that the Israelites would not spare them, nor would the Canaanites be able to convince the Israelites to show mercy and neglect God’s command. I cannot believe that this could have happened in any other way, even though Joshua was their leader and diligently obeyed all of God’s commands. Nonetheless, not even Joshua would have annihilated them so quickly had they not gone against him in such a dastardly fashion. Thus it could have happened that Joshua, taking care to fulfill God’s commandments, would have defeated them in a rather minimal way and they would have remained until the time when the Israelites could spare them after Joshua’s death, when the Israelites did not do God’s commandments with such care. For even while he was still alive the Israelites spared some Canaanites, although they subjugated them to their authority; some Canaanites, in fact, they never could conquer. But these things were not done while he was their leader but when as an old man he had retired from warfare and merely divided up the territories for the Israelites. He divided it with the intention that the Israelites would take possession of those lands that were emptied of the enemy and capture the rest by fighting, although he himself would no longer wage war. And the fact that they were able to conquer some of the Canaanites in a rather minimal way was owing to divine providence, as is clear in certain places in the Scriptures.
Richard ChallonerAD 1781
Hardened: This hardening of their hearts, was their having no thought of yielding or submitting: which was a sentence or judgment of God upon them in punishment of their enormous crimes.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
Copy as
Continue studying Joshua 11:20 across the web’s major study libraries — every link below opens this exact verse, chapter, or book on the destination site.
Read & Compare
BibleGatewayThis verse in more than 200 translations and 70 languages.
Bible.comThe YouVersion reader — hundreds of translations, reading plans, and highlights.
ESV.orgCrossway's official English Standard Version reader.
NET BibleThe NET translation with 60,000+ translators' notes on every rendering decision.
STEP BibleTyndale House's free study tool — original text, vocabulary, and scholarly resources.
BibliaLogos Bible Software's free web reader.
USCCBThe New American Bible (Revised Edition) with the U.S. bishops' study notes.
Commentaries
BibleHub CommentariesDozens of classic commentaries on this verse, gathered on one page.
StudyLightMore than 100 commentary sets — the largest collection on the web.
BibleRefPlain-English commentary on what this verse means, verse by verse.
Enduring WordDavid Guzik's free commentary on this chapter, widely used by Bible teachers.
Bible Study ToolsVerse commentary alongside Greek and Hebrew study aids.
Original Language & Research
- BibleHub InterlinearThe verse word by word — original language, transliteration, and English.
- BibleHub LexiconEvery word's original-language definition and Strong's entry.
Blue Letter BibleDeep-study tools — Strong's numbers, concordance, and word studies.
SefariaThe Hebrew text with Rashi and centuries of Jewish commentary.
Sermons, Hymns & Audio
TrulyRandomVerse is not affiliated with these sites and doesn’t control their content. They’re linked because they’re genuinely useful.
SUMMARY
Joshua 11:20 offers a profound theological explanation for the persistent resistance of the Canaanite kings and peoples during the Israelite conquest, particularly in the northern campaign. It asserts that the LORD Himself divinely orchestrated the hardening of their hearts, compelling them to engage Israel in battle. This sovereign act served a specific, predetermined purpose: to ensure their utter destruction and preclude any possibility of peace or favor, thereby fulfilling the explicit commands of judgment previously given by God to Moses concerning the inhabitants of the land.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Joshua 11:20 employs several significant literary devices to convey its powerful theological message. The most prominent is Purpose Clause, indicated by the repeated use of "that" (לְמַעַן lema'an in Hebrew) to articulate the divine intention behind the hardening of 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." This repetition emphasizes the deliberate and teleological nature of God's actions, revealing a clear, predetermined outcome. Repetition of the phrase "destroy them" further reinforces the absolute and comprehensive nature of the judgment. The verse also functions as a form of Theological Explanation or Divine Commentary, interrupting the narrative flow of the conquest to provide the underlying divine rationale for the events, shifting the focus from human agency to divine sovereignty. Finally, the explicit reference to "as the LORD commanded Moses" serves as an Allusion or Intertextual Reference, connecting the immediate historical events to the broader covenantal history and the foundational laws given at Sinai, thereby highlighting God's consistent character and the fulfillment of His ancient decrees.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Joshua 11:20 presents a profound theological truth about God's absolute sovereignty, even over the wills and decisions of nations. It challenges a simplistic view of human autonomy by asserting that God can and does orchestrate circumstances, including the hardening of hearts, to accomplish His divine purposes of judgment and redemption. This does not absolve human responsibility for sin, but rather demonstrates that God can allow or even cause existing rebellion to solidify, preventing a path of peace that would thwart His righteous judgment. The verse is a stark reminder of God's holiness and justice, revealing that He is not merely a passive observer but an active participant in history, ensuring that His word is fulfilled and that unrepentant wickedness ultimately faces His righteous wrath. It compels us to grapple with the mystery of divine election and reprobation, ultimately resting in the wisdom and justice of a God whose ways are higher than our ways.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Joshua 11:20 confronts us with the awe-inspiring and sometimes unsettling reality of God's absolute sovereignty and His righteous judgment. In a world that often seeks to minimize sin or question divine justice, this verse stands as a stark reminder of God's holiness and His intolerance for deep-seated wickedness. It compels us to recognize that God is actively involved in the affairs of humanity, orchestrating events to fulfill His ultimate purposes, even when those purposes involve severe judgment. While the specific context of herem is unique to the conquest of Canaan, the underlying principles of God's control, the seriousness of sin, and the certainty of divine judgment remain eternally relevant. This passage should cultivate in us a profound reverence for God's power and justice, prompting us to examine our own hearts and ensure we are not hardened against His truth. It encourages us to trust in His perfect wisdom, even when His ways are beyond our full comprehension, and to seek His favor while it is still available, for a time of judgment will surely come for all.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does God force people to sin or harden their hearts against their will?
Answer: The biblical concept of God hardening hearts, as seen in Joshua 11:20 and with Pharaoh in Exodus, does not typically imply that God implants evil or forces someone to act against their inherent desires. Rather, it often means God removes any restraining grace, opportunities for repentance, or the softening influence of His Spirit, thereby allowing a person's pre-existing rebellion, stubbornness, or sin to fully manifest and solidify. In the case of the Canaanites, their hearts were already deeply steeped in wickedness and idolatry (Leviticus 18:24-25). God's hardening was an act that confirmed them in their chosen path of resistance, ensuring that His righteous judgment would be fully executed without compromise, as He had commanded. It highlights God's sovereign control over even the disposition of human wills to accomplish His just purposes.
Is God unjust for commanding such destruction and hardening hearts to achieve it?
Answer: From a biblical perspective, God is perfectly just and holy, and His actions are always righteous, even when they involve severe judgment. The command for herem (utter destruction) against the Canaanites was not arbitrary cruelty but a unique, divinely mandated judgment against nations whose practices were an abomination to God (e.g., child sacrifice, cultic prostitution, widespread idolatry). Their "iniquity was full" (Genesis 15:16), and they had been given centuries to repent. God's hardening of their hearts ensured that His long-foretold and righteous judgment would be carried out completely, preventing the spiritual corruption of His chosen people, Israel. This act underscores God's absolute sovereignty and His commitment to justice, demonstrating that He will not tolerate unrepentant wickedness indefinitely. It serves as a historical precedent for the certainty of God's ultimate judgment against all sin.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Joshua 11:20, with its stark portrayal of divine judgment and the hardening of hearts, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in several profound ways. The judgment meted out upon the Canaanites, a people whose hearts were hardened against God, foreshadows the universal judgment against all humanity whose hearts remain hardened in sin against their Creator. Yet, in Christ, we see the ultimate answer to this dire predicament. While the Canaanites received "no favour" and faced utter destruction, Jesus Christ is the one through whom God offers ultimate favor and mercy to a world deserving of judgment. He became the ultimate "devoted one" or herem (Galatians 3:13), bearing the curse and the wrath of God for sin on the cross, so that those who believe might receive forgiveness and eternal life. Through His sacrifice, the hardened heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26), softened by the Holy Spirit to respond in faith and repentance, rather than being hardened unto destruction. Thus, the terrifying justice of God displayed in Joshua 11:20 ultimately points to the glorious grace of God revealed in John 1:29 and offers the only path to escape the final, eternal judgment.