Joshua 11:19-20
There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the LORD commanded Moses.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse highlights a crucial detail: while most cities fought Israel to the bitter end, the Hivites of Gibeon are singled out as the only exception. This wasn't because Israel suddenly decided to offer peace, but because the Hivites themselves strategically deceived Joshua into a covenant, a detail that points to God’s deeper plan to fulfill His promises through both direct conquest and surprising divine intervention.
Joshua has been systematically conquering Canaanite kings and their cities, following God's command to utterly destroy them. This intense period of warfare culminates in Joshua's sweeping victory across the land. The text highlights that nearly all the cities were taken by force, with Gibeon being the sole exception due to their clever deception to secure a peace treaty.
Why did God command Israel to show no mercy? And why did the Canaanites fight so fiercely, even against overwhelming odds?
The text reveals a profound, and often challenging, theological concept: God's active role in sovereignly hardening hearts.
Divine Judgment and Free Will
It's not that God forces people to sin, but rather, He can allow them to be consumed by their own sin and stubbornness. This hardening is often described as God not softening hearts, but rather giving them over to their pride, animosity, and self-confidence. This served a dual purpose:
The Canaanites, in their obstinance, rushed headlong into a war they couldn't win, effectively choosing their own destruction. This highlights that while God is sovereign, individuals are still responsible for their choices and their response to His will.
Israel was commanded to utterly destroy the Canaanites. So how could the Gibeonites make peace?
Joshua 11:19 presents a fascinating exception to the general rule of conquest: the city of Gibeon. While most cities fought Israel to the bitter end, the Hivites of Gibeon actively sought peace through a clever, though deceptive, strategy (as detailed in Joshua 9).
Strategic Submission vs. Utter Destruction
This event highlights a crucial distinction:
Understand the original words
YHWH · Hebrew Proper Noun
Refers to the sovereign God of Israel, the covenant-keeping Creator. He is the central actor in history, directing events to fulfill His redemptive purposes.
chazaq · Hebrew Verb
A theological concept describing God’s sovereign action upon the human will. It refers to God confirming a person in their rebellious state so that they continue to reject Him and face the consequences of their sin, often in judgment.
shalom · Hebrew Noun
A state of harmony or covenantal agreement. Biblically, it signifies not merely the absence of war, but wholeness, well-being, and a right relationship with God and others.
cherem · Hebrew Noun
While Gibeon secured peace through clever deception, all other Canaanite cities resisted Israel, leading to their utter destruction in battle as God ordained.
c. 1446 BC
Israelites Enter Promised Land
After 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites, led by Joshua, cross the Jordan River into Canaan, beginning their military campaign to conquer the land.
c. 1445 BC
Fall of Jericho and Ai
The Israelites experience miraculous victories at Jericho and Ai, demonstrating God's power and sowing fear among the Canaanite peoples.
c. 1445 BC— this verse
Gibeonite Deception
The Hivites of Gibeon cleverly deceive Joshua into making a treaty of peace with them, an act that later becomes a point of contention.
c. 1445 BC
Consolidated Southern Campaign
Following the Gibeonite deception, a coalition of southern Canaanite kings attacks Gibeon, leading Joshua to launch a swift and decisive campaign to defeat them.
This passage lays the groundwork for the conquest by commanding Israel to make no peace treaties with the Canaanite nations and to utterly destroy them, highlighting the divine mandate behind the thoroughness of Joshua's campaign.
Judges 1:21This verse shows that the tribe of Benjamin, unlike the others, did not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, illustrating that not all tribes followed Joshua's complete execution of the command, thus showing the uniqueness of the Gibeonites' plea.
1 Kings 9:20-21This passage reveals that descendants of the Canaanites who were not utterly destroyed (like the Gibeonites) were reduced to forced labor, demonstrating a lasting consequence and a partial fulfillment of God's judgment, even when full obedience wasn't achieved by Israel.
Joshua 9:3-27This narrative explains *how* the Gibeonites made peace, showing their cunning deception and Joshua's subsequent oath to spare them, which accounts for why they were the sole exception to the cities taken in battle.
calvinJoshua 11:16-23: "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;"
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 favor, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Quia a Jehova fuit, ut induraretcor eorum in occursum belli c…
bensonJoshua 11:19: "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."
Joshua 11:19-20 . All other they took in battle — That is, all that were taken by Joshua were taken by the sword, and therefore it is no wonder that the war was long, when the enemy was so obstinate. It was of the Lord to harden their hearts — In the same sense in which he hardened the heart of Pharaoh. He did not soften their hearts throug…
This verse highlights a crucial detail: while most cities fought Israel to the bitter end, the Hivites of Gibeon are singled out as the only exception. This wasn't because Israel suddenly decided to offer peace, but because the Hivites themselves strategically deceived Joshua into a covenant, a detail that points to God’s deeper plan to fulfill His promises through both direct conquest and surprising divine intervention.
Joshua has been systematically conquering Canaanite kings and their cities, following God's command to utterly destroy them. This intense period of warfare culminates in Joshua's sweeping victory across the land. The text highlights that nearly all the cities were taken by force, with Gibeon being the sole exception due to their clever deception to secure a peace treaty.
Joshua has been systematically conquering Canaanite kings and their cities, following God's command to utterly destroy them. This intense period of warfare culminates in Joshua's sweeping victory across the land. The text highlights that nearly all the cities were taken by force, with Gibeon being the sole exception due to their clever deception to secure a peace treaty.
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This wasn't a contradiction of God's command, but rather a demonstration of how those who sought to submit, even deceitfully, were spared. Yet, their deceptive means also led to their perpetual servitude as 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' for Israel (Joshua 9:23).
A severe judgment where something or someone is set apart exclusively for God's holy purpose, which, in the case of the Canaanite nations, meant total destruction to prevent idolatrous corruption.
rachamim · Hebrew Noun
An attitude of compassion, kindness, and withholding deserved punishment. God is frequently described as compassionate and merciful, though His judgment against persistent rebellion is also righteous.
c. 1444 BC
Conquest of Northern Kings
Joshua engages and defeats a powerful alliance of northern Canaanite kings in a major battle, securing much of the land.
c. 1444 BC
Anakim Defeated
Joshua systematically eliminates the formidable Anakim from the hill country, fulfilling God's command and removing a significant threat.
c. 1444 BC
Land Divided Among Tribes
With the majority of the land conquered, Joshua oversees the division of the territory among the twelve tribes of Israel.
"There was not a city that made peace with the people of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took them all in battle. For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle,…" — This verse highlights a crucial detail: while most cities fought Israel to the bitter end, the Hivites of Gibeon are singled out as the only exception. This wasn't because Israel suddenly decided t…
