Joshua 11:18
New International Version
Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time.

New Living Translation
waging war for a long time to accomplish this.

English Standard Version
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Berean Standard Bible
Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.

King James Bible
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

New King James Version
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

New American Standard Bible
Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.

NASB 1995
Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.

NASB 1977
Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.

Legacy Standard Bible
Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings.

Amplified Bible
Joshua waged war with all these kings a long time [at least five years].

Christian Standard Bible
Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time.

American Standard Version
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

English Revised Version
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Joshua waged war with all these kings for a long time.

International Standard Version
Joshua fought an extended campaign against all those kings.

Majority Standard Bible
Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time.

NET Bible
Joshua campaigned against these kings for quite some time.

New Heart English Bible
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Webster's Bible Translation
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

World English Bible
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Joshua has made war with all these kings [for] many days;

Young's Literal Translation
Many days hath Joshua made with all these kings war;

Smith's Literal Translation
Many days Joshua made war with all these kings.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Josue made war a long time against these kings.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For a long time, Joshua fought against these kings.

New American Bible
Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time.

New Revised Standard Version
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Joshua made war for a long time with all those kings.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And for many days Yeshua made war with all these Kings
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And for many days Joshua waged war with these kings.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Joshua Takes the Whole Land
17from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and struck them down, putting them to death. 18Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long period of time. 19No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle.…

Cross References
Joshua 10:40-42
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. / Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon. / And because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel, Joshua captured all these kings and their land in one campaign.

Deuteronomy 7:22
The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.

Exodus 23:29-30
I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. / Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.

Numbers 33:55-56
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you settle. / And then I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

Judges 2:1-3
Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I had promised to your fathers, and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, / and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done? / So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”

1 Samuel 15:18
and sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and devote to destruction the sinful Amalekites. Fight against them until you have wiped them out.’

2 Samuel 3:1
Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.

1 Kings 20:1-22
Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it. / Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, / saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’” ...

2 Kings 17:7-18
All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods / and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel. / The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities. ...

Nehemiah 9:24-25
So their descendants went in and possessed the land; You subdued before them the Canaanites dwelling in the land. You delivered into their hands the kings and peoples of the land, to do with them as they wished. / They captured fortified cities and fertile land and took houses full of all goods, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled; they grew fat and delighted in Your great goodness.

Psalm 44:2-3
With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out. / For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them.

Isaiah 28:21
For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing task.

Jeremiah 1:10
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”

Acts 13:19
And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.

Hebrews 11:30-34
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. / By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient. / And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, ...


Treasury of Scripture

Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.

Joshua 14:10
And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.

Joshua 11:23
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.

Joshua 14:7-10
Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart…

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Joshua Kings Time Waged War
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Joshua Kings Time Waged War
Joshua 11
1. Diverse kings overcome at the waters of Merom
10. Hazor is taken and burnt
16. All the country taken by Joshua
21. The Anakims cut off
23. The land rests from war














Joshua waged war
Joshua, as the leader of the Israelites, was fulfilling the command given by God to conquer the land of Canaan. This phrase highlights his role as a military leader and a faithful servant executing divine instructions. The wars were not merely political but were seen as acts of divine judgment against the Canaanite nations for their idolatry and immorality (Deuteronomy 9:4-5).

against all these kings
The "kings" refer to the various rulers of the Canaanite city-states. Each city-state was often ruled by its own king, and these kings formed coalitions to resist the Israelite invasion. This reflects the fragmented political landscape of Canaan during this period, as confirmed by archaeological findings of city-state structures and records of local rulers.

for a long period of time
The conquest of Canaan was not a swift campaign but took several years, possibly around seven years, as inferred from the broader biblical narrative (Joshua 14:7, 10). This extended period allowed for the systematic defeat of the Canaanite coalitions and the gradual settlement of the Israelites. The prolonged warfare also served to test the faith and perseverance of the Israelites, as they relied on God's promises for victory (Exodus 23:29-30).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Joshua
The central figure in this passage, Joshua is the leader of the Israelites, succeeding Moses. He is tasked with leading the Israelites into the Promised Land and conquering it as God commanded.

2. Kings of Canaan
These are the various kings of the Canaanite city-states that Joshua and the Israelites fought against. They represent the opposition to God's people and His promises.

3. Canaan
The land promised by God to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is the setting for the military campaigns led by Joshua.

4. Israelites
The people of God, descendants of the twelve tribes of Israel, who are entering and conquering the Promised Land under Joshua's leadership.

5. War Campaigns
The series of battles and military strategies employed by Joshua to conquer the land of Canaan over an extended period.
Teaching Points
Perseverance in God's Mission
Joshua's long campaign teaches the importance of perseverance in fulfilling God's commands. Believers are encouraged to remain steadfast in their spiritual journeys, even when progress seems slow.

Faith and Obedience
Joshua's success was rooted in his faith and obedience to God's instructions. Christians are reminded that faith and obedience are crucial in experiencing God's promises.

Spiritual Warfare
Just as Joshua faced physical battles, believers face spiritual battles. Ephesians 6 reminds us to put on the full armor of God to stand firm against spiritual opposition.

God's Timing
The "long period of time" indicates that God's timing is not always immediate. Trusting in God's perfect timing is essential for believers as they wait for His promises to be fulfilled.

Leadership and Responsibility
Joshua's role as a leader highlights the responsibility of those in leadership to guide others according to God's will. Christian leaders are called to lead with integrity and faithfulness.(18) A long time.--See Note on Joshua 14:10. The war seems to have lasted seven years, a long time when compared with the desultory incursions and single campaigns which made up the greater part of ancient warfare, when there were no standing armies.

Verse 18. - A long time. Hebrew, many days. The campaign in southern Israel lasted for weeks, perhaps even months. But the campaign in northern Palestine must have lasted longer. The vast host which gathered at the waters of Merom was destroyed, but the task of capturing the innumerable cities which dotted that region must have been a protracted one. We may, with Josephus, infer from Joshua 14:10 that it occupied five years, or perhaps, with other of the ancient Rabbis, seven years, since the wanderings in the wilderness after the rebellion of the Israelites lasted thirty-eight years.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Joshua
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ (yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3091: Joshua -- 'the LORD is salvation', Moses' successor, also the name of a number of Israelites

waged
עָשָׂ֧ה (‘ā·śāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

war
מִלְחָמָֽה׃ (mil·ḥā·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4421: A battle, war

against all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

these
הָאֵ֖לֶּה (hā·’êl·leh)
Article | Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

kings
הַמְּלָכִ֥ים (ham·mə·lā·ḵîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4428: A king

for a long period
רַבִּ֗ים (rab·bîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

of time.
יָמִ֣ים (yā·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day


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OT History: Joshua 11:18 Joshua made war a long time (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 11:17
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