Kings Defeated by Joshua

Joshua 12:7-24

The first half of the book of Joshua recounts the many battles fought during the conquest of the Promised Land. At the very end of this account, Israel’s conquests are summarized in a list of kings defeated by Moses and Joshua. Moses’ victories in the Transjordan are listed first, followed by Joshua’s victories in the land west of the Jordan River. Each of these defeated kings ruled over a single city-state (and sometimes its surrounding territory), and the cities listed were scattered throughout the entire land allotted to the Israelites by Moses and Joshua. It appears, however, that Israel was not always able to maintain control over some of the cities that were defeated, for several of them are noted as the headquarters of various rulers who oppressed the Israelites during the period of the Judges (e.g., Jerusalem, Gezer, Taanach, Dor, Megiddo, and Hazor; see Judges 1-4).