Joshua 11:21

And at that time came Joshua,.... After he had made a conquest of the land, or at the time he made it, as before related: and cut off the Anakims from the mountains; whither, upon the conquest of the

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

At that time, i.e. in that war; for it cannot be meant of any particular and short time, because the work here related was done in divers times and years. The Anakims; a race of giants, of which see . From the mountain, or, mountains, the singular number for the plural: these barbarous and monstrous persons either chose to live in the dens or caves, which were frequent in the mountains of those parts; or else they were driven thither by the arms and success of the Israelites. From Debir; either, 1. From the territories belonging to these cities, as we have oft seen in this history, cities mentioned for the country subject to them; for the cities were taken before by Joshua, . Or, 2. From the cities themselves; and so either the cities were retaken by the giants, which it is not probable that God would permit in Joshua’ s time; or he speaks here of that time when he took those places mentioned here and Joshua 10, which history he here in part repeats and enlargeth with this memorable circumstance, that, together with the rest, he destroyed also the giants which were in those places. Anab; a place in the tribe of Judah, . From all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: it doth not follow from hence, which some conclude, that this book was written by some other person long after Joshua’ s death, even after the division of the Israelites into two kingdoms, of Israel and Judah; but only that this was one of those clauses which were added or altered and suited to the style of the present times by Ezra, or some other prophet, though that be not necessary; for since it was evident to Joshua, from , &c., that the tribe of Judah was to be the chief of all the tribes, and some dawnings of its eminency appeared in that time, in their having the first lot in the land of Canaan, , and the largest inheritance, , it is no wonder that it is mentioned apart, and distinguished from the rest of the tribes of Israel, though that also be one of them; even as the daughter of Pharaoh is distinguished from the strange women, , and Saul from all David’ s enemies, , and Peter from the disciples, , though they were each of the same nature and quality with the rest. Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. Quest. How could Joshua utterly destroy these, when Caleb and Othniel destroyed some of them after Joshua’ s death, . Answ. This might be, either, 1. Because these places being in part destroyed and neglected by the Israelites, might be repossessed by the giants, either in Joshua’ s time, or after his death, and by them kept till Caleb dispossessed and destroyed them. Or rather, 2.

Joshua 11:21 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.Ver. 21. And cut off all the Anakims.] Whom the spies had once represented, and reported insuperable. The lion is not so fierce as he is painted: to faith nothing is impossible.

(21) Anab is identified with Anâb, west of Debir. The death of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the three sons of Anak, the chiefs of the Anakim, is recorded in Judges 1:10.

Verse 21. Cut off the Anakims - from Hebron, from Debir] This is evidently a recapitulation of the military operations detailed Joshua 10:36-41. Destroyed - their cities] That is, those of the Anakims; for from Joshua 11:13 we learn that Joshua preserved certain other cities.

21–23. Extermination of the Anakims 21. at that time] That is, in the course of the “long time,” the seven years spoken of in Joshua 11:18. We have now a supplementary notice of the destruction of the Anakims, and a general conclusion substantially as given in Joshua 11:16. the Anakims] In Numbers 13:22 we are told of the spies that they “ascended by the south and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were,” and when this was reported to the Israelites, and they heard of “the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, in whose sight the spies seemed as grasshoppers” (Numbers 13:33), “all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried, and murmured against Moses and against Aaron” (Numbers 14:1-2). The sacred writer therefore now goes back to record pointedly this terrible race, who had inspired such faithless murmuring and complaint (comp. Deuteronomy 9:2). It has been concluded by some that these giants were a tribe of Cushite wanderers from Babel, and of the same race as the Philistines, the Phœnicians, and the Egyptian shepherd-kings, representing one or more families of Amorite descent, distinguished for their lofty stature and physical powers. Thus Og, king of Bashan, is described as of the “remnant of the giants” (Deuteronomy 3:11). In Abraham’s time (Genesis 14:5-6) they inhabited the territories afterwards known as Edom and Moab, and the region east of Jordan, under the names of (a) Rephaims, (b) Zuzims or Zamzummims, (c) Emims, and (d) Horites. Here they were attacked by Chedorlaomer, the Elamite king, who also smote the Amorites of Engedi in the Jordan valley. Subsequently the Horites were conquered by the Edomites, the Emims and the Zuzims by the Moabites and Ammonites, while the remnant, to which Og king of Bashan belonged, was destroyed by the Israelites under Moses. Now, as under Moses on the east, so under Joshua on the west of Jordan, the Anakims were driven forth before the arms of Israel. from Hebron] Which from the progenitor of this race received its original name of Kirjath-Arba. See above on Joshua 10:3. from Debir] See Joshua 10:38. from Anab] A town in the mountains of Judah (Joshua 15:50). It has retained its ancient name, and lies among the hills about 10 miles S. S. W. of Hebron, close to Shoco and Eshtemoa. See Robinson’s Bib. Researches, I. 494 and II. 195, who from Main (the Maon of Scripture) preserved a place of this name, distinguished by a small tower. the mountains of Judah] A distinction is here made between “the mountains of Judah,” and “the mountains of Israel.” This, strange as it may seem, affords one of the undesigned evidences of the early composition of the Book of Joshua. “When Judah entered on his possession, all the other tribes were still in Gilgal (Joshua 14:6; Joshua 15:1).

At that time - i. e. in course of the “long time” mentioned in Joshua 11:18. The Anakims - See Numbers 13:22.

21. At that time — During the war, the long time mentioned in Joshua 11:18. The Anakim were a race of giants in Southern Palestine. Some escaped to the Philistines and became the progenitors of Goliath.