History · Chapter 12 of 24

Joshua 12

This chapter catalogs the kings Israel defeated. First, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan, conquered under Moses and given to Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh. Then the thirty-one kings west of the Jordan defeated under Joshua, from Jericho and Ai to Hazor and Tirzah, whose lands Joshua distributed to the tribes. The list stands as a record of the complete victory God gave.

What happens in Joshua 12

The chapter is a summary ledger of conquest, dividing the victories into two eras. First it recounts the kings east of the Jordan defeated under Moses: Sihon, king of the Amorites at Heshbon, who ruled from the Arnon to the Jabbok and half of Gilead, and Og, king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the giants, who reigned in Ashtaroth, Edrei, and all Bashan. Moses and Israel struck them down, and Moses gave their territory as a possession to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Then it lists the kings west of the Jordan defeated under Joshua, in hills, valleys, plains, and wilderness. The roster names them one by one: the kings of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron, Lachish, Eglon, Gezer, Debir, and on through Hazor, Megiddo, Kedesh, Dor, and Tirzah, totaling thirty-one kings. Joshua gave their lands to the tribes of Israel according to their divisions. The bare list is really a monument to promises kept.

Joshua 12 in context

Joshua 12 is the hinge between the conquest narratives of chapters 1 to 11 and the land distribution of chapters 13 to 21. It functions as an official record, tallying the whole campaign and honoring both Moses' earlier victories east of the Jordan and Joshua's west of it.

The repeated counting, one by one, and the sheer number of kings testify to the scope of what God accomplished in fulfilling His ancient promise to give Israel the land.

Main themes of Joshua 12

Joshua 12 (KJV)

1Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east: 2Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; 3And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdothpisgah: 4And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 5And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. 6Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 7And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; 8In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 9The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 10The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; 13The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; 17The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; 18The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 19The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; 20The king of Shimronmeron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; 23The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; 24The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.

Verses to carry from Joshua 12

“Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:”Joshua 12:1

“And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;”Joshua 12:7

“The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.”Joshua 12:24

Reflection

A whole chapter of names we skim past was, for Israel, a treasury of remembered deliverances, each king a battle survived and a promise kept. God notices and records what we might dismiss as tedious. What list of His faithfulnesses could you write from your own history if you slowed down to count them?

A prayer from Joshua 12