Joshua 10:22-27 meaning

In Joshua 10:22-27, Joshua deals with the five kings who attacked the Gibeonites.

In the previous passage, Joshua was informed that the five Amorite kings hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah, a Canaanite town in the Shephelah foothills of Judah. Joshua commanded his soldiers to block the cave's entrance with great stones and urged them to assign some men to guard it. Then, he challenged his warriors to press on to defeat the enemy. The Israelite army slaughtered most of the Amorites, but a few escaped to their fortified towns. Having fought the battle successfully, God's people returned safely to their camp. Word of their victory spread and silenced their enemies (vv. 16-21).

In the present passage, Joshua focuses his attention on the coalition leaders. He addressed the sentinels at the cave and said, Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave (v. 22). The people obeyed Joshua’s instructions and brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Larchish, and the king of Eglon (v. 23).

The king of Jerusalem (Adoni-zedek) was the coalition leader. Jerusalem is located south of the center of Israel, on the edge of one of the highest tablelands in the country. It belonged to the Jebusites before David captured it around 1000 BC and made it the capital of Israel (2 Samuel 5:6-10). The town of Hebron, also known as Kiriath-arba, is about 20 miles south of Jerusalem and less than two miles from Mamre, where Abraham dwelt for quite some time (Genesis 23:2). It is 3000 feet above sea level on the Judean mountain ridge. The city of Jarmuth was in the lowlands of Judah. Its site is upon the present Jebel Yarmuk, about 15 miles southwest of Jerusalem, on the crest of a rocky ridge. Lachish is about 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem. It lies on a 50-foot-high, steep-sided tel covering approximately 20 acres. Finally, Eglon was about 35 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

Next, Joshua humiliated the leaders who began the revolt: When they brought these kings out to him, he called for all the men of Israel and spoke to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him (v. 24). The chiefs of the men of war were the officers or commanders who participated in the campaign with Joshua. For this reason, he commanded them, saying: Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.

In the ancient world, the foot symbolized power and indicated the ability to conquer: "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you" (Joshua 1:3, 1 Kings 5:3, Psalm 110:1). Likewise, necks depict capture and subjection to others (Job 30:18, Jeremiah 29:26). It was a common practice for victors to place their feet on the necks of the defeated to shame them and show they had authority over them. In our context, Joshua stressed Israel's authority when he told his army commanders to put their feet on the necks of the vanquished foes.

The officers obeyed Joshua's instructions: They came near and put their feet on their necks, illustrating their complete defeat. After this symbolic triumphal act, Joshua spoke again to the officers through a negative command: Do not fear or be dismayed (v. 25). He is echoing the words of the LORD at the beginning of the conquest of Canaan (Joshua 1:9). After three successful battles and the defeat of seven different armies, Joshua is reinforcing the truth of God's strength and assurance that Israel would continue to succeed in its conquest of Canaan. They had nothing to fear or be dismayed by. Their enemies were under their feet.

The Israelite leader issued a positive command to reinforce the first. He said, Be strong and courageous! He urged his leaders to be brave as they placed their feet on the enemy’s necks. He then spelled out the rationale for such an encouragement: For thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight. The Israelites would be victorious because their Suzerain God was faithful to His promises. He will always keep His word.

Having asked his commanders to shame the five Amorite kings, Joshua struck them and put them to death (v. 26). After executing them, he hanged them on five trees, exposing them in the same fashion criminals were hung. To hang up someone on a tree means to fix his dead body to a pole or a stake driven into the ground. Israel and the other ancient Eastern nations used this practice widely to execute criminals and expose them publicly (Genesis 40:19, Joshua 8:29, 2 Samuel 4:12, Esther 2:23).

Joshua shamed the Amorite kings by hanging them on the trees. But he did not let them stay there overnight. They hung on the trees until evening. His decision complied with the Mosaic Law, which states, "If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day" (Deuteronomy 21:22-23a). Thus, at sunset, Joshua gave a command, and they took them down from the trees, throwing them into the cave, where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave (v. 27).

In the previous section, the cave was first a secret hiding place for the kings when they fled from the Israelite army during the battle at Gibeon (v. 16). Shortly after, Joshua turned the cave into a temporary prison for the kings so he could finish the battle (v. 18). In our section, he used it as a permanent burial site for them. Therefore, their corpses remain there to this very day, meaning up to the time the writer penned the book.