Joshua 12 – “A Summary of the Israelite Conquest”

I. Summary

The kingdoms that Moses conquered east of the Jordan and that Joshua conquered west of the Jordan are listed.

II. Photo

The kings defeated by Joshua are listed one by one: “The king of Jerusalem: 1; The king of Hebron: 1; The king of Jarmuth: 1; The king of Lachish: 1…” (vv. 10-11)

III. Select Verses

1-6: The following are the local kings whom the Israelites defeated and whose territories they took possession of: East of the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, including the eastern half of the Arabah: King Sihon of the Amorites, who resided in Heshbon and ruled over part of Gilead — from Aroer on the bank of the Wadi Arnon and the wadi proper up to the Wadi Jabbok [and] the border of the Ammonites — and over the eastern Arabah up to the Sea of Chinnereth and, southward by way of Beth-jeshimoth at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east, down to the Sea of the Arabah, that is, the Dead Sea. Also the territory of King Og of Bashan — one of the last of the Rephaim — who resided in Ashtaroth and in Edrei and ruled over Mount Hermon, Salcah, and all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, as also over part of Gilead [down to] the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.These were vanquished by Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites; and Moses, the servant of the LORD, assigned that territory as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

7-8: And the following are the local kings whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan — from Baal-gad in the Valley of the Lebanon to Mount Halak, which ascends to Seir — which Joshua assigned as a possession to the tribal divisions of Israel: in the hill country, in the lowlands, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb — [in the land of] the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

24: Total number of kings 31.

IV. Outline

1-6. Transjordanian conquest

    1. Introduction to Israel’s Transjordanian conquests

    2-3. Sihon: from the Arnon to the Jabbok, plus the Arabah

    4-5. Og: the Bashan and northern Gilead

    6. Summary: Moses conquered and allotted the Transjordanian lands to Reuben, Gad, and Half Manasseh

7-24. Cisjordanian conquest

    7-8. Introduction to Joshua’s Cisjordanian conquests

    9-24. The 31 Cisjordanian kings