Joshua 10:42 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

Ver. 42. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, &c.— Three remarks here offer themselves to our consideration. 1. That Joshua, in making himself master of these countries, did not destroy all the inhabitants, but only such as had not fled. 2. That then kings carried to their camps all who were able to bear arms; so that, at a first defeat, all was lost with them, and the slaughter was inexpressible. But it is especially to be here remarked, 3. That, in all probability, Joshua, having taken the cities of Canaan with great rapidity, and then set fire to them, left them afterwards, and proceeded to other conquests; thus availing himself of the perturbation and distress of the nations: but that after this first setting on fire, those, who had escaped the danger, returning to their cities immediately, set about fortifying them afresh; and that thus, while Joshua over-ran the country, carrying every where fire and sword, and leaving no garrisons in any of the cities, lest he should thereby too much weaken his army, the Canaanites used all their endeavours to re-settle in the places which they had before abandoned. Properly speaking, therefore, it was not till after the division of the country that the Israelites drove the Canaanites from the cities that fell to each tribe. The rules of war required, that Joshua should first destroy all the chiefs of the enemies' nation, and disable the country from resisting him; after which, it was easy to reduce such places as, being no longer supported by the common aid of other cities, could not fail of falling soon into the hands of the Israelites, provided they would use their efforts to subdue them, either by force or famine. But God permitted many of them to be left unreduced; which, in the event, was a cause of their ruin and destruction. Besides, if Joshua made so rapid a progress, it was because God fought for Israel; or, as the Chaldee paraphrase expresses it, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel by his Word.