Joshua 11:4

Joshua 11:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
• New International Version (NIV)They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots—a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.

Context of Joshua 11:4

2and to the kings who were of the north in the hill country, and in the Arabah--south of Chinneroth and in the lowland, and on the heights of Dor on the west-- 3to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the hill country, and the Hivite at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5So all of these kings gathered together, and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. 6Yet the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow at this time I am going to turn all of them over to Israel as good as dead; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”

Joshua 11:4 word by word

וַיֵּצְא֣וּ הֵ֗ם וְכָל־מַֽחֲנֵיהֶם֙ עִמָּ֔ם עַם־רָ֕ב כַּח֛וֹל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־שְׂפַת־הַיָּ֖ם לָרֹ֑ב וְס֥וּס וָרֶ֖כֶב רַב־מְאֹֽד׃Read the interlinear

• Then they cameיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• they and allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• their armiesמַחֲנֶהmachăneh · campH4264
• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• peopleעַם‛am · people: soldiersH5971
• as the sandחוֹלchôl · sandH2344
• that is on the seashoreיָםyâm · seaH3220
• that is on the seashoreשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: shoreH8193
• with veryמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
• horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• and chariotsרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariotH7393

Cross-references for Joshua 11:4

• Genesis 22:17indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand, which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.
• Genesis 32:12For You said, ‘I will assuredly make you prosper and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’”
• Judges 7:12Now the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the people of the east were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
• 1 Samuel 13:5Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
• 2 Samuel 17:11But I advise that all Israel be fully gathered to you, from Dan even to Beersheba, like the sand that is by the sea in abundance; and that you personally go into battle.
• 1 Kings 4:20Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.

Commentaries on Joshua 11:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Much people, even as the sand - This form of speech, by some called a hyperbole, conveys simply the idea of a vast or unusual number - a number of which no regular estimate could be easily formed. Josephus, who seldom finds difficulties in such cases, and makes no scruple of often speaking without book, tells us that the allied armies amounted to 300,000 foot 10,000 horse, and 20,000 chariots of war. Antiq. lib. v., c. 1. That chariots were frequently…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4In the ancient Near East during this period, horses only pulled chariots. Soldiers riding horses (cavalry) and men shooting arrows (archers) who rode horses appeared centuries later. Israel probably encountered chariots for the first time in this battle against the northern coalition. Here, the land was flatter than in southern Canaan. Chariots, as the heavy weapons of the battlefield, easily overpowered foot soldiers. Blades were often attached to the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-91-9. And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things--The scene of the sacred narrative is here shifted to the north of Canaan, where a still more extensive confederacy was formed among the ruling powers to oppose the further progress of the Israelites. Jabin ("the Intelligent"), which seems to have been a hereditary title (Jud 4:2), took the lead, from Hazor being the capital of the northern region (Jos 11:10). It was situated on the…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 11:4

• Armies
• Canaanites
• Chariot
• Confederacies
• Jabin

In the dictionaries

• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Chariot
• Hazor
• Jabin
• Rest
• Salmon, Zalmon
• Save
• Exodus, the Book of
• Galilee
• Horse

Commentaries on Joshua 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings