Joshua 10:2

Joshua 10:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.
• New International Version (NIV)He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.
• English Standard Version (ESV)he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were warriors.
• New King James Version (NKJV)that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.

Context of Joshua 10:2

1Now it came to pass that Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it—just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king—and that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and remained among them. So he feared greatly, because Gibeon was a large city, as one of the royal cities—in fact, larger than Ai—and all its men were mighty. 3Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon saying: 4“Come up and help me! Let’s attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and Bnei-Yisrael.”

Joshua 10:2 word by word

וַיִּֽירְא֣וּ מְאֹ֔ד כִּ֣י עִ֤יר גְּדוֹלָה֙ גִּבְע֔וֹן כְּאַחַ֖ת עָרֵ֣י הַמַּמְלָכָ֑ה וְכִ֨י הִ֤יא גְדוֹלָה֙ מִן־הָעַ֔י וְכָל־אֲנָשֶׁ֖יהָ גִּבֹּרִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• That they fearedיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
• greatlyמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
• because Gibeonגִּבְעוֹןgib‛ôn · GibeonH1391
• a greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• as oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• of the royalמַמְלָכָהmamlâkâh · kingdomH4467
• than Aiעַי‛ay ‛ayâ' ‛ayâth · AiH5857
• and all the menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• mightyגִּבּוֹרgibbôr gibbôr · mighty manH1368

Cross-references for Joshua 10:2

• Joshua 2:9and she said to the men: “I know that Adonai has given you the land—dread of you has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the land are melting in fear before you.
• Exodus 15:14When the peoples hear, they will tremble—anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
• Deuteronomy 11:25No one will be able to stand against you—Adonai your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has promised you.
• Deuteronomy 28:10Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of Adonai and they will stand in awe of you.
• Psalms 48:4God, in her palaces, is known as a stronghold.
• Proverbs 1:26I in turn will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when dread comes on you,
• Proverbs 10:24What the wicked dread will fall on them. The desire of the righteous will be given.
• Hebrews 10:27but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God.
• Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the rich and the mighty and everyone—slave and free—hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
• Joshua 10:40So Joshua conquered the entire country—the hill country, the Negev, the lowland and the slopes—with all their kings. He left no survivors, but he put everything that breathed under the ban, just as Adonai God of Israel had commanded.
• 1 Samuel 27:5Then David said to Achish, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, let me be given a place in one of the country towns, so I may live there. Why should your servant stay in the royal city with you?”
• 2 Samuel 12:26Now Joab attacked Rabbah of the children of Ammon and captured the royal city.

Commentaries on Joshua 10:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2As one of the royal cities - Not a regal city, but great, well inhabited and well fortified, as those cities which served for the royal residence generally were. It does not appear that the Gibeonites had any king - they seem to have been a small but powerful republic, all the men thereof were mighty, merely governed by their elders: for in their address to Joshua, Joshua 9:11, they mention no king, but simply state that they were sent by their elders and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Gibeon was apparently not a royal city. It may have been under the control of Canaan. They controlled Jerusalem before Gibeon made a covenant with Joshua. Or Gibeon could have been an independent town led by a few leading families.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. they feared greatly--The dread inspired by the rapid conquests of the Israelites had been immensely increased by the fact of a state so populous and so strong as Gibeon having found it expedient to submit to the power and the terms of the invaders. as one of the royal cities--Although itself a republic (Jos 9:3), it was large and well-fortified, like those places in which the chiefs of the country usually established their residence.Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 10:2

• Adoni-Zedek
• Armies
• Cities
• Confederacies
• Jerusalem
• War

In the dictionaries

• Ai
• Gibeon
• Gibeon, Gibeonite
• Adonizedec
• Eglon (2)
• Exodus, the Book of
• Hoham
• Jerusalem
• Joshua, Book of
• Lachish

Commentaries on Joshua 10

• 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