Joshua 11–21

The Conquest of Canaan Continues

Joshua 11 describes battles Joshua and the Israelites won. Chapter 11 also mentions that the Israelites “make war a long time” with some of the kings. It apparently took the Israelites longer to conquer these particular cities than some of the first cities they battled against, most likely because of a growing tolerance for their enemies. Joshua 12 contains a list of the cities and kings the Israelites destroyed, and Joshua 13:1–14 contains a list of some of the cities and kings they did not destroy or drive out. Ancient Israel’s disobedience that left these groups undestroyed or driven out eventually resulted in serious “thorns” and “snares” for the children of Israel (see Judges 2:2–3).

Beginning in Joshua 13 and continuing through Joshua 21 we read about how the land was divided between the tribes of Israel. Look in the map section of your scriptures to see the approximate boundaries of the land each tribe received (see Bible map 3).