Joshua · chapter 12 of 24
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Joshua 12 is a summary, in the form of a list, of Israel's victories. First it recalls the two kings defeated by Moses east of the Jordan, Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan, whose lands were given to Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. Then it lists the thirty-one kings Joshua defeated west of the Jordan, from the king of Jericho to the king of Tirzah.
After the account of the southern and northern campaigns, the book pauses to count what has been achieved. Joshua 12 closes the first half of the book with an inventory of victories, which may look like a mere list of names but works as a testimony: every king named is a promise of God fulfilled. From the next chapter on, the book deals with dividing the land.
The chapter begins with the kings defeated by Moses and the Israelites east of the Jordan. Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruled from Heshbon, and his territory ran from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley, to the river Jabbok, including half of Gilead. Og, king of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim, reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, and his territory reached to Mount Hermon and Salecah. Moses defeated them and gave that land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Then the text lists the kings that Joshua and the Israelites defeated west of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave that land to the tribes as an inheritance, according to their divisions, in the hill country, the lowland, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness and the Negeb.
The list names, without comment, the kings of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Gezer, Debir, Geder, Hormah, Arad, Libnah, Adullam, Makkedah, Bethel and other cities, on to Megiddo, Kedesh, Jokneam in Carmel, Dor, Goiim and Tirzah. In all they make thirty-one kings. The chapter adds no further detail: the weight of the text lies in the complete count of what the Lord has given.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The chapter begins by recalling the kings the Israelites defeated east of the Jordan, from the Arnon to Mount Hermon. Before telling what Joshua did, the text acknowledges what the Lord had done under Moses.
Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the sons of Israel defeated Sihon and Og, and Moses gave that land to Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. The work of Moses joins the work of Joshua in a single story of God's faithfulness.
The kings Joshua defeated west of the Jordan are listed as those of a single campaign, and the land is given to the tribes as an inheritance. What was a promise to Abraham now becomes a possession.
The total is thirty-one kings. That final figure turns the list into a complete testimony: no victory the Lord granted is overlooked.
5 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Sihon, king of the Amorites in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan. — Joshua 12:2-4
Answer: To the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh. — Joshua 12:6
Answer: From Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley, to the river Jabbok. — Joshua 12:2
Answer: The king of Jericho. — Joshua 12:9
Answer: Thirty-one kings. — Joshua 12:24
A chapter of names may seem distant from life today, but it has something to teach: the importance of remembering what God has done. Israel takes an inventory of victories and counts them one by one. In a class or small group you can do something similar: write a list of answered prayers, of moments when God provided, so that the memory of his faithfulness sustains faith in hard times.
It also reminds us that no victory is the work of one person. Moses opened the way and Joshua continued it. In ministry, those who today reap what others sowed can give thanks for those who went before.
Joshua 12 closes the story of the conquests with a list of thirty-one defeated kings. But the task is not complete: much land remains to be possessed. In Joshua 13, the Lord will tell an aged Joshua how much land is left and how to divide it.
Because in the ancient world lists were a way to record and celebrate achievements. Here the text shows that the Lord kept his promise to give the land and that no city was left out. It also provides historical and geographical data about the land that will be divided.
They were an ancient people of great stature associated with the land of Bashan, of whom Og was one of the last. The text mentions them to highlight the greatness of the defeated enemy and, with it, the greatness of the Lord's work.