Joshua 10-11 Vs Judges 1

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The militaristic campaigns outlined in Joshua 10-11 and Judges 1 outline the cruelty and loyalty to the Lord when it comes to following the word of the Lord. While Joshua 10-11 describes how Joshua and the Israelites came into the land of the Canaan, Judges 1 tells about how the tribes of Judah and Simeon conquer the land. Both Joshua and the tribes in Judges are following what the Lord had promised and said by means of force, but there are also different ways in which they dealt with the people who were inhabiting the land and cities and the experience of their respective militaries.
The Lord had promised Joshua the land of the Canaan and he intended to take it by any means necessary (Josh. 9:24). Towards the end of Joshua chapter 11, the …show more content…

Continuing with the themes each leader had established in dealing with the fleeing leaders, Joshua chooses a much more brutal method to show his dominance. In all the cities Joshua attacks, he “puts it to the sword” and lets none escape (Josh. 10:28; 30; 32-40; 11:8; 11; 17; 21-22). He does this seemingly effortlessly, “All those kings and their lands were conquered by Joshua at a single stroke” (Josh 10:42). This shows a clear difference in military strength from the tribes of Judah and Simeon. In Judges 1, it is noted that the tribes could not dispossess the inhabitants of the plains because they had iron chariots (v. 19). Perhaps these iron chariots are different from the “vast multitude of horses and chariots” that Joshua had faced at the Waters of Merom, but nonetheless shows another inferiority in the tribal army (Josh 11:5). Another stark contrast in how each group chose to deal with their captives is shown in Judges 1, and how they did not dispossess the inhabitants of the land (vv. 21; 27; 29-34). The narrator clearly states “And when Israel gained the upper hand, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not dispossess them.” (v. 28). This illustrates how the Israelites could have put them to sword, but chose not to. They still served as servants to the Israelites, but they had their lives spared from certain

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