Joshua 11 · Verse 9

Joshua 11:9

And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
Joshua 11:9, King James Version

Joshua 11:9 in other translations

BSBJoshua treated them as the LORD had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned up their chariots.
WEBJoshua did to them as the LORD told him. He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.
ASVAnd Joshua did unto them as Jehovah bade him: he hocked their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.
YLTand Joshua doth to them as Jehovah said to him; their horses he hath houghed, and their chariots burnt with fire.
DARBYAnd Joshua did to them as Jehovah had said to him: he houghed their horses, and burned their chariots with fire.
BBEAnd Joshua did to them as the Lord had said to him; he had the leg-muscles of their horses cut and their war-carriages burned with fire.
WebsterAnd Joshua did to them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

What does Joshua 11:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 11:1-9

Jos 11:1-9. Divers Kings Overcome at the Waters of Merom. 1-9. 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…

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Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 He houghed their horses - The Hebrew word עקר akar, which we render to hough or hamstring, signifies to wound, cut, or lop off. It is very likely that it means here, not only an act by which they were rendered useless, but by which they were destroyed; as God had purposed that his people should not possess any cattle of this kind, that a warlike and enterprising spirit might not be cultivated among them; and that, when obliged to defend themselves and their country, they might be led to depend upon God for protection and victory. On the same ground, God had forbidden the kings of Israel to multiply horses, Deu 17:16 (note). See the note there containing the reasons on which this prohibition was founded. Burnt their chariots - As these could have been of no use without the horses.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joshua 11:1-9

The wonders God wrought for the Israelites were to encourage them to act vigorously themselves. Thus the war against Satan's kingdom, carried on by preaching the gospel, was at first forwarded by miracles; but being fully proved to be of God, we are now left to the Divine grace in the usual course, in the use of the sword of the Spirit. God encouraged Joshua. Fresh dangers and difficulties make it necessary to seek…

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Joshua 11:9 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּ֤עַשׂvai.Ya.'asand he didH6213
לָהֶם֙la.Hemto <the> them
יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַye.ho.Shu.a'JoshuaH3091
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
אָֽמַר\־'a.mar-he had saidH559
ל֖וֹloto <the> him
יְהוָ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
סוּסֵיהֶ֣םsu.sei.Hemhorses theirH5483
עִקֵּ֔ר'i.Kerhe hamstrungH6131
וְאֶת\־ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
מַרְכְּבֹתֵיהֶ֖םmar.ke.vo.tei.Hemchariots theirH4818
שָׂרַ֥ףsa.Rafhe burnedH8313
בָּאֵֽשׁ\׃\ \סba.'Eshwith <the> fireH784

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joshua 11:9

  • Joshua 11:6

    And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.

  • Ezekiel 39:9-10

    And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
he houghed.
6; Eze 39:9,10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joshua 11:8

    And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth–maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.

  • Joshua 11:9

    And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire.

  • Joshua 11:10

    And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.

Read all of Joshua 11

Joshua 11:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Josué hizo con ellos como Jehová le había mandado: desjarretó sus caballos, y sus carros quemó al fuego.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Josué leur fit comme l’ Éternel lui avait dit: il coupa les jarrets à leurs chevaux, et brûla au feu leurs chars.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Josua tat ihnen, so wie Jehova ihm gesagt hatte: ihre Rosse lähmte er, und ihre Wagen verbrannte er mit Feuer.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		fecitque sicut præceperat ei Dominus: equos eorum subnervavit, currusque combussit igni.