Bible Chapter Summary
Joshua 12 Summary
A Census of Conquered Kings
Joshua 12 is a register of the defeated kings whose lands the Israelites took possession of. The first section (verses 1–6) recounts the two kings east of the Jordan — Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan — who were defeated under Moses and whose territories were allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The second section (verses 7–24) lists the thirty-one kings west of the Jordan defeated by Joshua and the children of Israel, spanning the full length of Canaan from Baal-gad in the north to Mount Halak in the south, whose lands were distributed among the tribes according to their divisions. The chapter closes with the tally: thirty-one kings in all on the west side of the Jordan.
Key themes
Key verses
Joshua 12:1
“Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:”
Joshua 12:6
“Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.”
Joshua 12:7
“And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;”
Joshua 12:24
“The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.”
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