Joshua 12 · WEB

List of Conquered Kings

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Now these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel struck, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah eastward:

²Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the middle of the valley, and half of Gilead, even to the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon;

³and the Arabah to the sea of Chinneroth eastward, and to the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth Jeshimoth, and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah;

⁴and the border of Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,

⁵and ruled in Mount Hermon, and in Salecah, and in all Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half of Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

⁶Moses the servant of Yahweh and the children of Israel struck them; and Moses the servant of Yahweh gave it as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁷These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel struck beyond the Jordan westward, from Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon even to Mount Halak, that goes up to Seir. Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,

⁸in the hill country, and in the lowland, and in the Arabah, and in the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the South; the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

⁹The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai which is beside Bethel, one;

¹⁰the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

¹¹the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

¹²the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;

¹³the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;

¹⁴the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;

¹⁵the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;

¹⁶the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;

¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

¹⁸the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lassharon, one;

¹⁹the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;

²⁰the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;

²¹the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

²²the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;

²³the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one;

²⁴the king of Tirzah, one; thirty-one kings in all.

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Summary

Chapter 12 serves as a formal record of the conquest, listing all the kings defeated under Moses east of the Jordan (Sihon and Og) and then the thirty-one kings defeated by Joshua west of the Jordan. The repetition of "one, one, one" for each king creates a rhythmic, almost liturgical recitation of God's faithfulness in battle. The list spans the full length of the land from the Arnon River in the south (modern Jordan) to Mount Hermon in the north. This chapter functions as a victory declaration and a legal land registry — God has delivered exactly what He promised.

Themes

God's faithfulness recorded and celebrated — every promise fulfilled
The continuity of God's work from Moses to Joshua
The totality of the victory — the entire land catalogued
History-writing as an act of worship — recording God's deeds for posterity

Key verses

Josh 12:24 — “...thirty-one kings in all.”
Josh 12:6 — “Moses the servant of Yahweh and the children of Israel struck them; and Moses the servant of Yahweh gave it as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
Josh 12:7 — “These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel struck beyond the Jordan westward...Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions.”

Context & background

The two kings defeated east of the Jordan — Sihon and Og — ruled territory corresponding to modern Jordan. Sihon's kingdom centered on Heshbon (modern Hisban in Jordan) and Og's on Ashtaroth and Edrei (modern Tell Ashara and Deraa in southern Syria). West of the Jordan, the thirty-one city-states span the full width of modern Israel and the West Bank — from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean coast, from the Negev Desert in the south to the Galilee in the north. Megiddo (one of the listed cities) is the famous site of many ancient battles in the Jezreel Valley of modern Israel and gives its name to "Armageddon" in Revelation 16:16. Tirzah later became the first capital of the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 15:21).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 3:11 — Og, king of Bashan, described as the last of the Rephaim (giants)
Numbers 21:21-35 — The defeat of Sihon and Og by Moses, which this list commemorates
Psalm 135:11 — "Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan" — the Psalms celebrate these same victories in worship
Psalm 136:17-22 — Extended praise to God for defeating Sihon, Og, and giving Israel the land
Revelation 16:16 — Armageddon (Har Megiddo = Mount Megiddo) — Megiddo is in this list

List of Conquered Kings

Summary

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Key verses

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