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Christian Standard Bible ®

Joshua 11:4

They went out with all their armies—a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore—along with a vast number of horses and chariots.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Canaanites;   Chariot;   Confederacies;   Jabin;   Thompson Chain Reference - Chariots;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies;   Protection;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Chariots;   Hazor;   Jabin;   Merom;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Amorites;   Animals;   Chariot;   Joshua the son of nun;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Chariot;   Hazor;   Jabin;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Barak;   Hittites;   Jabin;   Syria;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Amorites;   Conquest of Canaan;   Hazor;   Joshua, the Book of;   Merom;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Israel;   Jabin;   Joshua;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Hazor ;   Jabin ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chariots;   Hazor;   Journeyings of israel from egypt to canaan;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Encampment;   Ja'bin;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Chariots of War;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Horse;   Jabin;   Joshua, Book of;   Palestine;   Sand;   Shore;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Amorites;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Chariot;   Horse;   Judges, Period of;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
They went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
King James Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Lexham English Bible
They came out, they and all their armies with them, as a great army like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
English Standard Version
And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
New Century Version
So the armies of all these kings came together with their horses and chariots. There were as many soldiers as grains of sand on the seashore.
New English Translation
These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots.
Amplified Bible
They went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
New American Standard Bible
Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And they came out & all their hostes with them, many people as the sande that is on the sea shore for multitude, with horses and charets exceeding many.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then they came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
Contemporary English Version
The kings and their armies went to Merom Pond, where they set up camp, and got ready to fight Israel. It seemed as though there were more soldiers and horses and chariots than there are grains of sand on a beach.
Complete Jewish Bible
So they set out, they and all their armies, many people, in number like the sand at the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
Darby Translation
And they went out, they and all their armies with them, a people numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Easy-to-Read Version
So the armies of all these kings came together. There were many fighting men and many horses and chariots. It was a very large army—it looked as if there were as many men as grains of sand on the seashore.
George Lamsa Translation
And they came out with all their hosts, many people, as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with many horses and chariots.
Good News Translation
They came with all their soldiers—an army with as many men as there are grains of sand on the seashore. They also had many horses and chariots.
Literal Translation
And they went out, they and all their camps with them, a people plentiful as the sand on the seashore in number, and very many horses and chariots.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
These wete out with all their armies, a greate people, as many as ye sonde of the see, and exceadinge many horses and charettes.
American Standard Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Bible in Basic English
And they went out, they and all their armies with them, a great people, in number like the sand on the seaside, with horses and war-carriages in great number.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And they came out, & all their hoastes with them, a multitude of folke, euen as the sande that is on the sea shore, in a great number, with horses and charettes exceeding many.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
King James Version (1611)
And they went out, they and all their hostes with them, much people, euen as the sand that is vpon the Seashore in multitude, with horses and charets very many.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And they and their kings with them went forth, as the sand of the sea in multitude, and horses, and very many chariots.
English Revised Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Berean Standard Bible
So these kings came out with all their armies, a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore, along with a great number of horses and chariots.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And alle yeden out with her cumpanyes, a ful myche puple, as the grauel which is in the `brynk of the see, and horsis, and charis, of greet multitude.
Young's Literal Translation
and they go out, they and all their camps with them, a people numerous, as the sand which [is] on the sea-shore for multitude, and horse and charioteer very many;
Update Bible Version
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
Webster's Bible Translation
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, many people, even as the sand that [is] upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very numerous.
World English Bible
They went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
New King James Version
So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.
New Living Translation
All these kings came out to fight. Their combined armies formed a vast horde. And with all their horses and chariots, they covered the landscape like the sand on the seashore.
New Life Bible
Then they came out, they and all their armies with them. There were as many people as the sand beside the sea. And they had very many horses and war-wagons.
New Revised Standard
They came out, with all their troops, a great army, in number like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and they came out - they, and all their hosts with them, much people, like the sand that is upon the seashore for multitude, - with horses and chariots very many.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they all came out with their troops, a people exceeding numerous as the sand that is on the sea shore, their horses also and chariots a very great multitude,
Revised Standard Version
And they came out, with all their troops, a great host, in number like the sand that is upon the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.
THE MESSAGE
They came out in full force, all their troops massed together—a huge army, in number like sand on an ocean beach—to say nothing of all the horses and chariots. All these kings met and set up camp together at the Waters of Merom, ready to fight against Israel.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
They came out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots.

Contextual Overview

1When King Jabin of Hazor heard this news, he sent a message to: King Jobab of Madon, the kings of Shimron and Achshaph, 2and the kings of the north in the hill country, the Arabah south of Chinnereth, the Judean foothills, and the Slopes of Dor to the west, 3the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, Hethites, Perizzites, and Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4They went out with all their armies—a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore—along with a vast number of horses and chariots. 5All these kings joined forces; they came and camped together at the Waters of Merom to attack Israel. 6The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for at this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to be killed before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” 7So Joshua and all his troops surprised them at the Waters of Merom and attacked them. 8The Lord handed them over to Israel, and they struck them down, pursuing them as far as greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to the east as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors. 9Joshua treated them as the Lord had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

as the sand: Genesis 22:17, Genesis 32:12, Judges 7:12, 1 Samuel 13:5, 2 Samuel 17:11, 1 Kings 4:20

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 20:1 - horses Joshua 8:27 - the cattle Joshua 17:18 - for thou shalt Psalms 33:16 - no king Hebrews 11:12 - as the sand

Cross-References

Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.
Genesis 11:8
So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city.
Genesis 11:9
Therefore it is called Babylon, for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
Genesis 11:11
After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
Genesis 11:13
After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters.
Deuteronomy 1:28
Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’
Deuteronomy 4:27
The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you.
Deuteronomy 9:1
“Listen, Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and drive out nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
2 Samuel 8:13
David made a reputation for himself when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomites in Salt Valley.
Psalms 92:9
For indeed, Lord, your enemies—indeed, your enemies will perish;all evildoers will be scattered.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And they went out,.... The several kings and people sent to; these went out from the places they inhabited:

they and all their hosts with them; the kings of those several places, with their armies:

much people, even as the sand that [is] upon the seashore in multitude; a proverbial expression, to denote an exceeding great number:

with horses and chariots very many; being supplied with horses from Egypt, and their chariots were chariots of iron; see Judges 4:3; Josephus z gives us the number of this great army, and says it consisted of three hundred thousand footmen, ten thousand horse, and thirty thousand chariots; some copies read only twenty thousand; and these chariots were armed with iron hooks or scythes, to cut down men as they drove along, and so were very terrible.

z Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joshua 11:4. Much people, even as the sand — This form of speech, by some called a hyperbole, conveys simply the idea of a vast or unusual number - a number of which no regular estimate could be easily formed. Josephus, who seldom finds difficulties in such cases, and makes no scruple of often speaking without book, tells us that the allied armies amounted to 300,000 foot 10,000 horse, and 20,000 chariots of war. Antiq. lib. v., c. 1.

That chariots were frequently used in war, all the records of antiquity prove; but it is generally supposed that among the Canaanites they were armed with iron scythes fastened to their poles and to the naves of their wheels. Terrible things are spoken of these, and the havoc made by them when furiously driven among the ranks of infantry. Of what sort the cavalry was, we know not; but from the account here given we may see what great advantages these allies possessed over the Israelites, whose armies consisted of infantry only.


 
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