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After the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry ground and kept the Passover (Josh. 3–5), their sights were set on Jericho. The city of Jericho would be the first place to overcome (Josh. 6). After Jericho, the Israelites conquered Ai (Josh. 7–8).
The focus on individual cities shifted to groups of cities and kings who allied together against the Israelites. People throughout the southern and northern cities came together, united in their effort to destroy the people of Yahweh (Josh. 10–11).
By the time the reader gets to the list of defeated foes in Joshua 12, the Israelites have subdued many regions and villages and cities. They’ve conquered kings and routed armies. They’ve put rulers to the sword and burned strategic locations.
In the first half of the book of Joshua, the conquest of Canaan is underway. But by the time we read that “the land had rest from war” in 11:23, we might wonder how long the battles have been waged. After all, in 11:18 we read, “Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.”
What is “a long time”? Did the conquest last many days? Several weeks? A few months? Or longer?
Longer. The clues about the length of the conquest in Joshua 1–12 are found in references to Caleb’s age. Let’s follow the numbers.