Did They Really Win Everything?
In this article, you will learn how Deuteronomy 3:4 contradicts Deuteronomy 7:1, Deuteronomy 20:16-17, Numbers 33:55, Joshua 11:18-20, Judges 3:1-4, Joshua 13:1-6, Joshua 23:13, Judges 1:21, 2 Kings 17:24 and Judges 2:3. Find the translations at the bottom of the page..
The biblical narrative about the Israelites' conquest of Canaan is filled with both assurances of complete victories and hints that the battles weren't as decisive as one might think. In Deuteronomy 3:4, we read of the Israelites capturing all of King Og's cities in Bashan, showcasing God's powerful guidance. However, this account seems to clash with several other verses throughout the Bible, creating a tapestry of contradictions.
For instance, Deuteronomy 7:1 talks about dispossessing seven entire nations, suggesting a scale of conquest far more enormous than capturing a single king’s cities. Similarly, Deuteronomy 20:16-17 commands the utter destruction of specified nations, hinting at a brutal totality that raises questions about the completeness of victories hinted at in Deuteronomy 3:4.
Moreover, Numbers 33:55 presents a stark warning about the dangers of not driving out all the inhabitants—implying that some were indeed left. This partial conquest theme is echoed in Joshua 13:1-6, where it becomes clear that much land still awaits conquest.
The complexity deepens in verses like Judges 3:1-4, suggesting that God left certain nations to test Israel, and Judges 1:21, which mentions the Jebusites dwelling with the children of Benjamin, further indicating incomplete victory.
Adding another layer, 2 Kings 17:24 describes the Assyrians settling in once-conquered territories, similar to how invaders might reclaim or repopulate a castle after a siege. Meanwhile, Joshua 23:13 and Judges 2:3 warn of remaining hostile nations as snares or thorns, reinforcing the notion of unfinished business.
These contradictions highlight the messiness and complexity of historical narratives, much like a game of tug-of-war where each side momentarily pulls harder. Did the Israelites achieve total victory, or were there more setbacks and challenges than one might assume? The Bible itself offers multiple, sometimes conflicting, perspectives.
| # | Verse | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Deuteronomy 3:4 | And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. |
| 2. | Deuteronomy 7:1 | When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; |
| 3. | Deuteronomy 20:16-17 | But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: |
| 4. | Numbers 33:55 | But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them [shall be] pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. |
| 5. | Joshua 11:18-20 | Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. |
| 6. | Judges 3:1-4 | Now these [are] the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, [even] as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan; |
| 7. | Joshua 13:1-6 | Now Joshua was old [and] stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old [and] stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. [to...: Heb. to possess it] |
| 8. | Joshua 23:13 | Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out [any of] these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you. |
| 9. | Judges 1:21 | And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. |
| 10. | 2 Kings 17:24 | And the king of Assyria brought [men] from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed [them] in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities thereof. |
| 11. | Judges 2:3 | Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. |