Contradictions and Paradoxes in Joshua 17:12

Check out Contradictions Catalog of Joshua 17:12 for the comprehensive list of verses that contradicts Joshua 17:12. Some key contradictions and paradoxes are described below.

According to the author of the book of Joshua, the people of Manasseh couldn't make the Canaanites leave their cities, so the Canaanites stayed there. This shows that sometimes the Israelites couldn't take over all the land they wanted.

Joshua 17:12: Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out [the inhabitants of] those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Contradiction with Judges 1:27

This verse shows a similar situation where the tribe of Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants, which is consistent rather than contradictory with Joshua 17:12.

Judges 1:27: Neither did Manasseh drive out [the inhabitants of] Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Contradiction with Numbers 33:52

This verse commands the Israelites to drive out all the inhabitants of the land, which contradicts Joshua 17:12 where they did not drive them out.

Numbers 33:52: Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:

Contradiction with Deuteronomy 7:2

This verse instructs the Israelites to utterly destroy the inhabitants of the land, contrasting with their failure to do so in Joshua 17:12.

Deuteronomy 7:2: And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

Contradiction with Deuteronomy 20:16-17

These verses command the Israelites to not let anything that breathes remain alive in the cities that God gives them, contradicting the incomplete conquests in Joshua 17:12.

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:

Contradiction with Judges 2:2-3

God rebukes the Israelites for not breaking down altars and making no covenant with the land inhabitants, underscoring the expectation that contradicts their actions described in Joshua 17:12.

Judges 2:2-3: And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

Contradiction with Joshua 23:13

Warns that failure to drive out the nations will result in them becoming snares and traps, contrasting the action of not driving them out as seen in Joshua 17:12.

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.

Contradiction with Judges 3:5-6

Details the Israelites living among other nations and intermarrying, which contradicts the directive to drive them out as intended in Joshua 17:12.

Judges 3:5-6: And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:
Disclaimer: The content provided at PolarBible.com is for educational purposes only. Readers have the full right to agree or disagree with the interpretations and conclusions presented. We take no responsibility for any actions or decisions taken based on the information shared as Polar Verses.