Paragraph 10:16–21

10:16

Now the five kings: The phrase the five kings refers to the five Amorite kings who joined together to fight the Israelites. There is a list of these kings in 10:3.

had fled: The verb fled indicates that the kings ran away from the battle. There is implicit information: The five kings ran away before the battle finished. They probably ran away when they realized that the Israelites would win the battle. It may be more natural in some languages to include the implicit information in this part of the verse. For example:

During the battle the five kings escaped (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
While the enemy soldiers were running from the Israelites, the five enemy kings ran away (Contemporary English Version)

and hidden in the cave at Makkedah: The phrase in the cave at Makkedah refers to a cave near the town of Makkedah. 10:10 stated that the Israelite army chased the Amorite armies as far as the towns of Azekah and Makkedah. The five enemy kings found a cave near Makkedah where they could hide from the Israelites.

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