Verses 40-43 summarize Joshua’s conquest of the whole land (verse 40), by which is meant the southern part of Canaan. Again the statement is made (verse 42) that the victories were due to the Lord, the God of Israel.

The area conquered by Joshua is divided into four regions (verse 40). Following Revised Standard Version, these regions are called: (1) “the hill country,” by which is meant the central highlands; (2) “the Negeb,” or Negev, which is the southern region, the semiarid country southwest of the Dead Sea; (3) “the lowland” translates “The Shephelah”; this is the region of the western foothills, between the central highlands and the coastal plain; (4) “the slopes” refers to the region between the central highlands and the Dead Sea; the land falls steeply and there are high cliffs. See 12.8, where these four geographical terms, and others, are also used.

Again the explicit statement is made that Joshua “utterly destroyed” (Revised Standard Version) all living beings (literally “all breath” or “life”), which refers only to people, not to animals as well, as Bright notes, this is exaggerated language. Joshua did this in obedience to the Lord’s command.

The whole area conquered by Joshua is further defined (verse 41) as going from Kadesh Barnea (which lies 88 kilometers south of Beersheba) in the south, to Gaza, the Philistine city near the Mediterranean coast. Goshen is “an undetermined area in southern Palestine” (Bright), not to be confused with Goshen in the Nile Delta, in Egypt. The town of Goshen is located about 7 kilometers southeast of Debir. Gibeon is the northernmost city captured, the place where the campaign began (10.6-9).

Verses 40-41 may be translated as a unit by separating between the geographical references and the references to the slaughtering of the kings and the inhabitants of their territories. For example:

• Joshua conquered the whole land: the hill country, the eastern slopes, the western foothills, and the dry country in the south. Joshua led his army from Kadesh Barnea in the south to Gaza near the coast. He led them across the area of Goshen, and as far north as Gibeon.

Since there is possibility of confusing the Goshen of this account with that of Egypt, it may be wise to supply a footnote indicating which Goshen is here intended.

After describing the territories conquered by Joshua, one may then proceed to relate its effects: “Joshua defeated every king in the land and put to death all its people. He spared no one, because the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded him to kill them all.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .