Joshua 10:28

"And Joshua took Makkedah on that day, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof; he utterly destroyed them and all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining; and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done unto the king Jericho."

Somewhat of a summary of Joshua's Southern Campaign is given in the rest of this chapter, where there is a great deal of abbreviation. Many have pointed out that, "Joshua's strategy at this point consisted of a series of swift, devastating attacks upon key Canaanite cities, to crush their inhabitants, but not necessarily to occupy them at this point in time."[35] This view of Joshua's strategy seems confirmed by Joshua 11:13, where it is stated that the cities that stood on their mounds (that is, the fortified towns) were not burned, with the exception of Hazor. This meant that the defeated Canaanites by their survivors could easily reoccupy their cities after their defeat; and this accounts for the fact that, later on, the Israelites had to retake many of these cities.

Of interest in this verse is the fact that Makkedah was not mentioned as a member of the coalition formed by Adonizedek, yet the city was utterly destroyed. Note too that it is not recorded that Jerusalem was destroyed, despite the fact that Adonizedek was the leader of the anti-Israelite coalition.