Verse 38
"And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir, and fought against it: and he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remain, as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah and the king thereof."
"And all Israel with him ..." (Joshua 10:38). This expression appears in every paragraph throughout the summary, but the meaning of it is clearly that "the whole army" were those who accompanied Joshua, not the entire nation. This type of hyperbole is found throughout the Bible.
"And all the cities thereof ..." (Joshua 10:39). This expression also is used of Hebron and its environs. The meaning is that Joshua either put to death or scattered all the inhabitants of the entire area surrounding the larger cities.
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