COMPLAINT:
Who drove the Anakim from Hebron, was it Joshua (Joshua 11:21) or was it Caleb (Joshua 15:13-14)?
RESPONSE:
Joshua 11:21 reads,
…Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
But, a few chapters later:
…to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a share among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, namely, Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. (15:13-14)
It seems the questioner things that Joshua 11:21 is saying that Joshua cut off the Anakim by himself. He didn’t. Joshua was the leader of Israel; thus what they did under his leadership is attributed to him. Joshua 11:7 tells us that he and all the men of war were involved in the work. Later in the text, we read:
Thus Joshua took all this land: the mountain country, all the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan plain – the mountains of Israel and its lowlands, from Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, and struck them down and killed them. (11:16-17)
Neither Joshua nor Caleb did the work by themselves. Caleb is mentioned in 15:13 because he was specifically given Hebron. All the people were to work together to clear the land.
There is no contradiction.
A response to 1001 Bible Contradictions.
