Why Joshua Burned Only the City of Hazor

Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 22:4

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"As for all the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel did not burn them, except Hazor alone, which Joshua burned" (Joshua 11:13). Rabbi Elazar says: He burned it by tradition — the Holy One, blessed be He, said it to Moses, and Moses said it to Joshua. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani said: In three places the nations of the world gathered to wage war, and the Holy One, blessed be He, did not let them stand. And where did they gather? At Hazor, and so forth. And one of them is: "and they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them" (Genesis 35:5).

Themes

JoshuaWarDivine Justice

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