Joshua 11:13

In their strength. Literally, “on their mound.” The LXX may also be translated “which are upon mounds,” or “fenced with mounds.” The Heb. tel, in the text translated “strength,” in its cognate Arabic form tell, is a familiar word in Palestine today. It is used for the mounds of ancient cities. It was the custom, generally, to rebuild a city on its former ruins. Eventually such a process would produce a mound of considerable height. Such texts as Deut. 13:16; Joshua 8:28; Jer. 30:18; 49:2, show the genuine force of the word tel. From a comparison with the context it appears that the kings and the inhabitants of these various cities were all put to the sword, though the cattle and the spoil generally went to the captors. It is not difficult to imagine the condition of one of these captured cities with its heaps of lifeless bodies, gathered spoil, and debris accumulated in the streets. Such cities could easily be spoken of as standing “on their mound,” or “on their ruinous heaps.” Not all cities were to be destroyed, however, for Israel was to dwell in “great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not” (Deut. 6:10).