1. Joshua 11:22 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why is the destruction of the Anakites mentioned here?

Joshua 11:22 (ESV)

22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain.

It is interesting that the last entry in the overview of the conquest of Canaan is the defeat of the Anakim. The author must have been led by the Holy Spirit to do this for a very specific reason (2 Peter 1:20–21). Most probably he wanted to show the original readers how unnecessary the fear and unbelief of the previous generation was (see Numbers 13:1–33). The Lord is sovereign over all men, even over those who seem impossibly powerful to us.1