Joshua 11:22 Commentary: No Anakim Left? The Remnant

The Anakim were a people group of tall stature, described in Numbers 13:28 as descendants of the Nephilim who made the Israelite spies feel like grasshoppers. They were concentrated in the southern hill country around Hebron, Debir, and Anab (Joshua 11:21). Joshua’s campaign, recounted in chapter 10 and summarized in 11:21, 22, systematically destroyed their settlements and put the inhabitants to the sword, a judgment for the inhabitants of Canaan, as stated in Deuteronomy 9:4, 5 and Joshua 11:20.

Yet the land of Israel did not include the entire coastal plain. Philistine cities such as Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod were part of a territory God had promised (Joshua 13:2, 3) but that remained unconquered at Joshua’s death. These cities were powerful city-states, each ruled by a lord or king (Judges 3:3). Archaeological evidence from sites like Tell es-Safi (Gath) shows continuous Philistine occupation well into the Iron Age. Survivors of the Anakim, already a known factor from the spies’ report, fled to these enclaves where Israelite authority did not reach. There they remained, intermarried, and became part of Philistine society.

Centuries later, this remnant produced Goliath of Gath (1 Samuel 17:4) and other giants mentioned in 2 Samuel 21:16, 22. The note in Joshua 11:22 therefore functions both as a conclusion to Joshua’s southern campaign and as a foreshadowing of conflicts to come. It confirms God’s faithfulness in giving Israel rest from war (v. 23), while honestly recording that pockets of the enemy persisted, a literary thread that runs through Judges and Samuel.

The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Joshua 11:22. The Hebrew text is consistent across the Masoretic manuscripts. The verse’s two main verbal forms, נוֹתַר (Niphal perfect 3ms “was left”) and נִשְׁאָֽרוּ (Niphal perfect 3cp “remained”), appear without dispute. The list of cities (Gaza, Gath, Ashdod) also matches the Septuagint rendering (LXX: Γάζα, Γέθ, Ἄζωτος). No early scribal corrections or alternative readings are recorded for this verse.

The verse has been read in several ways across church history. Early church fathers such as Origen and Jerome connected the Anakim to the giants of Genesis 6, seeing in their partial survival a warning that spiritual hosts of wickedness remain active even after Christ’s victory. The Medieval Glossa Ordinaria treated the three cities as allegories for persistent vices. Reformation-era commentators (Calvin, Matthew Henry) emphasized the honesty of Scripture in recording both success and failure, urging humility. In more recent evangelical preaching, Joshua 11:22 frequently appears in series on “unfinished business” or “remaining giants,” using the geography to teach about areas of life not yet surrendered to God. The verse also plays a role in the David, Goliath narrative, where it is cited as background history by Bible dictionaries and commentaries.

Three-point outline

1. God keeps His promises. The Anakim, once a terror to Israel (Numbers 13), are driven from the land. Joshua’s campaign fulfills the command through Moses. The believer can trust that God will overcome the “giants” that loom before us.
2. Not every enemy is removed at once. Some Anakim remained in Philistine cities. God gave Israel the land but left enemies on the borders to test and train them (Judges 2:21, 22). In our lives, some battles persist as exercises in faith.
3. The remnant points to future deliverance. The leftover Anakim in Gath set the stage for David and Goliath. God’s victory is sometimes partial in the present, but He is already arranging a greater victory to come.

Five-point outline

1. Total victory declared, “none of the Anakim left in the land” (v. 22a). The conquest was thorough in the territory assigned to Israel.
2. Honest exception noted, “only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod”. Scripture does not hide incomplete occupation.
3. Geography of resistance, These three Philistine cities sat outside Israelite control. The enemy clings to what is never fully claimed.
4. Seed of future trouble, From Gath comes Goliath. The giant who will taunt Israel’s army (1 Samuel 17) is a direct descendant of the Anakim Joshua drove out but could not fully eliminate.
5. Hope beyond the campaign, David, the ancestor of Christ, will finish what Joshua began. The ultimate victory over the “giants” of sin and death belongs to Jesus.

Illustration hooks

• A renovation project that removes old carpets and furniture, but discovers the old flooring beneath is still rotting and must be replaced later. The visible mess is cleared, but the underlying problem remains.
• A farmer clearing a field of rocks. He removes all the large stones, but spring rains reveal smaller rocks pushed up from below. He didn’t fail; the work is ongoing.
• Cancer surgery that removes the primary tumor, but leaves microscopic cells that require follow-up treatment. The operation is successful, but vigilance continues.

Questions your congregation is asking

• Did Joshua fail because some giants survived? Or is this just a statement of fact about the limits of his campaign?
• Why would God allow the Anakim to remain in Philistine cities if He wanted the land completely cleared?
• How do we understand this partial conquest in relation to our own spiritual battles, are we expected to win every fight at once?

This verse sits at a pivot point in Joshua’s story. The northern and southern campaigns are finished, the land has rest from war (v. 23), and yet right here we read that some of the most feared people in the land, the Anakim, survive in three Philistine cities. That tension between “all” and “only” invites us to think about how God works in stages, how He grants victory while letting some challenges persist, and how the Bible honestly records both success and incomplete results. As you discuss, resist the urge to turn each observation into a moral lesson; first let the text speak on its own terms.

Discussion questions

1. Read Joshua 11:18, 23. What does the text say about Joshua’s success? Why do you think the writer includes the detail about Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod?
2. Look at Numbers 13:28, 31, 33. How did the spies describe the Anakim? What does Joshua 11:21, 22 suggest about the change in Israel’s situation?
3. In Joshua 11:22, the same Hebrew verb “remain” (שָׁאַר, sha’ar) appears twice: once in the negative (“none… left”) and once positive (“some remained”). What does this word choice emphasize about the partial nature of the conquest?
4. How do later appearances of giants from Gath (1 Samuel 17:4; 2 Samuel 21:16, 22) shape your understanding of this verse? Is this a story of failure, or of long-term faithfulness?
5. Some readers see an incomplete obedience in Joshua’s campaign. Others see a providential placement for later judgment. Which view does the surrounding context (including Judges 2:20, 23) support?
6. When have you experienced a “partial victory” in your own life, where God gave a clear win but left a challenge for later growth?
7. How does this verse encourage you to trust God’s sovereignty even when not every enemy is immediately removed?