יהושע, פרק י׳, פסוק כ״א

Following the intense battles and the pursuit of their enemies, the Israelite army returned to their base in a state of absolute victory and complete security. The fighters gathered at the camp near the hiding cave of the five kings in Makkedah, having successfully struck down the stragglers of the opposing forces [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Their return was marked by a profound peace, reflecting a state of absolute wholeness. The soldiers came back safe and sound, in the exact physical condition as when they had departed for the campaign. Not a single fighter was missing, and not one of them suffered even a minor wound or bruise [חומת אנך].

In the aftermath of such a decisive victory, a deep silence fell over the region. The surviving enemies were utterly paralyzed by fear, not daring to make a sound or move their tongues to speak [רש״י, מצודת ציון]. The primary approach among commentators is that none of the defeated nations dared to open their mouths to protest, threaten, or speak ill of the Israelites [רש״י, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective, drawing on ancient Aramaic translations, understands the tongue as a metaphor for a person's life or soul. In this view, the silence represents the fact that absolutely no harm or distress was caused to the lives of the Israelites [רד״ק].

The sheer magnitude of the terror that gripped the inhabitants of the land was absolute. The dread was so overwhelming that the enemy did not merely fear the Israelite army as a unified force. The fear was so deeply rooted that even if an enemy encountered a single, solitary Israelite soldier, no one dared to utter a threat or speak out against him [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].