יהושע, פרק י׳, פסוק ל״ט

The conquest of the southern cities reaches its peak in total destruction, leaving no survivors behind. To paint a clear picture of this victory and the fate of the defeated, careful comparisons are drawn to previous military campaigns. The focal point of this final strike is the city of Debir [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

To accurately describe the fall of Debir and its leader without leaving room for error, a dual comparison is made to the conquered cities of Hebron and Libnah. This specific pairing is designed to provide an exact account of the events and prevent any misunderstanding about how the battle unfolded [מלבי״ם].

The comparison to Hebron relates exclusively to the physical destruction of the city itself. However, if the account had relied solely on the example of Hebron, it would have created a false impression regarding the local ruler. In the battle of Hebron, the king was captured alive and later hanged. To clarify that the king of Debir did not share this specific fate, the comparison to Libnah is introduced. This second reference reveals that the king of Debir was never taken captive, but rather died in the midst of the fighting alongside the rest of the casualties [מלבי״ם].