יהושע, פרק י׳, פסוק מ׳

Joshua's military campaign culminates in a sweeping victory across diverse landscapes, strictly fulfilling God's instructions. The conquest covers the entire southern border of the land [מלבי״ם]. The regions captured represent striking geographic contrasts. While some view the southern area simply as a geographic direction [רד״ק], others emphasize its physical nature as a dry, arid wasteland [מצודת ציון, מלבי״ם]. This parched environment is sharply contrasted with the mountain slopes. The primary approach among commentators is that these slopes are areas where water from hills and streams cascades downward [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Similarly, the towering mountains stand in direct physical contrast to the low-lying valleys [מצודת ציון]. Through these specific pairings, a clear picture emerges of opposing terrains—mountains versus valleys, and dry deserts versus flowing watersheds [מלבי״ם]. Yet, across all these vastly different environments, the outcome remains exactly the same. The enemy forces are entirely defeated, and every living soul is wiped out without a single survivor, precisely carrying out the command of God.