13th century BCE·Conquest·Site

The Burning of Hazor

Scripture: Joshua 11:10–13; Judges 4:2

Excavated remains at Tel Hazor · Photo: Bukvoed · CC BY 4.0 · Source

The claim

Joshua captures Hazor, 'the head of all those kingdoms', and burns it.

What archaeology found

Hazor was the largest city in Canaan. Yigael Yadin (1955–58, 1968–69) and Amnon Ben-Tor (from 1990) uncovered a violent destruction with an intense fire and deliberately mutilated statues of gods and kings, dated to the 13th century BCE.

Where it is

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Tel Hazor, IsraelView on OpenStreetMap

Sources

Yigael Yadin, Hazor: The Rediscovery of a Great Citadel of the Bible, Random House (1975)
Amnon Ben-Tor and Maria Teresa Rubiato, Excavating Hazor, Part Two: Did the Israelites Destroy the Canaanite City?, Biblical Archaeology Review 25:3 (1999)

Verdict history

Nov 10, 2026DebatedInitial verdict.