Commentary for Joshua 11:13
רַ֣ק כָּל־הֶעָרִ֗ים הָעֹֽמְדוֹת֙ עַל־תִּלָּ֔ם לֹ֥א שְׂרָפָ֖ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל זוּלָתִ֛י אֶת־חָצ֥וֹר לְבַדָּ֖הּ שָׂרַ֥ף יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ׃
But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only—that did Joshua burn.
Rashi on Joshua
Remained with their walls intact. Their walls were not destroyed like Yericho, whose walls fell, and similarly Ai, as it is said, “[And Yehoshua burned Ai] and made it into a mound forever, a ruin.”3See Chapter 8:28 above.
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Rashi on Joshua
The only exception was Chatzor. He burned it because of a traditional command. Moshe so commanded and transmitted it to him. This is found in Bereishis Rabba on the Sidrah of “And Yaakov sent.”4This command to destroy Chatzor is not written in the Torah. Moshe received this command orally on Mount Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, who fulfilled it.
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