Divine Purpose in the Conquest

Deuteronomy tells Israel they are going in against a people greater and taller than themselves, and names the Anakim specifically.
The conquest accounts keep doing this. They single out the giant clans, and Joshua measures the outcome by whether the Anakim are gone. The Anakim function as the paradigmatic enemy - the reason the campaign is framed the way it is.
But the sources set a limit on the claim, and it is worth honouring. Treating the Anakim as though they were the entire population of Canaan is an overreading. Deuteronomy names them among the nations, not as all of them.
Scripture links:
- Deuteronomy 9:1-2 - a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim.
- Numbers 13:33 - the spies report the connection to the Nephilim.
- Joshua 11:21-23 - the Anakim cut off, and victory declared.
The conquest had a specific target. Saying so precisely is what keeps it from becoming something uglier.