John Calvin Commentary Joshua 11:23

"So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Jehovah spake unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war." — Joshua 11:23 (ASV)

So Joshua took the whole land, etc. Although it was far from true that Joshua had actually acquired the whole land, he is nevertheless truly said to have obtained it as God had declared to Moses, with the latter clause restricting the meaning of the general statement. For it had been expressly added that the conquest God had promised would be made gradually, lest it should later become necessary to war with the ferocious wild beasts of the woods, if they advanced into a desolate wilderness.

Therefore, we are free to say that, although the Lord had not yet placed His people in possession of the promised land, He had virtually performed what He had agreed to do, since He gave them a suitable dwelling place, and one that was sufficient for the time being. And the words used imply that other districts, which had not yet come into their full and actual possession, are also included; for it is said that what they had acquired was distributed according to families. And, in short, we later see in the division that the lands were divided into lots that were not actually subdued by the people until Joshua was dead, indeed, not until many ages after. The meaning of the words, which is now clear, is simply this: while Joshua was still alive, a tangible sign of the promise was shown, making him feel completely secure in dividing the land by lot.