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Judges 1

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Judah and Simeon Receive the Commission 1–8

1
And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked of Jehovah, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them? ​
2
And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. ​
3
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. ​
4
And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they smote of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5
And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6
But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. ​
7
And Adoni-bezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. ​
8
And the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. ​

Judah’s Campaigns in the South 9–20

9
And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the lowland.
10
And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba); and they smote Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11
And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir beforetime was Kiriath-sepher.)
12
And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. ​
13
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
14
And it came to pass, when she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?
15
And she said unto him, Give me a blessing; for that thou hast set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. ​
16
And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people. ​
17
And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
18
Also Judah took Gaza with the border thereof, and Ashkelon with the border thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof.
19
And Jehovah was with Judah; and drove out the inhabitants of the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. ​
20
And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drove out thence the three sons of Anak.

Benjamin and Joseph Failures 21–26

21
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day. ​
22
And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el; and Jehovah was with them. ​
23
And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.)
24
And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with thee.
25
And he showed them the entrance into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.
26
And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof unto this day. ​

Widespread Tribal Compromise 27–36

27
And Manasseh did not drive outthe inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns, norof Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ​
28
And it came to pass, when Israel was waxed strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out. ​
29
And Ephraim drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30
Zebulun drove not out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became subject to taskwork.
31
Asher drove not out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;
32
but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. ​
33
Naphtali drove not out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to taskwork.
34
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley; ​
35
but the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became subject to taskwork.
36
And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 1

Verse 1

after the death of Joshua — The opening echoes Josh 1:1, 'after the death of Moses'. Israel 'asked' (sha'al) the LORD, as Num 27:21 provides for the nation's leader, who 'shall ask counsel … after the judgment of Urim before the LORD'. 'First' is techillah, the word of Judg 20:18, 'Which of us shall go up first', where again the answer is 'Judah'.

Verse 2

Judah shall go up — Judah leads here, and again at 20:18. Jacob's blessing had said, 'The sceptre shall not depart from Judah' (Gen 49:10), and in the wilderness camp Judah pitched on the east (Num 2:3). 'It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda' (Heb 7:14), 'the Lion of the tribe of Juda' (Rev 5:5). The land is 'delivered', or given, 'into his hand'.

Verse 3

into my lot — Goral is the lot by which the land was divided. Simeon's inheritance lay 'within the inheritance of the children of Judah' (Josh 19:1), because Judah's part 'was too much for them' (19:9). Judah asks for help in his lot first and promises to go into Simeon's after; v.17 records that he did: 'Judah went with Simeon his brother'.

Verse 6

thumbs and his great toes — Bohen is the thumb or great toe. Elsewhere it occurs only where blood is put on the right thumb and great toe at the consecration of Aaron's sons (Lev 8:23–24) and the cleansing of the leper (Lev 14:14, 17). The name Adoni-bezek means 'lord of Bezek'; Israel had slain ten thousand in Bezek (vv.4–5).

Verse 7

as I have done, so God hath requited me — Shalam is to pay back. The king, who had cut off the thumbs and great toes of seventy kings, names the principle of Lev 24:19, 'as he hath done, so shall it be done to him'. He calls the one who repays Elohim, God. He is brought to Jerusalem, where he dies; compare James 2:13, 'judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy'.

Verse 8

smitten it with the edge of the sword — Judah smote Jerusalem 'with the edge of the sword', literally the 'mouth' (peh) of the sword. Yet the Jebusites remained: 'the children of Judah could not drive them out' (Josh 15:63; Judg 1:21). The city was not held until 'David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David' (2 Sam 5:7).

Verse 12

Achsah my daughter — Caleb's offer is word for word that of Josh 15:16. Kirjathsepher is Debir (Josh 15:15). Othniel, who took it and married Achsah, is Caleb's younger brother; he is the first deliverer raised up by the LORD, on whom 'the Spirit of the LORD came upon him' (Judg 3:9–10).

Verse 15

Give me a blessing — Berakah here is a gift, as in Jacob's 'Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee' (Gen 33:11). The 'south land' is the negeb, dry ground, and she asks for 'springs' (gullah, a basin or bowl; the 'bowl' of Eccl 12:6). The same request and the 'upper' and 'nether' springs are in Josh 15:19.

Verse 16

the Kenite, Moses' father in law — The Kenites went up from Jericho, 'the city of palm trees' (Deut 34:3). Hobab, Moses' father in law, had been invited to go with Israel: 'what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee' (Num 10:29–32). Saul later spared the Kenites because they 'shewed kindness to all the children of Israel' (1 Sam 15:6).

Verse 19

chariots of iron — The LORD's being with Judah is stated before the limit is. The same obstacle faced Joseph's sons (Josh 17:16), and was answered, 'thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong' (17:18). Yarash, 'drive out', is the verb of the rest of the chapter (vv.19–21, 27–33).

Verse 21

the Jebusites … in Jerusalem unto this day — Jerusalem lay in Benjamin's inheritance ('Jebusi, which is Jerusalem', Josh 18:28) and was also named in Judah's (Josh 15:63). The Jebusites still held it later, when a Levite would not lodge there: 'the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel' (Judg 19:10–12).

Verse 22

the LORD was with them — The house of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh (Josh 16:4), goes up to Bethel, 'house of God' (Beth-el), the old Luz (v.23; Gen 28:19). 'The LORD was with' repeats v.19, said of Judah. Yet both of Joseph's tribes appear later in the chapter among those of whom it is said 'Neither did … drive out' (Manasseh, v.27; Ephraim, v.29).

Verse 26

built a city, and called the name thereof Luz — The man spared in vv.24–25 for showing the entrance to the city, with 'all his family', was let go on the spies' promise, 'we will shew thee mercy'; so Rahab and her household were saved (Josh 6:25). He builds a new Luz in the land of the Hittites, one of the nations listed in Deut 20:17.

Verse 27

the Canaanites would dwell in that land — The five cities of Manasseh, Bethshean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam and Megiddo, are those of Josh 17:11 less Endor; the sentence there (17:12) reads 'the children of Manasseh could not drive out'. Here it is 'Neither did Manasseh drive out'. It begins a run of 'Neither did' entries (vv.27, 29–31, 33).

Verse 28

put the Canaanites to tribute — Mas is forced labour or tribute. The words nearly repeat Josh 17:13: 'when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out'. The command had been to 'utterly destroy' and 'make no covenant' (Deut 7:2). The angel states the result in Judg 2:2–3.

Verse 32

the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites — The wording reverses that for Ephraim and Zebulun, where 'the Canaanites dwelt … among them' (vv.29–30). Here Asher dwells in the midst (qereb) of the Canaanites, as Naphtali does in v.33. Asher's seven cities (v.31) include Accho and Zidon. Ps 106:34–35 describes the result: 'mingled among the heathen, and learned their works'.

Verse 34

forced the children of Dan into the mountain — Lachats, to press, is the verb for the oppression of Israel in Judg 2:18; 4:3; 6:9; 10:12. Dan's inheritance 'went out too little for them' (Josh 19:47), and 'unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them' (Judg 18:1). The 'valley' is the same word as in v.19.