Judges1

After Joshua's death, the tribe of Judah, with the Lord's guidance, led the initial conquest against the Canaanites, achieving significant victories including the defeat of Adonibezek and the capture of Jerusalem. However, despite these early successes, many Israelite tribes, and even Judah in some areas, failed to completely dispossess the indigenous inhabitants. This resulted in the Canaanites dwelling among them, often becoming tributaries, marking a departure from the full conquest commanded.

Judah and Simeon Receive the Commission

1
After the death of Y'hoshua, the people of Isra'el asked ADONAI, "Who will go up for us first to fight against the Kena'ani?" ​
2
ADONAI said: "Y'hudah will go up; here, I have handed the land over to him." ​
3
Y'hudah said to his brother Shim'on, "Come up with me into my assigned territory, so that we can fight against the Kena'ani; and I likewise will go with you into your territory." So Shim'on went with him. ​
4
Y'hudah went up; and ADONAI gave the Kena'ani and the P'rizi into their hands; of those in Bezek they killed ten thousand men.
5
They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him. They killed the Kena'ani and the P'rizi,
6
but Adoni-Bezek fled. They pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. ​
7
Adoni-Bezek said: "Seventy kings, with their thumbs and their big toes cut off, gathered food under my table; God has paid me back in accordance with what I did." They brought him to Yerushalayim, and he died there. ​

Judah’s Campaigns in the South

8
Then the people of Y'hudah fought against Yerushalayim, captured it, overpowered it with the sword, and set the city on fire. ​
9
Afterwards, the people of Y'hudah went down to fight against the Kena'ani who lived in the hill-country, in the Negev, and in the Sh'felah.
10
Y'hudah also attacked the Kena'ani living in Hevron (formerly called Kiryat-Arba), and they overpowered Sheshai, Achiman and Talmai.
11
From there they attacked the inhabitants of D'vir (D'vir was formerly called Kiryat-Sefer).
12
Kalev said: "To whoever overpowers Kiryat-Sefer and captures it I will give my daughter 'Akhsah as his wife." ​
13
'Otni'el the son of K'naz, Kalev's younger brother, captured it; so he gave him 'Akhsah his daughter as his wife.
14
After becoming his wife, she persuaded him to ask her father to give them a field; when she got off her donkey, Kalev asked her, "What do you want?"
15
She said to him: "Give me a blessing: since you gave me land in the Negev, also give me sources of water." So Kalev gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs. ​
16
Next, the descendants of the Keini, Moshe's father-in-law, went up out of the City of Date-Palms with the people of Y'hudah into the Y'hudah Desert south of 'Arad; and they came and settled with the people. ​
17
Y'hudah went with Shim'on his brother; they overpowered the Kena'ani who inhabited Tz'fat, and completely destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.
18
Y'hudah also took 'Azah with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory and 'Ekron with its territory.
19
ADONAI was with Y'hudah, and they took possession of the hill-country, because they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, since they had iron chariots. ​
20
They gave Hevron to Kalev, as Moshe had said to do; and he drove out from there the three sons of 'Anak.

Benjamin and Joseph Failures

21
The people of Binyamin did not drive out the Y'vusi who inhabited Yerushalayim; rather, the Y'vusi continued living with the people of Binyamin in Yerushalayim, as they do to this day. ​
22
The house of Yosef likewise attacked Beit-El; and ADONAI was with them. ​
23
The house of Yosef sent spies to Beit-El (the city was formerly called Luz).
24
The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him: "Please show us the way to enter the city, and we will treat you kindly."
25
So he showed them the way into the city, and they overpowered the city with the sword, but they let the man and all his family go free.
26
He went into the land of the Hittim, built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day. ​

Widespread Tribal Compromise

27
M'nasheh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beit-Sh'an and its villages, Ta'anakh and its villages, Dor and its villages, Yivle'am and its villages or Megiddo and its villages; so that the Kena'ani managed to keep on living in that land. ​
28
In time, when Isra'el had grown strong, they did put the Kena'ani to forced labor but failed to drive them out completely. ​
29
Efrayim did not drive out the Kena'ani living in Gezer; so the Kena'ani continued living in Gezer along with them.
30
Z'vulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol; so the Kena'ani continued to live among them but became subject to forced labor.
31
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of 'Akko, Tzidon, Achlav, Akhziv, Helbah, Afik or Rechov;
32
so the Asheri lived among the Kena'ani who were living in the land, because they didn't drive them out. ​
33
Naftali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beit-Shemesh or Beit-'Anat but lived among the Kena'ani living in the land; however, the inhabitants of Beit-Shemesh and Beit-'Anat became forced labor for them.
34
The Emori forced the people of Dan into the hills; for they would not let them come down to the valley. ​
35
The Emori had resolved to live in the Heres Hills, in Ayalon and in Sha'alvim; but when the power of the house of Yosef grew greater, they became subject to forced labor.
36
So the territory of the Emori was from the Scorpion Ascent and the Rock upward.

Study Notes for Judges 1

Verse 1

This verse marks the transition from the unified leadership of Joshua to the decentralized tribal initiatives, indicating that Israel still sought divine guidance (likely via the high priest/Urim and Thummim) before military action.

Verse 2

Judah, the tribe from which the Messiah would eventually come (Gen. 49:10), is chosen by God to lead the first wave of conquest, demonstrating their preeminence among the tribes.

Verse 3

Judah sought a strategic alliance with Simeon. Simeon’s territory was located entirely within Judah’s allotment (Josh. 19:1), making mutual assistance necessary for them both to secure their inheritance.

Verse 6

Mutilating the hands and feet was a common ancient practice intended to permanently cripple a defeated enemy, rendering them useless as warriors or runners.

Verse 7

Adonibezek recognizes the principle of divine justice (lex talionis) at work. This foreign king implicitly acknowledges that Israel’s God controls history and justly repays cruelty.

Verse 8

This capture likely refers to the lower city of Jerusalem; the Jebusite fortress (the City of David, cf. v. 21) remained unconquered until the time of King David (2 Sam. 5:6-7).

Verse 12

This account is a virtual repetition of Joshua 15:16-19. It highlights Othniel’s prowess; he later becomes the first Judge of Israel (Judges 3:9-11), establishing his early leadership credentials.

Verse 15

Achsah’s request for springs of water demonstrates wisdom and initiative. She understood that even a promised land was useless without essential resources to sustain life and agriculture.

Verse 16

The Kenites, descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, were non-Israelite allies who maintained fidelity to Israel and settled peacefully in the southern wilderness, illustrating a positive integration.

Verse 19

This is a pivotal theological statement. Although 'the LORD was with Judah,' their failure to conquer the valley is attributed to the enemy’s superior technology (iron chariots), implying a lack of faith in God’s ability to overcome material obstacles.

Verse 21

The failure of Benjamin to expel the Jebusites from Jerusalem is the first explicit failure listed, immediately following Judah's success, setting a negative tone for the rest of the chapter.

Verse 22

The 'house of Joseph' refers to the combined strength of Ephraim and Manasseh. They initially showed more vigor than Benjamin, though their success was still incomplete (v. 29).

Verse 26

The spared man established a city named Luz in the land of the Hittites. This suggests that while Israel spared some individuals, they likely relocated, potentially spreading Canaanite influence elsewhere.

Verse 27

This verse begins the long list of tribes who failed to secure their allotted territories. The phrase 'the Canaanites would dwell in that land' shows the resilience and successful resistance of the native inhabitants.

Verse 28

Putting the Canaanites to tribute was a compromise that violated God's covenant command to drive them out completely (Deut. 7:2). This pragmatic solution led directly to future spiritual contamination.

Verse 32

Asher’s failure was total; they ended up dwelling 'among the Canaanites' rather than possessing the land, demonstrating the danger of compromise leading to cultural assimilation.

Verse 34

Dan’s failure was particularly severe: instead of conquering the inhabitants, the Amorites successfully forced the Danites into the mountains, reversing the intended conquest and leading later to Dan’s relocation (Judges 18).

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