TRV
Translation
King James Version
Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then the people of Y'hudah fought against Yerushalayim, captured it, overpowered it with the sword, and set the city on fire.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
American Standard Version
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.
World English Bible Messianic
The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, took it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
Geneva Bible (1599)
(Nowe the children of Iudah had fought against Ierusalem, and had taken it and smitten it with the edge of the sworde, and had set the citie on fire.)
Young's Literal Translation
And the sons of Judah fight against Jerusalem, and capture it, and smite it by the mouth of the sword, and the city they have sent into fire;
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In the KJVVerse 6,518 of 31,102
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Commentary on Judges 1 verses 1–8
1 ¶ Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
2 And the LORD 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 the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
Here, I. The children of Israel consult the oracle of God for direction which of all the tribes should first attempt to clear their country of the Canaanites, and to animate and encourage the rest. It was after the death of Joshua. While he lived he directed them, and all the tribes were obedient to him, but when he died he left no successor in the same authority that he had; but the people must consult the breast-plate of judgment, and thence receive the word of command; for God himself, as he was their King, so he was the Lord of their hosts. The question they ask is, Who shall go up first? Jdg 1:1. By this time, we may suppose, they were so multiplied that the places they were in possession of began to be too strait for them, and they must thrust out the enemy to make room; now they enquire who should first take up arms. Whether each tribe was ambitious of being first, and so strove for the honour of it, or whether each was afraid of being first, and so strove to decline it, does not appear; but by common consent the matter was referred to God himself, who is the fittest both to dispose of honours and to cut out work.
II. God appointed that Judah should go up first, and promised him success (Jdg 1:2): "I have delivered the land into his hand, to be possessed, and therefore will deliver the enemy into his hand, that keeps him out of possession, to be destroyed." And why must Judah be first in this undertaking? 1. Judah was the most numerous and powerful tribe, and therefore let Judah venture first. Note, God appoints service according to the strength he has given. Those that are most able, from them most work is expected. 2. Judah was first in dignity, and therefore must be first in duty. He it is whom his brethren must praise, and therefore he it is who must lead in perilous services. Let the burden of honour and the burden of work go together. 3. Judah was first served; the lot came up for Judah first, and therefore Judah must first fight. 4. Judah was the tribe out of which our Lord was to spring: so that in Judah, Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, went before them. Christ engaged the powers of darkness first, and foiled them, which animates us for our conflicts; and it is in him that we are more than conquerors. Observe, The service and the success are put together: "Judah shall go up; let him do his part, and then he shall find that I have delivered the land into his hand." His service will not avail unless God give the success; but God will not give the success unless he vigorously apply himself to the service.
III. Judah hereupon prepares to go up, but courts his brother and neighbour the tribe of Simeon (the lot of which tribe fell within that of Judah and was assigned out of it) to join forces with him, Jdg 1:3. Observe here, 1. That the strongest should not despise but desire the assistance even of those that are weaker. Judah was the most considerable of all the tribes, and Simeon the least considerable, and yet Judah begs Simeon's friendship, and prays an aid from him; the head cannot say to the foot, I have no need of thee, for we are members one of another. 2. Those that crave assistance must be ready to give assistance: Come with me into my lot, and then I will go with thee into thine. It becomes Israelites to help one another against Canaanites; and all Christians, even those of different tribes, should strengthen one another's hands against the common interests of Satan's kingdom. Those who thus help one another in love have reason to hope that God will graciously help them both.
IV. The confederate forces of Judah and Simeon take the field: Judah went up (Jdg 1:4), and Simeon with him, Jdg 1:3. Caleb, it is probable, was commander-in-chief of this expedition; for who so fit as he who had both an old man's head and a young man's hand, the experience of age and the vigour of youth? Jos 14:10, Jos 14:11. It should seem too, by what follows (Jdg 1:10, Jdg 1:11), that he was not yet in possession of his own allotment. It was happy for them that they had such a general as, according to his name, was all heart. Some think that the Canaanites had got together into a body, a formidable body, when Israel consulted who should go and fight against them, and that they then began to stir when they heard of the death of Joshua, whose name had been so dreadful to them; but, if so, it proved they did but meddle to their own hurt.
V. God gave them great success. Whether they invaded the enemy, or the enemy first gave them the alarm, the Lord delivered them into their hand, Jdg 1:4. Though the army of Judah was strong and bold, yet the victory is attributed to God: he delivered the Canaanites into their hand; having given them authority, he here gives them ability to destroy them - put it in their power, and so tried their obedience to his command, which was utterly to cut them off. Bishop Patrick observes upon this that we meet not with such religious expressions in the heathen writers, concerning the success of their arms, as we have here and elsewhere in this sacred history. I wish such pious acknowledgments of the divine providence had not grown into disuse at this time with many that are called Christians. Now, 1. We are told how the army of the Canaanites was routed in the field, in or near Bezek, the place where they drew up, which afterwards Saul made the place of a general rendezvous (Sa1 11:8); they slew 10,000 men, which blow, if followed, could not but be a very great weakening to those that were already brought so very low. 2. How their king was taken and mortified. His name was Adoni-bezek, which signifies, lord of Bezek. There have been those that called their lands by their own names (Psa 49:11), but here was one (and there has been many another) that called himself by his land's name. He was taken prisoner after the battle, and we are here told how they used him; they cut off his thumbs, to disfit him for fighting, and his great toes, that he might not be able to run away, Jdg 1:6. It had been barbarous thus to triumph over a man in misery, and that lay at their mercy, but that he was a devoted Canaanite, and one that had in like manner abused others, which probably they had heard of. Josephus says, "They cut off his hands and his feet," probably supposing those more likely to be mortal wounds than only the cutting off of his thumbs and his great toes. But this indignity which they did him extorted from him an acknowledgment of the righteousness of God, Jdg 1:7. Here observe, (1.) What a great man this Adoni-bezek had been, how great in the field, where armies fled before him, how great at home, where kings were set with the dogs of his flock; and yet now himself a prisoner, and reduced to the extremity of meanness and disgrace. See how changeable this world is, and how slippery its high places are. Let not the highest be proud, nor the strongest secure, for they know not how low they may be brought before they die. (2.) What desolations he had made among his neighbours: he had wholly subdued seventy kings, to such a degree as to have them his prisoners; he that was the chief person in a city was then called a king, and the greatness of their title did but aggravate their disgrace, and fired the pride of him that insulted over them. We cannot suppose that Adoni-bezek had seventy of these petty princes at once his slaves; but first and last, in the course of his reign, he had thus deposed and abused so many, who perhaps were many of them kings of the same cities that successively opposed him, and whom he thus treated to please his own imperious barbarous fancy, and for a terror to others. It seems the Canaanites had been wasted by civil wars, and those bloody ones, among themselves, which would very much facilitate the conquest of them by Israel. "Judah," says Dr. Lightfoot, "in conquering Adoni-bezek, did, in effect, conquer seventy kings." (3.) How justly he was teated as he had treated others. Thus the righteous God sometimes, in his providence, makes the punishment to answer the sin, and observes an equality in his judgments; the spoiler shall be spoiled, and the treacherous dealer dealt treacherously with, Isa 33:1. And those that showed no mercy shall have no mercy shown them, Jam 2:13. See Rev 13:10; Rev 18:6. (4.) How honestly he owned the righteousness of God herein: As I have done, so God has requited me. See the power of conscience, when God by his judgments awakens it, how it brings sin to remembrance, and subscribes to the justice of God. He that in his pride had set God at defiance now yields to him, and reflects with as much regret upon the kings under his table as ever he had looked upon them with pleasure when he had them there. He seems to own that he was better dealt with than he had dealt with his prisoners; for though the Israelites maimed him (according to the law of retaliation, an eye for an eye, so a thumb for a thumb), yet they did not put him under the table to be fed with the crumbs there, because, though the other might well be looked upon as an act of justice, this would have savoured more of pride and haughtiness than did become an Israelite.
VI. Particular notice is taken of the conquest of Jerusalem, Jdg 1:8. Our translators judge it spoken of here as done formerly in Joshua's time, and only repeated on occasion of Adoni-bezek's dying there, and therefore read it, "they had fought against Jerusalem," and put this verse in a parenthesis; but the original speaks of it as a thing now done, and this seems most probable because it is said to be done by the children of Judah in particular, not by all Israel in general, whom Joshua commanded. Joshua indeed conquered and slew Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem (Jos. 10), but we read not there of his taking the city; probably, while he was pursing his conquests elsewhere, this Adoni-bezek, a neighbouring prince, got possession of it, whom Israel having conquered in the field, the city fell into their hands, and they slew the inhabitants, except those who retreated into the castle and held out there till David's time, and they set the city on fire, in token of their detestation of the idolatry wherewith it had been deeply infected, yet probably not so utterly as to consume it, but to leave convenient habitations for as many as they had to put into the possession of it.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–8. Public domain.
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Richard ChallonerAD 1781
Jerusalem: This city was divided into two; one part was called Jebus, the other Salem: the one was in the tribe of Juda, the other in the tribe of Benjamin. After it was taken and burnt by the men of Juda, it was quickly rebuilt again by the Jebusites, as we may gather from ver. 21; and continued in their possession till it was taken by king David.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Judges 1:8 records a pivotal early triumph for the tribe of Judah following the death of Joshua, detailing their successful military campaign against Jerusalem. This decisive act of conquest, involving the capture of the city, the severe defeat of its inhabitants "with the edge of the sword," and its subsequent destruction by fire, represents a crucial step in Israel's mission to possess the Promised Land according to God's divine mandate, showcasing Judah's initial leadership and commitment to the covenant.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: The book of Judges commences in a critical transitional period for Israel, immediately following the death of Joshua, the formidable leader who had guided the initial conquest of Canaan. Judges 1:1 sets the stage by illustrating the Israelites' seeking of divine guidance to determine which tribe should lead the continued efforts to dispossess the remaining Canaanite inhabitants. Judah is divinely chosen and, in a strategic alliance with the tribe of Simeon (Judges 1:3), embarks on a series of campaigns. Judges 1:8 specifically recounts their initial, highly successful engagement with Jerusalem, serving as an early highlight of Judah's military prowess and obedience. This initial success, however, stands in stark contrast to the later, more ambiguous outcomes and outright failures of other tribes to fully drive out the Canaanites, thereby establishing the cyclical pattern of sin, oppression, and deliverance that defines the book.
Historical & Cultural Context: At the time of this event, Jerusalem, then known as Jebus, was a heavily fortified Canaanite city-state inhabited by the Jebusites. Strategically located on a defensible ridge, it controlled vital north-south routes and access to the central highlands. The methods described—"smitten it with the edge of the sword" and "set the city on fire"—were common practices in ancient Near Eastern warfare, often signifying a complete and decisive victory. These actions were consistent with the herem (devotion to destruction) commands given by God for dealing with idolatrous Canaanite populations (Deuteronomy 7:2), which aimed to prevent syncretism and preserve Israel's covenant purity. While Judges 1:8 describes a significant conquest, the continued presence of Jebusites in Jerusalem, as noted in Judges 1:21, suggests that Judah's victory likely pertained to the lower city or a significant portion of it, with the formidable Jebusite stronghold (later the City of David) remaining unconquered until the time of King David (2 Samuel 5:7).
Key Themes: This verse contributes to several overarching themes in Judges and the broader Old Testament narrative. It highlights the theme of initial obedience and success in the conquest, demonstrating God's faithfulness to grant victory when His people act in accordance with His will, especially after seeking His guidance, as seen in Judges 1:1-2. It underscores the divine mandate for conquest and judgment against the wicked inhabitants of Canaan, portraying Israel's actions not merely as territorial expansion but as an execution of God's righteous judgment against severe moral depravity and idolatry. Furthermore, the prominence of Judah's leadership and military effectiveness is established early on, foreshadowing its significant role in Israel's history, particularly as the tribe from which the Davidic monarchy and, ultimately, the Messiah would emerge. The partial nature of this victory, when viewed in light of Judges 1:21, also subtly introduces the theme of incomplete obedience, which becomes a pervasive and problematic issue throughout the book of Judges, leading to recurring cycles of apostasy and oppression.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Judges 1:8 employs several literary devices to convey its message with force and clarity. The rapid sequence of verbs—"fought," "taken," "smitten," "set...on fire"—creates a powerful sense of progression and completeness, emphasizing the thoroughness and efficiency of Judah's military operation. This culminates in a climax of destruction, underscoring the decisive nature of their victory. The phrase "smitten it with the edge of the sword" is a potent idiom or metonymy, where the instrument (sword) stands for the entire act of violent conquest, extermination, and judicial execution. While appearing as a straightforward historical report, the verse also functions as foreshadowing. Judah's initial success and prominence foreshadow its future leadership role in Israel, particularly the emergence of the Davidic monarchy from this tribe. Conversely, when read in conjunction with Judges 1:21, which states that the Jebusites were not driven out of Jerusalem, this verse highlights a subtle irony or paradox of incomplete obedience that plagues Israel throughout the book of Judges, setting up the broader narrative of cyclical failure and the consequences of compromise.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Judges 1:8 stands as a testament to God's faithfulness in granting victory to His people when they act in obedience to His commands. The conquest of Jerusalem by Judah is not merely a military achievement but an act of divine judgment against the deeply entrenched wickedness of the Canaanite inhabitants, consistent with God's long-standing promise to dispossess these nations and give the land to Israel. This initial success demonstrates that when Israel united and followed God's leading, they were empowered to fulfill their covenant obligations and inherit their promised territory. However, the subsequent narrative in Judges reveals that this initial zeal and complete obedience were not sustained, leading to a cycle of compromise, oppression, and incomplete spiritual victory, a pattern that serves as a cautionary tale for all generations of believers regarding the importance of sustained faithfulness and avoiding partial obedience.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Judges 1:8, while describing ancient warfare, offers profound spiritual lessons for believers today. Judah's decisive action against Jerusalem serves as a powerful reminder of the call to confront and overcome spiritual strongholds in our lives and communities. Just as Judah was mandated to take possession of their physical inheritance, Christians are called to actively engage in spiritual warfare, contending for the spiritual blessings and territory that God has graciously given us in Christ. This involves identifying areas of sin, compromise, or spiritual apathy and, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God's Word, "smiting" them with decisive action and "setting them on fire" with the purifying flame of God's presence. The initial success of Judah, contrasted with the later incomplete victories by other tribes (as seen throughout the book of Judges), serves as a cautionary tale about the critical importance of complete and sustained obedience to God's will, warning against the dangers of partial obedience that leaves room for continued spiritual struggle and compromise. Believers are encouraged to pursue a thorough and uncompromising pursuit of holiness, allowing God to fully conquer every area of their lives.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was Jerusalem completely destroyed by Judah, or did some inhabitants remain?
Answer: While Judges 1:8 describes a decisive victory where Judah "took" Jerusalem, "smote it with the edge of the sword," and "set the city on fire," the narrative is nuanced. Judges 1:21 explicitly states that the tribe of Benjamin (who shared the territory with Judah) "did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem." This suggests that Judah's victory likely pertained to the lower city or a significant portion of it, but the heavily fortified Jebusite stronghold (later known as the City of David) remained unconquered. The Jebusites continued to inhabit Jerusalem alongside the Israelites until King David finally captured the fortress centuries later (2 Samuel 5:6-7). This partial victory highlights a recurring theme in Judges where Israel's obedience and conquest were often incomplete, leading to ongoing challenges and demonstrating the consequences of failing to fully execute God's commands.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Judges 1:8, with Judah's decisive conquest of Jerusalem, powerfully foreshadows the ultimate and complete victory achieved by the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Jesus Christ. While Judah's victory was significant but ultimately incomplete, Jesus' conquest of sin, death, and the spiritual strongholds of darkness is absolute and eternal. He is the true Warrior who comes not with a physical sword to destroy cities, but with the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17), to "destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). His "fire" is not for physical destruction but for purification and judgment, consuming sin and refining His people, as prophesied in Malachi 3:2-3. Unlike the earthly Jerusalem, which remained partially unconquered for centuries, Christ establishes the New Jerusalem, a spiritual city, where His reign is complete and unchallenged (Revelation 21:2). His victory on the cross and resurrection is the ultimate "smitting with the edge of the sword," decisively defeating all spiritual enemies and securing for His people an eternal inheritance and a complete liberation from every stronghold of sin and death, fulfilling the promise of a complete and lasting conquest that Israel could not fully achieve. Through Christ, believers are not merely given a portion of the land, but are made co-heirs with Him of all things (Romans 8:17), a perfect and enduring fulfillment of God's covenant promises.