Judges 1:1-36
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 thumbsa 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.
9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.b
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:
12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, 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 to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?
15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; 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' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew 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 coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
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 Bethel: and the LORD was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.
25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man 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.
27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, 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 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: 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,c so that they became tributaries.
36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
Judges 1:1. After the death of Joshua, whose death was to the Jews the commencement of new troubles; they asked counsel of the Lord, as directed, Numbers 27:21, by Phinehas the priest.
Judges 1:3. Judah said to Simeon, come up with me, for their lots were adjacent, and therefore equally concerned. The Canaanites, it would seem, had returned to some of their former possessions.
Judges 1:5. Adoni-bezek; the lord of Bezek. Joshua 15:19.
Judges 1:7. Having their thumbs and great toes cut off. We find many ancient restless foes treated in this way with the loss of their right thumb, to disable them from war, but nowhere, except here, an extention of the cruelty to the toes. It was time for these nations to be destroyed: the power of conscience confessed the equity of divine retribution.
Judges 1:8. Jerusalem. This is more full than Joshua 10. They destroyed the Jebusites, and burnt the city, except those who took refuge in the fortress, where the temple was afterwards built. This strong place David took, but spared the people, as it would seem from Araunah's being left in possession of his estate. They had then embraced Judaism. See on Joshua 18:28.
Judges 1:16. The Kenites. These learned shepherds had followed Moses, and received their lot adjacent to Amalek. They preserved the learning of Moses and Jethro, 1 Chronicles 2:55, and would drink no wine, nor build houses. Jeremiah 35. By this emigration they escaped the evils which Balaam had foretold would befal their country. They were wise and wary to come and enjoy the pastures when the war was over.
Judges 1:18. Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof. This, as appears from chap. Judges 3:3, must be wrong in the Hebrew copy, which the Septuagint rectifies thus: “But Judah did not possess Gaza, nor the coasts thereof; nor Askelon, nor Ekron, nor Ashdod, nor the coasts thereof.” See Josephus Judges 5:2.
Judges 1:24. Show us the entrance into the city: so he saved his own life by betraying his fellow-citizens. To him an awful subject of reflection for future years.
REFLECTIONS.
This chapter, as introductory to the presidency of the judges, resumes the history of the Israelites from the defeat of the allied kings by Joshua. Now it would be well for those who complain of cruelty in Joshua, to contemplate the character of Adoni-bezek, and say whether he, and the instruments of his cruelty were fit to live? Surely if the judgments which the Canaanites brought one upon another, had no effect in producing a reformation, it was high time for heaven to inflict its vengeance on a people guilty of every crime. Yet an infidel age talks as though some apology ought to be made for Moses, Joshua, and David, the purest ministers of divine vengeance, and distinguished by the greatest mercy. Indulge them but in this, and we must next make some apology for every other visitation of providence: but instead of making concessions which brand the tribunal of heaven with weakness, we are taught to reply as Christ did, Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
The valour of Judah is here recorded at large. He set a fine example to the other tribes, notwithstanding his failure of the conquest of Philistia. Joseph's stratagem and courage in storming Bethel, near to which Rachel his mother was interred, is mentioned with honour. But the six remaining tribes are all blamed for not driving out the heathen: and what is worse, they reduced them to tribute. This violated the law of God; for after receiving their money, they could not attack them without a breach of covenant; and God will never aid a people in the cause of perjury and wickedness. Whoever makes a covenant with his sins, grieves the Holy Spirit, and forfeits the aids of grace, by which alone he can mortify the deeds of the body.
The children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, having passed the Jordan with Israel, went up with Judah to fight. How happy, that Jethro, if yet alive, took second thoughts. When Moses first invited him to go with them to the promised land, he refused. Numbers 10:29. But seeing the Lord was with his people, his heart was afterwards moved, and the whole family followed the ark. These were the family of the Rechabites mentioned by Jeremiah; it appears that they led a pastoral, inoffensive, and sober life. And if our heart like Jethro's have at first revolted against invitations to join in religious society, let us think again, that it is safest for us to be with God's covenant people. Let us leave the world and sin, and claim our portion with the Lord's people.