Judges 1:22-26

The fortunes of the house of Joseph

The account of the capture of Beth-el (Judges 1:22) has all the marks of antiquity, like the early fragments preserved in Judges 1:1. After the invasion of the South comes the invasion of Central Palestine, and, as this ancient version of the history shews, the two were independent of one another. The narrative knows nothing of such a leader as Joshua, though tradition connected him with the house of Joseph (Joshua 19:50 JE, Joshua 24:1 [Shechem], Joshua 24:30 E; Judges 2:9), and with the taking of Ai near Beth-el (Joshua 8).