Judges 1:30-33

The Northern tribes settle among the Canaanites

We may conclude from this narrative that the northern tribes entered the country after Judah and Ephraim (so Joshua 18:2-10 JE), and independently of them. Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, were not strong enough to make any conquests; they could only settle among the older population; and the northern district remained, probably for centuries, only partially Israelite, -Galilee of the Gentiles," -the heathen territory" (Isaiah 9:1). In Judges 1:27 the Canaanites dwell in the midst of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun; in Judges 1:31 Asher and Naphtali dwell in the midst of the Canaanites. According to P in Joshua 19:10 ff. the cities which are said here to have remained Canaanite belong to the three tribes.