Judges 1 - Introduction

PART I

Ch. Judges 1:1 to Judges 2:5. The settlement of the Israelite tribes in Canaan

Apparently the narrative intends us to think of Gilgal, on the plains of Jericho, W. of the Jordan, as the place which the Hebrew tribes had reached in the course of their immigration; it was a sanctuary marked by the presence of the Angel of the Lord (Judges 2:1), and the chief encampment of the invaders. From Gilgal, therefore, we are led to infer that the tribes set out, either in small groups (Judges 1:3; Judges 1:16; Judges 1:22) or singly (Judges 1:30 ff.), to seek their fortunes in the land of Canaan. The language of Judges 1:2 points to a previous allotment of territory which determined the general lines of the advance. Judah was the first to go up, with his allies the Simeonites; the minor clans of the Calebites and the Kenites also took part in the invasion. This group made their way into the Southern Highlands; but the Canaanites held Jerusalem and a line of strong towns running westwards to the coast, with the valleys and the plains; the Judahites were no match for them in regular warfare (Judges 1:1 b Judges 1:3; Judges 1:5-7; Judges 1:19; Judges 1:21; Judges 1:20; Judges 1:10 b, Judges 1:11-17; note the order). The historian's chief interest lies in Judah; he is less concerned with the exploits of the other tribes, or he had only scanty traditions at his disposal. When he comes to the house of Joseph, i.e. Ephraim and Manasseh, he records only the capture of Beth-el in the Central Highlands, and the names of the Canaanite cities which could not be taken (Judges 1:22-29). Of the other tribes, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, who advanced into the country N. of the Great Plain, no positive successes are mentioned; apparently they barely managed to gain a footing; the Canaanites were too strong for them (Judges 1:30). The Danites at first penetrated into the South West; but they were forced back into the hills between Judah and Ephraim (Judges 1:34). In this manner the tribes entered Canaan: and the conclusion of the initial stage of the advance is marked by the going up of the Angel of the Lord from Gilgal to Beth-el (Judges 2:1 a, n.); the religious centre is now transferred to a sanctuary in the heart of the land.

We gather, then, from this chapter that the invasion of Canaan was left to the individual enterprise of the different tribes, and that the request was only partially successful; in the plains and round the principal towns the Canaanites proved too strong to be dislodged. This version of the story is at variance with the account given in the Book of Joshua. It is true that in Joshua the broad features of the narrative (6 11, 14 ff.) indicate that the south of Canaan was the first part of the country to be occupied, while the northern tribes won their way only by slow degrees after the house of Joseph had settled in the centre; so far in agreement with the present chapter. Otherwise the contrast is strongly marked. Israel advances as a united nation under the leadership of Joshua, and defeats the Canaanites in two decisive battles, at Beth-horon and the waters of Merom (Joshua, 10, 11); the Canaanites are exterminated wholesale (Joshua 10:40 ff., Joshua 11:11; Joshua 11:14; Joshua 11:21); the entire country from Edom in the south to Hermon in the north (Joshua 11:16 f.) is appropriated without further effort, and divided by lot among the tribes, after, and not before, the conquest (14 ff.). There can be no doubt as to which of these two versions represents the actual course of history. The Song of Deborah alone is sufficient to prove that the Canaanites, so far from having been exterminated, continued to be Israel's most dangerous neighbours (Judges 5:6-7; Judges 5:19). It was a long time before Israel became fully master of the land; the chief Canaanite cities were not conquered till the days of David and Solomon; in the end, after the lapse of centuries, the original inhabitants were not annihilated but absorbed. On the one hand Judges 1 has preserved a record of the isolation of the tribes and the successful resistance of the Canaanites, facts which explain much of the history in the subsequent period; on the other hand the picture given in the Book of Joshua is an ideal one, drawn by the religious and patriotic fancy of a far later age.

At what period are we to place the events narrated in Judges 1? The question seems to be answered by the opening clause, -after the death of Joshua"; but this does not agree with Judges 2:6, where Joshua is still alive. The true sequel of Joshua 24:28 is Judges 2:6-10; Judges 1:1 b Judges 2:5 must have been added after Judges 2:6 to Judges 16:31, the Book of Judges proper, had assumed its present form. In order to connect this inserted narrative with the period of the Judges the final editor prefaced it with a remark of his own, which, however, is historically inaccurate. The natural place for a history of Israel's invasion of Canaan would be after the account of the tribes" entry into the land and the fall of Jericho (Joshua 6); historically, therefore, Judges 1:1 b Judges 2:5 is parallel, and not subsequent, to the Book of Joshua. And in fact about a third of this section actually occurs in Joshua, sometimes in almost identical terms: thus Joshua 15:13-19 = Judges 1:10 b Judges 1:20; Judges 1:20; Joshua 15:63 = Judges 1:21; Josh, Joshua 17:11-13 = Judges 1:27-28; Joshua 16:10 = Judges 1:29. In Joshua these passages are clearly not in harmony with their context, and appear to be extracts from some special source. They can hardly have been copied from Judges, for in several cases Joshua has preserved a more original text (e.g. Joshua 15:13 f., Joshua 15:63) from which Judges has been altered; most probably, therefore, both drew independently upon a common document. This, we may suppose, was none other than the story of the conquest as given by J, the Jehovist or Judaic document of the Pentateuch; for not only does the language of the extracts in Joshua agree with the J passages in Joshua 1-9, but in Judges 1 we find the characteristic usages and treatment of this document, e.g. the resort to the oracle, Canaanitesas the term for the original inhabitants, the prominence given to Judah, the Angel of the Lord, the whole tone of the narrative, which betrays nothing of the later theocratic bias. Judges 1 indeed contains little of the picturesque writing which usually distinguishes J, but this is accounted for by the fact that the editor has considerably abridged, altered, and re-arranged the original source; see notes on Judges 1:4; Judges 1:7; Judges 1:10; Judges 1:19; Judges 1:21etc. It is probable that other fragments of the same ancient document are preserved in Joshua 17:14-18; Numbers 32:39; Numbers 32:41-42; Joshua 13:13; Joshua 19:47 (LXX).

Among the tribes mentioned in this chapter Issachar, Levi, Reuben, Gad do not appear. It is curious that Issachar should be left out, because Judges 5:15 shews that the tribe soon became numerous and important; the omission was perhaps accidental. Levi had probably sunk into insignificance (see Genesis 34:25-29; Genesis 49:5-7); Reuben and Gad being settled on the E. of the Jordan were not concerned with the conquest of the West. The original source probably did not mention Benjamin where the name now appears; see on Judges 1:21. But in spite of alterations and omissions we have in Judges 1 an historical document of the utmost value. The reason why it was introduced here, outside the Book of Judges proper, may be found in the words which the editor puts into the mouth of the Angel, Judges 2:1 b Judges 2:5 a. According to the original source the tribes did not completely conquer the land because they were inferior to the Canaanites in battle; according to the author of Judges 2:1 ff. it was because they were unfaithful to Jehovah. A belief had grown up that Jehovah had originally decreed a policy of extermination (cf. Exodus 34:11-16 J, Deuteronomy 7:1-5 etc.); this had not been carried out; hence the Canaanites remained as a standing menace and punishment. Such is the moral read into this piece of ancient history; and from this point of view the narrative is placed suitably at the outset of the story of the Judges.