Judges 1:22-36

Conquest of Other Tribes Judges 1:22-36

22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the Lord was with them.
23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth-el (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, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy.
25 And when he showed 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 Beth-shean 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 Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath 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, so that they became tributaries.
36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

14.

What is known of the history of Bethel? Judges 1:22-23

The children of Israel would be especially anxious to possess this site; for it was here that God appeared to the patriarch, Jacob, when he fled from the presence of his brother, Esau. The town came into such significant prominence in the later history of Israel that it attained the same importance in many respects in relation to the northern tribes, as that which Jerusalem attained in relation to the southern. Bethel was a name given to the site by Jacob (Genesis 28:19), and this name signified to Israel that it was the house of God. Luz was the name by which the Canaanites identified the place. The men of Bethel had assisted the men of Ai in resisting Israel's armies led by Joshua (Joshua 8:17), but no specific reference is made to the capture of Bethel in Joshua's day. The account here describes how this important site came into the possession of Israel.

15.

Did the other tribes drive the Canaanites from their land? Judges 1:27; Judges 1:29-31; Judges 1:33-34

Some of them did; some of them did not. Ephraim followed the good example of Judah and drove the Canaanites from their hill-country; but we read of Manasseh that they did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns. (Judges 1:27 ff.). God had told them that those who remained would be as thorns in their sides and that their gods would be a snare unto the people, and so did the events turn out. Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan are singled out as tribes who failed to exterminate completely the Canaanites whose land they inherited. Nothing is said of failure in this respect on the part of Benjamin, except in regard to the Jebusites in Jerusalem (Judges 1:21). Neither is an appraisal given of the work of Reuben, Gad or Issachar.

16.

What kind of tribute was exacted? Judges 1:28; Judges 1:30; Judges 1:33; Judges 1:35

The men became subject to taskwork. This was the way in which the children of Joseph treated the Canaanites whom they were not able to drive out of their territory (Joshua 17:13). In similar fashion, Israel made the Gibeonites do servile work when these Canaanites tricked the people into making a peace treaty with them. At that time, Joshua declared, Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondsmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God (Joshua 9:23). Such must have been the fate of the other Canaanites whom the Israelites did not exterminate but whom they were able to subjugate.

17.

Which tribe was especially oppressed by the Canaanites? Judges 1:34-36

Dan was forced up into the mountains by the Amorites who dwelt in their land. Such pressure on the part of the Amorites induced a portion of the Danites to emigrate and seek an inheritance in the northern part of Palestine where an earlier conquest had been made (cf. Judges 18; Joshua 19:47). Dan's territory lay on the west of the land given to the children of Benjamin. It also was between Judah on the south and Ephraim on the north. The western border was the Mediterranean Sea. In such a position, it was the very heart of the territory occupied by the Philistines. This particular group of Canaanites were perennial enemies of Israel and waged warfare that was unusually fierce. The fact that Dan was especially oppressed by these Canaanites provides a background for a better understanding of the career of Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan.

18.

What was the general boundary of the territory held by the Amorites? Judges 1:34-36

Special reference is made to the places where the Amorites dwelt in force. They were in the territory of Dan and forced this tribe up into the hill country. This area was along the Mediterranean Sea and lay in the midst of the land assigned to Ephraim on the north and Judah on the south. These Amorites, a particular group of the Canaanites, also dwelt in Mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalabim. Shaalabim and Aijalon are points mentioned in the territory assigned to the tribe of Dan, and the mention of these points gives an idea of the citadels which were held by the Amorites. Although these Canaanites were able to maintain control in these areas, the people of Ephraim prevailed against them as they assisted their brethren, the Danites; and these Amorites were made subject to taskwork. Another area where the Amorites prevailed was in the south, since the ascent of Akrabbim, mentioned also in Joshua 15:3, denotes the sharply projecting line of cliffs which intersected the Ghor below the Dead Sea. These cliffs formed the southern boundary of the Promised Land (cf. Numbers 34:4 and Joshua 15:2-3). The rock mentioned has many times been taken as a reference to Petra, but it is better considered as a reference to the rock which was smitten when Israel needed water (Numbers 20:8; Numbers 20:10). These Amorites also extended their territory beyond this point to the north. The fact that the Amorites were allowed to hold these strong points indicates the weakness of the children of Israel as they failed to fulfill God's will for them completely.