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 to Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your 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, Three score and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God has 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 dwelled in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelled in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

11 And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:

12 And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjathsepher, and takes 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 to her, What will you?

15 And she said to him, Give me a blessing: for you have 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 lies in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelled 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 drove 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 to Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled there 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 to 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 to him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you 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 to 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 dwelled in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelled in Gezer among them.

30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelled 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 dwelled 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 dwelled among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries to 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.

Now = And. Commencing with the same word as the preceding books; thus connecting them all together. The book of Joshua = the inheritance possessed: Judges = the inheritance despised. Records the failure of the People, and the faithfulness of Jehovah. The Epilogue ( Jdg 21:25) gives the key to the whole book. See note on Jdg 17:6.

Joshua. Compare Jos 24:29.

children = sons.

asked = enquired: i.e. by Urim and Thummim, as in Jdg 18:5; Jdg 20:18. See note on Exo 28:30. Num 26:55.

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.

Who . . . ? All had been commanded. Deu 20:17. Jos 10:40.

behold. Figure of speech Asterismos (App-6). Some codices. with three early printed editions, read "and behold".

Adoni-bezek = Lord of Bezek. Bezek was seventeen miles south of Shechem. Compare 1Sa 11:8. Compare Jos 15:13-19.

Cut off. As he had done to others. See Jdg 1:7.

gathered. i.e. [the pieces].

as = according as.

God Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.

Jerusalem. The first occurrence is in Jos 10:1, in connection with Adoni-zedek’s fear of its being "utterly destroyed" like Ai. Here, in Jdg 1:8, we have a picture of its future history in miniature. See App-63. The Tel-el- Amarna tablets contain a long correspondence with Egypt about 1400 B.C.

taken it. The citadel not taken till 2Sa 5:6-9, by David.

mountain = hill country.

south. Hebrew. Negeb.

valley = lowlands

now. Note the Figure of speech Parenthesis (App-6), and compare with Jdg 1:17.

Hebron. Compare Num 13:22. Jos 14:13.

Kirjath-arba. Compare Gen 23:2. Jos 14:15; Jos 20:7.

Sheshai. These are sons of Anak. Compare Jdg 1:20.

Debir . . . Kirjath-sepher. See note on Jos 11:21 and Jdg 15:49.

Othniel Mentioned only here; and Jdg 3:9-11. Jos 15:17; and 1Ch 4:13.

to him. Supply Fig, Ellipsis with "home".

a = the.

What Wilt thou? or, What aileth thee? Jos 15:18, Jos 15:19.

Kenite. A non-Israelite race ( Gen 15:19. Num 24:21, &c. 1Sa 27:10; 1Sa 30:29). See Saul’s correspondence with them ( 1Sa 15:6). One branch in the north ( Jdg 4:11).

palm trees: i.e. Jer 3:13. Deu 34:3.

the People: i.e. Israel.

destroyed = devoted.

Hormah = utter destruction.

took Gaza, &c. These were wholly or partially retaken by the enemy, Compare Jdg 14:19; Jdg 16:1. 1Sa 5:10. Perhaps this accounts for the Septuagint reading, "Judah too did not inherit".

coast = border.

he drave out = he possessed. (Omit italics.)

mountain = hill country.

valley = lowlands.

chariots of iron. Compare Jdg 4:3.

as = accordingas. Compare Num 14:24. Jos 14:13; Jos 15:13.

three sons of Anak. See their names in Jdg 1:10 and App-23and App-25.

did not drive out. Compare Jos 15:63; Jos 18:28. 2Sa 5:6-10.

Luz. Compare Gen 28:19, and see Jos 16:1, Jos 16:2. Luz and Beth-el not two cities. 34

spies = sentries.

Hittites. A nation north of Syria, mentioned on Egyptian inscriptions from 1500 B.C.

Neither . . . nor. Note the Figure of speech Paradiastole (App-6) in verses: Jdg 1:29-33. Emphasizing the unfaithfulness and disobedience, the cause of all subsequent trouble.

drive out = possess.

dwelt: i.e. in friendly relations. Psa 133:1. 2Ki 4:13. See note on 1Ki 9:16, 1Ki 9:17.

dwelt among = dwelt in the inside, as in the heart or bowels of the Canaanites; verses: Jdg 1:27-30 are very different.

hand. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6, by which the hand is put for the power exerted by it,

coast = border or boundary. Judges 2 gives a summary of events from Jdg 3:1, Jdg 3:16, Jdg 3:31. The period it covers is therefore 1434-1100, i.e. 334 years.