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The Fight Against the Canaanites

Now it happened after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel (A)asked of [a]Yahweh, saying, “Who shall go up first for us (B)against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” And Yahweh said, “(C)Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into [b]the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and [c]I in turn will go with you into [d]the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. So Judah went up, and (D)Yahweh gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down 10,000 men at Bezek. Then they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and seized him and cut off his [e]thumbs and big toes. And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; (E)as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Then the sons of Judah fought against (F)Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the [f]Negev and in the [g]Shephelah. 10 (G)So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 Then (H)from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “The one who strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 (I)Then Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 Now (J)it happened that when she came to him, she enticed him to ask her father for the field. Then she alighted from [h]her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [i]do you want?” 15 And she said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the [j]Negev, so you shall give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 Now the sons of (K)the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the (L)city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of (M)Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called (N)Hormah. 18 And Judah captured (O)Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now Yahweh was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley because they had (P)iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, (Q)as Moses had [k]promised; and he dispossessed from there (R)the three sons of Anak. 21 (S)But the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess the (T)Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and Yahweh was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel ((U)now the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 Then the [l]spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and (V)we will treat you with lovingkindness.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, (W)but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 So the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz [m]which is its name to this day.

Israel Fails to Complete the Conquest

27 (X)But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its towns or Taanach and its towns or the inhabitants of Dor and its towns or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; so (Y)the Canaanites persisted to live in that land. 28 And it happened when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not dispossess them completely.

29 (Z)Also Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of [n]Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not dispossess them.

33 Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites pressed the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 and the Amorites persisted in [o]living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph became heavy, and they became forced labor. 36 Now the border of the Amorites ran from the (AA)ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  2. Judges 1:3 Lit my lot
  3. Judges 1:3 Lit I, even I
  4. Judges 1:3 Lit your lot
  5. Judges 1:6 Lit thumbs of his hands and his feet
  6. Judges 1:9 South country
  7. Judges 1:9 Or lowland
  8. Judges 1:14 Lit the
  9. Judges 1:14 Lit for yourself
  10. Judges 1:15 South country
  11. Judges 1:20 Lit spoken
  12. Judges 1:24 Lit the ones keeping watch
  13. Judges 1:26 Lit it
  14. Judges 1:30 Possibly same as Nahalal
  15. Judges 1:35 Lit dwelling

Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites(A)

After the death(B) of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first(C) to fight against the Canaanites?(D)

The Lord answered, “Judah(E) shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.(F)

The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites(G) went with them.

When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites(H) into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.(I) It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek(J) and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back(K) for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem,(L) and he died there.

The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem(M) also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.

After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country,(N) the Negev(O) and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron(P) (formerly called Kiriath Arba(Q)) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.(R) 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir(S) (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).

12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.

14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him[a] to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.(T)

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law,(U) the Kenite,(V) went up from the City of Palms[b](W) with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.(X)

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(Y) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[c] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[d](Z) 18 Judah also took[e] Gaza,(AA) Ashkelon(AB) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(AC) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(AD) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(AE) 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron(AF) was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.(AG) 21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out(AH) the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem;(AI) to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.

22 Now the tribes of Joseph(AJ) attacked Bethel,(AK) and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),(AL) 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.(AM) 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared(AN) the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites,(AO) where he built a city and called it Luz,(AP) which is its name to this day.

27 But Manasseh did not(AQ) drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor(AR) or Ibleam(AS) or Megiddo(AT) and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites(AU) were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.(AV) 29 Nor did Ephraim(AW) drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer,(AX) but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.(AY) 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher(AZ) drive out those living in Akko or Sidon(BA) or Ahlab or Akzib(BB) or Helbah or Aphek(BC) or Rehob.(BD) 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh(BE) or Beth Anath(BF); but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites(BG) confined the Danites(BH) to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain.(BI) 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,(BJ) Aijalon(BK) and Shaalbim,(BL) but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass(BM) to Sela(BN) and beyond.(BO)

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Hebrew; Septuagint and Vulgate Othniel, he urged her
  2. Judges 1:16 That is, Jericho
  3. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  4. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  5. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take

Israel Fights Remaining Canaanites

After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who should go up against the Canaanites first, in order to wage war against them?”

The Lord said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed, I have given the land into their hands.”

Then the men of Judah said to Simeon, their brothers, “Come up with us into our allotted territory. We will wage war against the Canaanites. Likewise we will go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with them.

Then Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek. They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek and fought against him. They struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites. Yet Adoni-Bezek fled, and they chased after him, seized him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings whose thumbs and big toes were cut off once collected scraps of food under my table. Just as I have done, so God has repaid me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Then Judah waged war against Jerusalem. They captured it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and sent the city up in flames.

Afterwards, Judah went down to wage war against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowlands. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites living in Hebron (previously the name of Hebron was Kiriath Arba) and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (previously the name of Debir was Kiriath Sepher).

12 Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Aksah as wife.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it. So Caleb gave him Aksah his daughter in marriage.

14 When she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What can I do for you?”

15 She answered, “Please give me a special gift. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the descendants of Judah from the City of Palms to the Negev near Arad. Then they went and lived with the people.

17 But Judah went with his brother Simeon and struck down the Canaanites living in Zephath and utterly destroyed it. So now they call the city Hormah. 18 Then Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory belonging to each of these cities.

19 The Lord was with Judah, and they took the hill country but could not drive out the inhabitants of the coastal plain, for they had iron chariots. 20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove out the three sons of Anak. 21 However, the tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live with the tribe of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The descendants of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The descendants of Joseph sent spies into Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them an entrance to the city. They struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and his extended family go. 26 The man went to the land of the Hittites. He built a city and named it Luz, and that is its name to this day.

27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, or their daughter villages, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When the children of Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to hard labor as slaves, but they did not actually drive them out. 29 Ephraim did not drive out the inhabitants of Gezer, so the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer. 30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and became slave laborers. 31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Akko, Sidon, Ahlab, Akzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. 32 Asher lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath, so they live among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. The Canaanites of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became slave laborers for them. 34 The Amorites pushed the tribe of Dan into the hill country, for they would not let them come down to the coastal plain. 35 The Amorites were determined to live in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but the hand of the descendants of Joseph was heavy on them, and they became slave laborers. 36 The border of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim to Sela and beyond.