Judges

After Joshua died, the people of Israel asked the LORD, "Which of us should go up first to fight the Canaanites?"

1Now 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?

Note"Asked the LORD" describes a formal inquiry, not private prayer: a question put to God through a priest, who used sacred lots kept in his vestment to get a yes-or-no or a choice between named options. LORD in small capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God, which the translators did not spell out. "Canaanites" is the general term for the settled peoples already living in the land, organized in small city-states each under its own king.

2The LORD said, "Judah will go up. I have already handed the land over to them."

2And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

NoteIsrael's tribes are named after the sons of Jacob, so a tribe is regularly spoken of as a single man, "Judah shall go up... into his hand." The whole chapter switches between the ancestor's name, the tribe, and its fighting men without marking the change.

3The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, "Come up with us into the land assigned to us, and let us fight the Canaanites together. Then we will go with you into the land assigned to you." So the men of Simeon went with them.

3And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

NoteSimeon was Judah's "brother" in the sense that their ancestors were both sons of Jacob and Leah. The territory each tribe held had been divided by casting lots, so KJV "my lot" means the district allotted to us. Simeon's allotment lay inside Judah's, which is why the two campaign together.

4Judah attacked, and the LORD handed the Canaanites and the Perizzites over to them. They struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.

4And 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.

NoteThe Perizzites are one of the peoples regularly listed alongside the Canaanites; the name may refer to villagers living in unwalled settlements. The Hebrew word rendered "ten thousand" is also the ordinary word for a military unit or contingent, so the figure may be a round count of troops rather than an exact body count.

5At Bezek they found Adoni-bezek. They fought him and struck down the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

5And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

NoteAdoni-bezek is a title rather than a personal name: it means "lord of Bezek," the town he ruled.

6Adoni-bezek ran away, but they chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

6But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

NoteCutting off the thumbs and big toes was deliberate maiming, not torture for its own sake: a man without thumbs cannot grip a sword or draw a bow, and a man without big toes cannot run or keep his balance. It permanently disqualified a king from war while leaving him alive as a public trophy.

7Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps of food under my table. God has paid me back for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

7And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

Note"Seventy kings" means the rulers of seventy small towns; a Canaanite "king" governed a single city and its fields, not a nation. Making them feed on scraps under the table was the standard way of displaying captive rulers as domestic animals. KJV "meat" means food of any kind, not flesh, and "requited" means paid back.

8The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They killed its people with the sword and set the city on fire.

8Now 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.

9After that, the men of Judah went down to fight the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the dry southern land, and in the low hills near the coast.

9And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

NoteThree regions, each with a fixed name in Hebrew. The "mountain" is the central hill country, the high spine of the land. "The south" is the Negev, the dry grazing country running down toward the desert, a compass direction used as a place name. "The valley" is the Shephelah, the belt of low foothills between the hills and the coastal plain.

10Judah marched against the Canaanites living in Hebron, which used to be called Kiriath-arba, and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

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

NoteRenaming a captured town was a way of claiming it, and the writer keeps noting the older names his readers may know. Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai are the names of clans or clan chiefs, remembered as unusually large and formidable men (see verse 20).

11From there they went against the people living in Debir, which used to be called Kiriath-sepher.

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

NoteKiriath-sepher means roughly "town of the document" or "of the scribe," and Kiriath-arba in verse 10 means "town of four" or "town of Arba."

12Caleb said, "I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the man who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it."

12And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

NoteOffering a daughter in marriage was a normal reward and a political move: it bound the successful warrior to Caleb's household and gave him a claim on Caleb's land. The bride herself was not consulted.

13Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it, so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife.

13And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

NoteThe Hebrew is ambiguous about whose younger brother Kenaz was. It can mean Othniel was the son of Kenaz, who was Caleb's younger brother, or that Othniel himself was Caleb's younger brother. Either way the two families are closely related.

14When she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What do you want?"

14And 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 unto her, What wilt thou?

NoteHebrew has no separate word for "donkey ridden by a woman"; dismounting here is a gesture of respectful approach to her father, not a casual detail. KJV "lighted from off her ass" means got down from her donkey.

15She said, "Give me a gift. You have given me land in the dry south, so give me springs of water too." So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

15And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

Note"Give me a blessing" is an idiom for asking a present, here a specific one. Land in the Negev is grazing country with almost no rainfall, so a field there is worth little without a water source. She is asking for water rights, and the "upper and lower springs" are two named sets of them.

16The descendants of the Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the dry country south of Arad. They went and settled among the people there.

16And 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 lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

NoteThe Kenites were a nomadic group associated with metalworking who lived on the southern fringe of Judah; Moses had married into them. The "City of Palms" is Jericho, in the Jordan valley. Arad is a settlement in the dry southern country.

17Judah went with Simeon, their relatives, and they struck down the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They completely destroyed the city, and it was named Hormah.

17And 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.

Note"Utterly destroyed" translates a single Hebrew verb meaning to place something permanently beyond human use by devoting it to God, in war, killing the inhabitants and taking no plunder for oneself. The town's new name, Hormah, is built from that same word, so the name means something like "Destruction."

18Judah also captured Gaza and the land around it, Ashkelon and the land around it, and Ekron and the land around it.

18Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

NoteGaza, Ashkelon and Ekron are three of the five main Philistine cities on the coastal plain. KJV "the coast thereof" does not mean seashore; it means the territory belonging to each city. Some ancient copies of this verse read that Judah did *not* capture these cities, which fits verse 19 better.

19The LORD was with Judah. They drove out the people of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people of the plains, because those people had iron chariots.

19And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

NoteChariots with iron fittings were the heavy armament of the day, devastating on flat ground and useless in the hills. This explains the pattern running through the rest of the chapter: Israel holds the high country and fails on the plains. The Hebrew of "could not drive out" leaves it open who was unable, the plain sense is Judah, though the sentence begins with the LORD.

20They gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had said, and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.

20And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

NoteAnak's descendants, the Anakim, were remembered as exceptionally tall and were the reason earlier scouts had reported the land unconquerable. Caleb had been promised Hebron for dissenting from that report.

21The people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live in Jerusalem alongside the people of Benjamin to this day.

21And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

NoteThe Jebusites were the people holding Jerusalem. "Unto this day" is the writer's own present, some generations later, a stock phrase marking a situation that still stood when he wrote. Jerusalem sat on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin; the raid in verse 8 burned the town, but the stronghold stayed in Jebusite hands until David took it.

22The house of Joseph also went up to attack Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

22And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.

Note"The house of Joseph" means the two tribes descended from Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, acting together. Bethel means "house of God."

23The house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. The city used to be called Luz.

23And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

NoteKJV "descry" means to reconnoitre or scout.

24The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, "Please show us how to get into the city, and we will treat you kindly."

24And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

Note"Shew thee mercy" translates a Hebrew phrase for keeping faith with someone; in a captured city it meant specifically sparing his life and his household's when everyone else was killed. It is an offer of terms, not a sentiment.

25He showed them the way in, and they killed the people of the city with the sword. But they let that man and his whole family go free.

25And when he shewed 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.

26The man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and named it Luz. That is still its name today.

26And 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.

Note"The land of the Hittites" here means the region north of Israel, in what is now Syria, a general name for territory outside Israelite control rather than the Hittite empire itself.

27Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the people of Dor and its villages, or the people of Ibleam and its villages, or the people of Megiddo and its villages. The Canaanites were determined to stay in that land.

27Neither 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.

NoteA walled town with "her towns" is a city together with the unwalled villages that depended on it and farmed its land; Hebrew calls them its "daughters." Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, Ibleam and Dor all sit on the flat valley routes, the ground where chariots worked.

28Later, when Israel grew strong, they made the Canaanites work for them as forced laborers, but they did not drive them out completely.

28And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

NoteKJV "put to tribute" means conscripted for forced labor, unpaid work gangs for building and hauling, rather than merely taxed. This became the standard Israelite arrangement with populations they could not or would not expel.

29Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites went on living in Gezer among them.

29Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

30Zebulun did not drive out the people of Kitron or the people of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and were put to forced labor.

30Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

31Asher did not drive out the people of Acco, or the people of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob.

31Neither 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:

NoteAcco and Sidon are Phoenician port cities on the northern coast; they remained outside Israelite control throughout the biblical period.

32So the people of Asher lived among the Canaanites who already lived in the land, because they did not drive them out.

32But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33Naphtali did not drive out the people of Beth-shemesh or the people of Beth-anath. So they lived among the Canaanites who already lived in the land, but the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were put to forced labor for them.

33Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

NoteBeth-shemesh means "house of the sun" and Beth-anath "house of Anath," both named for Canaanite deities worshiped there. Several places in the region carry the first name.

34The Amorites pushed the people of Dan back into the hill country and would not let them come down into the plain.

34And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

Note"Amorites" is another broad term for the earlier population of the land, used sometimes for hill-country peoples and sometimes, like "Canaanites," for all of them. KJV "would not suffer them" means would not allow them.

35The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. But the house of Joseph grew stronger, and the Amorites were put to forced labor.

35But 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.

36The border of the Amorites ran from the pass of Akrabbim, from Sela the rock, and on up from there.

36And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

NoteAkrabbim means "scorpions," and the "going up" is a named mountain pass south of the Dead Sea. "The rock" translates *Sela*, which is both the ordinary word for a crag and the name of a specific place, so the Hebrew can be read either way.