1 It happened after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, "Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?" 2 Yahweh said, "Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand." 3 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 Judah went up; and Yahweh delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they struck of them in Bezek ten thousand men. 5 They found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-Bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. 7 Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered (their food) under my table: as I have done, so God has requited me." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, and in the South, and in the lowland. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kiriath Arba); and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher.) 12 Caleb said, "He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife." 13 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 14 It happened, when she came (to him), that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her donkey; and Caleb said to her, "What would you like?" 15 She said to him, "Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water." Then Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 The children of the Kenite, Moses' brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Also Judah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border. 19 Yahweh was with Judah; and drove out (the inhabitants of) the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. 20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drove out there the three sons of Anak. 21 The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. 22 The house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel; and Yahweh was with them. 23 The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) 24 The watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you." 25 He showed them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family. 26 The man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day. 27 Manasseh did not drive out (the inhabitants of) Beth Shean and its towns, nor (of) Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 28 It happened, when Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out. 29 Ephraim didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun didn't drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor. 31 Asher didn't drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob; 32 but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33 Naphtali didn't drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and of Beth Anath became subject to forced labor. 34 The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country; for they would not allow 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 subject to forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
After the death of Joshua the Israelites purpose to attack the remaining Canaanites; and the tribe of Judah is directed to go up first, Judges 1:1, Judges 1:2. Judah and Simeon unite, attack the Canaanites and Perrizites, kill ten thousand of them, take Adoni-bezek prisoner, cut off his thumbs and great toes, and bring him to Jerusalem, where he dies, Judges 1:3-7. Jerusalem conquered, Judges 1:8. A new war with the Canaanites under the direction of Caleb, Judges 1:9-11. Kirjath-sepher taken by Othniel, on which he receives, as a reward, Achsah, the daughter of Caleb and with her a south land with springs of water, Judges 1:12-15. The Kenites dwell among the people, Judges 1:16. Judah and Simeon destroy the Canaanites in Zephath, Gaza, etc., Judges 1:17-19. Hebron is given to Caleb, Judges 1:20. Of the Benjamites, house of Joseph, tribe of Manasseh, etc., Judges 1:21-27. The Israelites put the Canaanites to tribute, Judges 1:28. Of the tribes of Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali, Judges 1:29-33. The Amorites force the children of Daniel into the mountains, Judges 1:34-36.
The children of Israel, after Joshua's death, inquiring of the Lord which tribes should first go up against the remaining Canaanites, Judah is ordered to go up, who with Simeon did, Judges 1:1; and had success against the Canaanites under Adonibezek, whom they brought to Jerusalem Judges 1:4; and against the Canaanites in Hebron, Debir, Zephath, Hormah, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, Judges 1:9; the Benjamites had not such good success as Judah against the Jebusites in Jerusalem, Judges 1:21; nor as the house of Joseph had against Bethel, Judges 1:22; nor could the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali, drive out the Canaanites from several places which belonged unto them, though many of them became their tributaries, Judges 1:27; and as for the Amorites, they were too powerful for the tribe of Daniel, though some of them became tributaries to the house of Joseph, Judges 1:34.(a) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 14. 2.
(Judges 1:1-8) Proceedings of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.
(Judges 1:9-20) Hebron and other cities taken.
(v. 21-36) The proceedings of other tribes.
I. Attitude of Israel Towards the Canaanites, and Towards Jehovah Its God - Judges 1-3:6
Hostilities between Israel and the Canaanites after Joshua's Death - Judges 1:1-2:5
After the death of Joshua the tribes of Israel resolved to continue the war with the Canaanites, that they might exterminate them altogether from the land that had been given them for an inheritance. In accordance with the divine command, Judah commenced the strife in association with Simeon, smote the king of Bezek, conquered Jerusalem, Hebron and Debir upon the mountains, Zephath in the south land, and three of the chief cities of the Philistines, and took possession of the mountains; but was unable to exterminate the inhabitants of the plain, just as the Benjaminites were unable to drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem (vv. 1-21). The tribe of Joseph also conquered the city of Bethel (Judges 1:22-26); but from the remaining towns of the land neither the Manassites, nor the Ephraimites, nor the tribes of Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali expelled the Canaanites: all that they did was to make them tributary (Judges 1:27-33). The Danites were actually forced back by the Amorites out of the plain into the mountains, because the latter maintained their hold of the towns of the plain, although the house of Joseph conquered them and made them tributary (Judges 1:34-36). The angel of the Lord therefore appeared at Bochim, and declared to the Israelites, that because they had not obeyed the command of the Lord, to make no covenant with the Canaanites, the Lord would no more drive out these nations, but would cause them and their gods to become a snare to them (Judges 2:1-5). From this divine revelation it is evident, on the one hand, that the failure to exterminate the Canaanites had its roots in the negligence of the tribes of Israel; and on the other hand, that the accounts of the wars of the different tribes, and the enumeration of the towns in the different possessions out of which the Canaanites were not expelled, were designed to show clearly the attitude of the Israelites to the Canaanites in the age immediately following the death of Joshua, or to depict the historical basis on which the development of Israel rested in the era of the judges.
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.