Judges 1

Judges 1:1

I. REVIEW AND PREVIEW (1:13:6) A. Looking Back (1:12:10)1:1-3 After the death of Joshua (cf. Jdg_2:8), the tribe of Judah took the leadership in warring against the Canaanites in the south. In spite of God’s promise of victory, Judah sought the assistance of the tribe of Simeon, showing that their faith lacked complete dependence on God’s Word. 1:4-7 Their first victory was over the inhabitants of Bezek. After slaying ten thousand men, they cut off the thumbs and big toes of the king, as he had done to his foes. He should have been put to death, as the Lord had commanded (Deu_7:24), but instead he was only maimed. Then he was taken to Jerusalem, where he later died. This foreshadowed Israel’s disobedience in dealing with the heathen in their land. Rather than completely crushing them, the Israelites only crippled them. Such partial obedience was disobedience and would cost the Jews dearly in the days ahead. 1:8 Judah had a measure of success against Jerusalem, putting the city to the torch. But neither Judah nor Benjamin could drive the Jebusites out of their fortress (see commentary on Jos_15:21-63). This was not done until the time of David (2Sa_5:6-7). 1:9-15 The capture of Hebron is here credited to Judah; Joshua 14 and 15 tell us that Caleb was the one responsible for the conquest of this city. There is no discrepancy here, since Caleb was from the tribe of Judah. These verses (9, 10) probably refer to Caleb’s conquest of the city (cf. v. 20) and not to a subsequent expedition after Joshua’s death, even as the capture of Kirjath Sepher by Othniel is repeated in verses 11-15, although it took place previously (Jos_15:16-19). 1:16 The Kenites continued to dwell with the children of Judah, though they never were truly converted. 1:17-21 Other conquests of Judah include Hormah, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, but the victories were not complete. The inhabitants of the lowland . . . had chariots of iron, and Judah did not have the faith to launch an attack against them. They were unwilling to persevere in difficult circumstances. Verse 21 indicates that Judges was written before David took Jerusalem. 1:22-26 Only the two tribes of Joseph are credited with other victories. (These verses perhaps refer to the conquest of Bethel while Joshua was still living [Jos_12:16], just as the previous verses concerning Hebron and Kirjath Sepher hark back to the days of that great general.) They attacked the city of Bethel, formerly called Luz, and destroyed it. But their mistake was in promising safety to a collaborator. He promptly started building another city by the name of Luz in the land of the Hittites. Unjudged sin survives and has to be met later. 1:27-36 In the rest of the chapter, seven central and northern tribes are named as having failed to drive . . . the Canaanites from their territory: Benjamin (v. 21), Manasseh (vv. 27, 28), Ephraim (v. 29), Zebulun (v. 30), Asher (vv. 31, 32), Naphtali (v. 33), and Dan (vv. 34-36).