Old Testament Commentary - Judges 1

Despite the great gains of Israel under the leadership of Joshua, various peoples of the land defined as Israel's inheritance still remained to be removed. Though the precise defining borders of these people and their lands which they still occupied is not readily ascertainable, a general understanding of their locations can be obtaines. The Philistines variously occupied the lower or southern Mediterranean coast, east of the lands occupied by Judah and Simeon. The Amorites lived in the Ajalon Valley, Lachish was one of their chief cities and they include those as far north as the Hivites who were considered to be included in the Amorite group. Further inland was the lands and cities of the Canaanites, with the Jebusites being round about Jerusalem. The Phoenicians or Zidonians possessed the middle borders of the Mediterranean with such towns and cities as Tyre and Zidon. Though many such people where called 'Canaanites' it is not always clear whether this distinction was racial or regional. Origianlly Canaanite meant one who had descended through Canaan, son of Ham. but later it also included all those who lived in the borders of the land of Canaan regardless of descend, just as not all Americans are white Europeans, the land of Canaan held a mixture of ethic and racial varieties. The Hitties, who Uriah and his wife Bathsheba are associated with, is one such 'Canaanite' group which may have held the name due to being of the land but not necessarily of the racial descendantcy of Ham.

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Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 1               Judah, Simeon, and Joseph continue to conquer Canaanites—Remnants of Cananites remain in lands of Judah, Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan.
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 firsta, 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 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.	1a Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first Of the two princes of the tribes of Israel who survived the 40 years in the wilderness, one was Joshua and the other was Caleb. Joshua was now dead. Whether by direct command of the Lord or by assumed leadership, it was the Judah under the direction of Caleb (see verses 11 & 12) who did mount the fight against the Canaanites 'first', after the death of Joshua. However, Judah was not alone. Judah would confederate with Simeon while the other tribes did also fight against the Canaanites, the particulars are not as well expressed by this Jewish prepared account.
Judah, Allied with Simeon, Fights First under Caleb
4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek aten thousand men.   5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.   6 But Adoni-bezeka fled; and they pursued after him, and caught hima, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.	6a Adonibezek ... caught him Though Judah with Simeon has some sucess in fighting the Canaanites, it is clear that they are not driving them out of the land or unterly destroying them. They Lord over them and subjegate them, but the Canaanites are still with them, just as they are quick to point out concerning other tribes who also fight against the Canaanites.
7 And Adoni-bezek said, aThreescore 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.   8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken ita, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.	8a Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it Here again, though Judah seems to win battles and 'conquer', Judah does not remove or utterly destroy the Canaanites. This great feat of taking Jerusalem and setting it on fire is later revealed to not be concise nor conclusive as the Jebusites are later stated to still be living there with the tribe of Benjamin, thus faulting Benjamin, though they brag that they had taken Jerusalem at one time under Caleb.
9 ¶ And 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.   10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher:   12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh 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 unto her, What wilt thou?   15 And 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 anether springs.
Moses' In-laws, Judah, and Canaanites Live Together
16 ¶ And the children of the aKenitea, Moses' father in law, went up out of the bcity of palm trees with the children of Judaha into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the peoplea.   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.	16a the Kenite ... with the children of Judah ... they went and dwelt among the people Here it states that rather than remove and/or destroy the Canaanite, Judah and associates, would dwell among them.
18 Also Judah took Gaza with the acoast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.   19 And the LORD was with aJudah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had bchariots of iron.   20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
Benjamin Charged with Living with Jebusites after Judah's Failure to Remove Them
21 And the children of Benjamin did not adrive out the bJebusites that inhabited Jerusalema; but the cJebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this dayb. Benjamin's Land  The evolution of Judah's land claim swallows up the lands of Simeon, Dan and Benjamin. Benjamin was not only originally given Jerusalem and the lands thereof (See Joshua 18:28), but from the record of Samuel, it become clear that the original lands of Benjamin did extend even to Bethlehem and were possessed and known to be claimed by Benjamin. Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin was buried at Zelzah (See 1 Samuel 10;2). Her sepulchre is on the north side of Bethlehem today. This marked the southern border of Benjamin according to 1 Samuel, which means that the lands of Benjamin extended to and included the tomb of Benjamin's mother Rachel, which is quite logical and understandable that Rachel's sons would hold the land where Rachel's tomb was located. Under David, who was ordained to assume the kingdom of Saul, various Benjamite lands fell into Jewish claim solidified by David's taking of Jerusalem.	21a the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem Despite the report found in verse 8 that 'Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had take it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire', it is evident that Judah did not conquer at length, or remove the Jebusites from Jerusalem. And in verse 21, the Jewish perspective turns and lays upon Benjamin, which would have become a diminished tribe in size, the blame that the Jebusites had not been removed from Jerusalem. This inspite of the additional fact that it was King David who would eventual wrestle Jerusalem from Jebusite control and rule.  21b unto this day It becomes obvious that whatever more ancient and more contemporay records of events have been compiled and edited when throughout such later commentary is obviously added such as this statement that 'unto this day', this much later day, Benjamin and the Jebusites still dwell in Jerusalem. I would have to suppose that Judah also dwelt in Jerusalem at this later date also, but dispite their first claimed taking of Jerusalem under Caleb before anyother, and their later takeing of Jerusalem under King David, it was just as decidedly a Jewish failure to remove and/or exterminate the Jebusites as it was the reduced tribe of Benjamin from whom the Jews would extract and claim much land from.
Judah's Land Evolution From what Joshua stipulated and Moses precribed, that the land inheritances of the tribes of Israel were and should always remain, there comes the evolution of the lands claimed and possed by Judah, which were ever increasing and infringing upon the land inheritance of the other tribes. Dan seems to have been completely squeezed out of the tribes of Israel picture. The lands of Benjamin were also swallowed up by Judah as was those of Simeon by the time of the division of the two Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
House of Joseph Takes Bethel, the Old Luz
22 ¶ And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el: and the LORD was with them.   23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth-el. (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 unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.   25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the aman 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 unto this day.
Manasseh Charged with Not Driving Out Canaanites
27 ¶ Neither did Manasseh adrive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean 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 atribute, and did not utterly drive them out.
Ephraim Charged with Not Driving Out Canaanites
29 ¶ Neither did Ephraim drive out the aCanaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
Zebulun Charged with Not Driving Out Canaanites
30 ¶ Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.
Asher Charged with Not Driving Out Canaanites
31 ¶ Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidona, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:   32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.	31a Like many of the tribes, Asher did not expand its lands to the fullest extent of it inheritance as prescribed by Joshua (See Joshua 19:24-31 esp. v. 28) as it is stated that Asher was to expand to and included 'even unto the great Zidon'. Both Zidon and Tyre continued to be the land and cities of the Phoenecians.
Naphtali Charged with Not Driving Out Canaanites
33 ¶ Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them.
Amorites Prevail Against Dan
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valleya:   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.	34a would not suffer them to come down to the valley This valley being spoken of is the Valley of Ajalon or Aijalon. It was the valley which ran from Jerusalem westward toward the Mediterranean (see Joshua 10:12-14: 19:42). While Dan was not allowed to inhabit this part of their inheritance, the House of Joseph, that is Israel, the Northern Kingdom, did subjecate these people and made them tributaries. The simularity between the name Ajalon or Aijalon Valley and the port city of Ashkelon is too similar to ignore. And while Judah is attributed as defeating Ashkelon, the port city (verse 18), as they were also attributed as taking Jerusalem (verse 8), it is felt that just as Jerusalem was part of Benjamin's inheritance, that Ashkelon as the extention of the Ajalon/Aijalon Valley was part of the original inheritance of Dan (See Joshua 19:42).	Dan's Land  What Dan's land of original inheritance was and what the actual land of Dan's habitation was, seem to be somewhat differing. Though Israel was to aid each other in securing their various lands, it does seem that Judah, when they over came a land region, did claim it regardless of previous land designations. Dan's original land assignment included the Valley of Ajalon and could have extended as far south as Lachish, as Dan primarily was bound in their expansion by the Amorites, and one of the Amorites' chief cities was that of Lachish. And in the Tell el-Amarna tablets, the land of Palestine is called Amurri after the Amorites.