The expedition and victory of Juda against the Chanaanites: who are tolerated in many places.

¹ After the death of Joshua, the sons of Israel consulted the Lord, saying, “Who will ascend before us, against the Canaanite, and who will be the commander of the war?”

² And the Lord said: “Judah shall ascend. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hands.”

³ And Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me to my lot, and fight against the Canaanite, so that I also may go forth with you to your lot.” And Simeon went with him.

⁴ And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanite, as well as the Perizzite, into their hands. And they struck down ten thousand of the men at Bezek.

⁵ And they found Adonibezek at Bezek, and they fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanite and the Perizzite.

⁶ Then Adonibezek fled. And they pursued him and captured him, and they cut off the ends of his hands and feet.

⁷ And Adonibezek said: “Seventy kings, with the ends of their hands and feet amputated, have been gathering the remnants of food under my table. Just as I have done, so has God repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸ Then the sons of Judah, besieging Jerusalem, seized it. And they struck it with edge of the sword, delivering the entire city to be burned.¹

1. 1:8Jerusalem: This city was divided into two; one part was called Jebus, the other Salem: the one was in the tribe of Juda, the other in the tribe of Benjamin. After it was taken and burnt by the men of Juda, it was quickly rebuilt again by the Jebusites, as we may gather from ver. 21; and continued in their possession till it was taken by king David.(Challoner)

⁹ And afterward, descending, they fought against the Canaanites who were living in the mountains, and in the south, and in the plains.

¹⁰ And Judah, going forth against the Canaanites who were living at Hebron, (the name of which from antiquity was Kiriath-Arba) struck down Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.¹

1. 1:10Hebron: This expedition against Hebron, etc. is the same as is related, Jos. 15.24. It is here repeated, to give the reader at once a short sketch of all the achievements of the tribe of Juda against the Chanaanites.(Challoner)

¹¹ And continuing on from there, he went to the inhabitants of Debir, the old name of which was Kiriath-Sepher, that is, the City of Letters.¹

1. 1:11The city of letters: Perhaps so called from some famous school, or library, kept there.(Challoner)

¹² And Caleb said, “Whoever will strike Kiriath-Sepher, and will lay waste to it, I will give to him my daughter Achsah as wife.”

¹³ And when Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb, had seized it, he gave his daughter Achsah to him in marriage.

¹⁴ And as she was traveling on a journey, her husband admonished her, so that she would request a field from her father. And since she had sighed while sitting on her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What is it?”

¹⁵ But she responded: “Give a blessing to me. For you have given me a dry land. Also give a watered land.” Therefore, Caleb gave to her the upper watered land and the lower watered land.

¹⁶ Now the sons of the Kenite, the relative of Moses, ascended from the City of Palms, with the sons of Judah, into the wilderness of his lot, which is toward the south of Arad. And they lived with him.¹²

1. 1:16The Cinite: Jethro the father in law of Moses was called Cinoeus, or the Cinite; and his children who came along with the children of Israel settled themselves among them in the land of Chanaan, embracing their worship and religion. From these the Rechabites sprung, of whom see Jer. 35.(Challoner)
2. 1:16The city of palms: Jericho, so called from the abundance of palm trees.(Challoner)

¹⁷ Then Judah went out with his brother Simeon, and together they struck the Canaanites who were living at Zephath, and they put them to death. And the name of the city was called Hormah, that is, Anathema.

¹⁸ And Judah seized Gaza, with its parts, and Ashkelon as well as Ekron, with their borders.¹

1. 1:18Gaza, etc: These were three of the principal cities of the Philistines, famous both in sacred and profane history. They were taken at this time by the Israelites: but as they took no care to put garrisons in them, the Philistines soon recovered them.(Challoner)

¹⁹ And the Lord was with Judah, and he possessed the mountains. But he was not able to wipe out the inhabitants of the valley. For they abounded with chariots armed with scythes.¹

1. 1:19Was not able, etc: Through a cowardly fear of their chariots armed with hooks and scythes, and for want of confidence in God.(Challoner)

²⁰ And just as Moses had said, they gave Hebron to Caleb, who destroyed out of it the three sons of Anak.

²¹ But the sons of Benjamin did not wipe out the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the Jebusite has lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem, even to the present day.

²² The house of Joseph also ascended against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

²³ For when they were besieging the city, which was previously called Luz,

²⁴ they saw a man departing from the city, and they said to him, “Reveal to us the entrance to the city, and we will act with mercy toward you.”

²⁵ And when he had revealed it to them, they struck the city with the edge of the sword. But that man, and all his relatives, they released.

²⁶ And having been sent away, he went out to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city there, and he called it Luz. And so it is called, even to the present day.

²⁷ Likewise, Manasseh did not destroy Bethshean and Taanach, with their villages, nor the inhabitants of Dor and Ibleam and Megiddo, with their villages. And the Canaanite began to live with them.

²⁸ Then, after Israel had grown strong, he made them tributaries, but he was not willing to destroy them.

²⁹ And now Ephraim did not put to death the Canaanite, who was living at Gezer; instead, he lived with him.

³⁰ Zebulun did not wipe out the inhabitants of Kitron and of Nahalal. Instead, the Canaanite lived in their midst and became their tributary.

³¹ Likewise, Asher did not destroy the inhabitants of Acco and Sidon, Ahlab and Achzib, and Helbah, and Aphik, and Rehob.

³² And he lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the inhabitants of that land, for he did not put them to death.

³³ Naphtali also did not wipe out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Bethanath. And he lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. And the Beth-shemeshites and Bethanathites were tributaries to him.

³⁴ And the Amorite hemmed in the sons of Dan on the mountain, and did not give them a place, so that they might descend to the flatlands.

³⁵ And he lived on the mountain at Har-heres, which is translated as ‘resembling brick,’ and at Aijalon and Sha-alabbin. But the hand of the house of Joseph was very heavy, and he became a tributary to him.¹

1. 1:35He dwelt: That is, the Amorrhite.(Challoner)

³⁶ Now the border of the Amorite was from the Ascent of the Scorpion, to the Rock and the higher places.