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A description of the events that took place immediately after the death of Joshua and an indication of how the tribe of Judah, as well as other tribes of the Jewish people, fulfilled the command of Moses regarding the uprooting of the Canaanite peoples from their inheritance (Ex. 23: 29–33, 34: 11–17; Deut. 7: 1–5; Num. 33:52). Judges 1:1. After the death of Jesus, the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying: Which of us will go first against the Canaanites to fight with them? After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord which of the tribes of Israel should go first against the Canaanites. This questioning was carried out through the Urim and Thummim, which, after the death of the high priest Eleazar, passed to his son Phinehas (Judges 20:28). Judges 1:2. And the Lord said: Judah will go; Behold, I have given the land into his hands. In response to the question of the Israelites, the Lord said that the tribe of Judah should rise up to fight the Canaanites before others. The tribe of Judah was more populous and warlike, compared to others (Num. 1:26–27, 26:22, Gen. 49:8–9, Deut. 33:7), and therefore it was natural for it, before others, to go out to fight the enemies of the entire people, as was the case against the Benjaminites (Judg. 20:18). Judges 1:3. Judah said to his brother Simeon: Come with me into my lot, and we will fight with the Canaanites; and I will enter with you into your lot. And Simeon went with him. Coming out to fight the Canaanites, at the command of the Lord, the tribe of Judah also invited the tribe of Simeon to go with it, as the closest to it and as having part of its inheritance among the tribe of Judah (cf. Joshua 19: 1–8). Judges 1:4. And Judah went, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they slew ten thousand of them at Bezek. With the help of God, the warriors of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, who came out together, defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites who lived in Bezek, and killed 10,000 of their men. Bezek mentioned here by Conder is identified with the town of Izbik, located in the northeast of Shechem (Naplus), cf. 1 Samuel 11:8. For the Canaanites and Perizzites, see Ex. 3:8 and para. m. Judges 1:5. In Bezek they met Adoni-Bezek, fought with him and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. In Wezek, they, among others, overtook the ruler of this city, Adoni-Wezek, with whom they fought and who fled. The name Adoni-Bezek (Lord of Bezek) was the general name of the rulers of the city of Bezek, like “Pharaoh” - the rulers of Egypt, “Abimelech” - the rulers of Gerar, “Melchizedek” - the rulers of Jerusalem. Judges 1:6. Adoni-Bezek ran, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off the thumbs of his hands and his toes. Caught during the pursuit, Adoni-Bezek was executed by the Israelis: his thumbs and toes were cut off. Such mutilation of the vanquished was quite common in ancient times. According to Elien, the Athenians subjected the Aegineans to a similar mutilation, cutting off the thumbs on their right hands so that they could not wield a spear (Var. hist. II, 9). Alexander the Great, having taken Persepolis, found there 800 captive Greeks, some of whose body members had been cut off by the Persian kings. Judges 1:7. Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with their thumbs and fingers cut off, gathered [crumbs] under my table; as I did, so God rewarded me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. In this brutal execution, Adoni-Vezek rightly saw God’s retribution for his cruelty towards the rulers of cities and towns he himself had defeated, whose thumbs and toes he also cut off, and who, like dogs, ate the refuse from his table. Brought to Jerusalem, Adoni-Bezek died here. Judges 1:8. And the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it, and smote it with the sword, and set the city on fire. Under Joshua, Jerusalem was not conquered by the Israelites (Joshua 15:63). And in this case, we mean the conquest of only the lowland part of the city, adjacent to the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, while the mountainous part, the fortress of Zion, adjacent to the tribe of Benjamin, remained after that in the power of the Jebusites who lived there until King David (2 Sam. 5:6-9). Judges 1:9. Then the sons of Judah went to fight with the Canaanites, who lived on the mountains and in the desert land and in the low places. After the capture of Bezek and the lowland part of Jerusalem, the warriors of the tribes of Judah and Simeon went against the Canaanites who lived in the highlands located between Jerusalem and Hebron (cf. Luke 1:39), south (Negeb) of it - to Kadesh, as well as in the lowlands (Schepelah), located west of the spurs of the Judah Mountains, along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Judges 1:10. And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron [the name of Hebron was before Kiriath-arba], and struck Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai [from the family of Anak]. Judges 1:11. From there he went against the inhabitants of Davir; Debir's name was formerly Kiriath-sepher. Judges 1:12. And Caleb said, Whoever slays Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give Achsah my daughter to him to wife. Judges 1:13. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took him, and Caleb gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. Judges 1:14. When she had to go, Othniel taught her to ask her father for her field, and she got off the donkey. Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” Judges 1:15. [Akhsa] said to him: Give me a blessing; You have given me the land of midday, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the springs above and the springs below. See explanation of Joshua 15:13–19. The story of the conquest of Hebron and Debir is repeated here due to the importance of this event for history. Judges 1:16. And the sons of [Jethro] the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went from the city of Palms with the children of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, which is south of Arad, and they came and dwelt among the people. After the tribe of Judah conquered the territory located south of Hebron, in this territory, the Desert of Judah, south of the city of Arad (cf. Num. 21:1), traces of which are preserved in modern Tell Arad (south of Maon according to Robinson), along with the Israelites from the tribe of Judah, the Kenites also settled, descendants of Hobal, the father-in-law of Moses, who moved here from Jericho (the city Palm). For the Kenites, see Numbers 10:29, 24:21. Judges 1:17. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that dwelt in Zephath, and put it under slaughter, and that is why the city is called Hormah. In their victorious march, the warriors of the tribes of Judah and Simeon also conquered the Canaanite city of Zephat, whose inhabitants were beaten, and a spell (herem) was placed on the very place, which is why it was called Hormah (cf. Num. 21:3). Many people think of seeing the ruins of Tsefat in the Sebeta tract, in the northern part of the Sin desert. Judges 1:18. Judah also took Gaza with its borders, Ascalon with its borders, and Ekron with its borders [and Ashdod with its environs]. During this war, the tribe of Judah subjugated even Gaza, Ascalon and Ekron with the regions belonging to them, although they did not completely take possession of them. Judges 1:19. The Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the mountain; but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had iron chariots. The tribe of Judah also took possession of the mountainous areas, but could not take possession of the valleys and defeat the Canaanites who lived here, since they had iron chariots, which were inconvenient in mountainous areas, but very convenient for military operations in the valleys. Judges 1:20. And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said, [and he received there as an inheritance the three cities of the sons of Anak] and drove out the three sons of Anak from there. Wed. Joshua 15:13–14; Numbers 14:24; Deut.1:36. Judges 1:21. But the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem were not driven out by the sons of Benjamin, and the Jebusites live with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. Wed. Joshua 15:63, and above v. 8. Jerusalem was located on the border of two tribes: Judah and Benjamin. Whereas the tribe of Judah, as is clear from Art. 8, managed to conquer the part adjacent to his inheritance, the tribe of Benjamin could not achieve this with respect to its part, which is why it was forced to tolerate the Jebusites who lived here until the time of King David (2 Sam. 5:6-9). Judges 1:22. And the sons of Joseph also went to Bethel, and the Lord was with them. The sons of Joseph, i.e. the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh opposed Bethel, which was part of the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin (Joshua 18:21–22), but was adjacent to the tribe of Ephraim from the south. According to Eusebius Caesar. (Onomasticon, 209, 55 etc.), Bethel was located 12 miles from Jerusalem, on the site of modern Beitin. Judges 1:23. [And they stopped] and the sons of Joseph looked out for Bethel [the name of the city was formerly Luz]. For the former name of Bethel, Luz, see Gen. 28:19 and Joshua 16:2. Judges 1:24. And the guards saw a man coming from the city, [and took him] and said to him: Show us the entrance to the city, and we will show mercy to you. Judges 1:25. He showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the sword, and released the man and all his relatives. Judges 1:26. The man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city [there] and called its name Luz. This is his name to this day. When taking the city of Bethel (formerly Luz), the warriors of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh used the services of a defector. After taking the city and exterminating its population, in gratitude for the service rendered, they set this man and his relatives free, after which he retired to the country of the Hittites, which lay between Euphrates and Orontes, and here he built a city, calling it by the former name of Bethel - Luz. Traces of this city are thought to be seen in the Luveizia tract, near El-Gajar, northeast of Tell El-Qadi. Judges 1:27. And Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethsan [which is Scythopolis] and its cities, Taanach and its cities, the inhabitants of Dor and its cities, the inhabitants of Ibleam and its cities, the inhabitants of Megiddon and its cities; and the Canaanites remained to live in the land. The tribe of Manasseh could not drive the Canaanites out of some cities and their surroundings, so the Canaanites continued to live there. Wed. Nav. 17:11–12. Judges 1:28. When Israel came into power, then he made the Canaanites tributaries, but did not drive them out. The zeal of the Israelis to expel the Canaanites from their inheritance, which appeared in the first time after the death of Joshua, subsequently became less numerous; Instead of expelling the Canaanites, the Israelites made them their tributaries, thereby breaking the testament of Moses (Deut. 20:17–18). Wed. above, at the beginning of Chapter I. Judges 1:29. And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer; and the Canaanites dwelt among them in Gezer [and paid them tribute]. Judges 1:30 . And Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and the inhabitants of Naglol, and the Canaanites lived among them and paid them tribute. Judges 1:31. And Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acre [who paid him tribute, and the inhabitants of Dor] and the inhabitants of Sidon and Ahlav, Achziv, Helva, Aphek and Rehob. Judges 1:32. And Asher lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for he did not drive them out. Judges 1:33. And Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and the inhabitants of Bethanath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and Bethanath were his tributaries. The cities that were part of the inheritance of different tribes, in which the non-expelled Canaanites remained, are named: Gazer (Tel Jezerz), cf. Joshua 16:10, Kitron, identified with the one mentioned in Joshua 19:15, Qattaf, Naglol, identified with the one mentioned in Joshua 19:15, 21:35, Nagalal (probably modern Malul to the west of Nazareth), Acre - a city with a pier, at the confluence of the Bela stream into the Mediterranean Sea, later Ptolemais, now Sen Jean-d'Acre, Sidon - lying on the seashore (cf. Joshua 19:28), Ahlav - called Gush-Halavo in the Talmud, by I. Flavius - Giskala, now El-Gis; Achziv, Wed. Joshua 19:29, Helva, mentioned in Joshua 19:29 under the name Hevel (cf. Russian-Viennese translation of the book of Joshua, as well as the Oxford revised translation of the Bible), is identified with the town of Makhalliba, Afik and Rehob mentioned in the inscription of Sennacherib (campaign against Hezekiah), cf. Joshua 19:30, Numbers 13:22, Bethshemesh and Bethanath, cf. Joshua 19:38. The abundance of Canaanites remaining in these cities was the reason for calling this part of the Israeli country “pagan Galilee” (Matthew 4:15). Judges 1:34. And the Amorites oppressed the sons of Dan in the mountains, for they did not allow them to go down into the valley. Judges 1:35. And the Amorites remained to live on Mount Jerez [where there are bears and foxes], in Aijalon and Shaalvim; but the hand of the sons of Joseph prevailed against [the Amorites], and they became tributaries to them. Judges 1:36. The borders of the Amorites from the heights of Akrabim and from Selah extended further. If in the northern tribes the passivity of the Israelis regarding the former owners of the conquered area was revealed only in the impoverishment of jealousy regarding their expulsion, then in the tribe of Dan it even took on the character of some constraint of the Israelis themselves. The Amorites who had previously lived there remained to live in this area after the settlement of the tribe of Dan, occupying Mount Heres, identified with Ir-Shemesh (Joshua 19:41), Aijalon, Shaalvim (cf. Joshua 19:42) and in general the territory lying between Idumea and the tribe of Dan, from the hill of Akrabim, south of the Dead Sea (cf. Numbers 34:4) to Sela, i.e. Peter (cf. Joshua 19:47–48), and oppressing the Danites. And only later did the Amorites become tributaries of the tribe of Ephraim. You might be interested in: