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Judges 1
New English Translation

Judah Takes the Lead

1 After Joshua died, the Israelites asked[a] the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?”[b] 2 The Lord said, “The men of Judah should take the lead.[c] Be sure of this! I am handing the land over to them.”[d] 3 The men of Judah said to their relatives, the men of Simeon,[e] “Invade our allotted land with us and help us attack the Canaanites.[f] Then we[g] will go with you into your allotted land.” So the men of Simeon went with them.

4 The men of Judah attacked,[h] and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They killed 10,000 men at Bezek. 5 They met[i] Adoni-Bezek at Bezek and fought him. They defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up[j] food scraps[k] under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.”[l] They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. 8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.

9 Later the men of Judah went down to attack the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev,[m] and the foothills.[n] 10 The men of Judah attacked the Canaanites living in Hebron. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba.) They killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they attacked the people of Debir.[o] (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 12 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother,[p] captured it, Caleb[q] gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife.

14 One time Achsah[r] came and charmed her father[s] so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 15 She answered, “Please give me a special present.[t] Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.[u]

16 Now the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of date palm trees[v] to Arad in the wilderness of Judah,[w] located in the Negev.[x] They went and lived with the people of Judah.[y]

17 The men of Judah went with their brothers the men of Simeon[z] and defeated the Canaanites living in Zephath. They wiped out Zephath.[aa] So people now call the city Hormah.[ab] 18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron, and the territory surrounding each of these cities.[ac]

19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They conquered[ad] the hill country, but they could not[ae] conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.[af] 20 Caleb received[ag] Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. 21 The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day.[ah]

Partial Success

22 When the men[ai] of Joseph attacked[aj] Bethel, the Lord was with them. 23 When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), 24 the spies spotted[ak] a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.” 25 He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. 26 He[al] moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.

27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo or their surrounding towns.[am] The Canaanites managed[an] to remain in those areas.[ao] 28 Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them.

29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol.[ap] The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, nor did they conquer Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.[aq] 32 The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them.

33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath.[ar] They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites[as] living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in[at] the coastal plain. 35 The Amorites managed[au] to remain in Har Heres,[av] Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily,[aw] the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. 36 The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent[ax] to Sela and on up.[ay]

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:1 tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, shaʾal) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”
  2. Judges 1:1 tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”
  3. Judges 1:2 tn Heb “Judah should go up.”
  4. Judges 1:2 tn The Hebrew exclamation הִנֵּה (hinneh, traditionally, “Behold”), translated “Be sure of this,” draws attention to the following statement. The verb form in the following statement (a Hebrew perfect, indicating completed action from the standpoint of the speaker) emphasizes the certainty of the event. Though it had not yet taken place, the Lord speaks of it as a “done deal.”
  5. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”
  6. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”
  7. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “I.” The Hebrew pronoun is singular, agreeing with the collective singular “Judah” earlier in the verse. English style requires a plural pronoun here, however.
  8. Judges 1:4 tn Heb “Judah went up.”
  9. Judges 1:5 tn Or “found.”
  10. Judges 1:7 tn Elsewhere this verb usually carries the sense of “to gather; to pick up; to glean,” but “lick up” seems best here in light of the peculiar circumstances described by Adoni-Bezek.
  11. Judges 1:7 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
  12. Judges 1:7 tn Heb “Just as I did, so God has repaid me.” Note that the phrase “to them” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what is meant.
  13. Judges 1:9 sn The Negev is the area of central, southern Judah, south of the hill country and Beer Sheba and west of the rift valley.
  14. Judges 1:9 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  15. Judges 1:11 tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayyaʿal) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.
  16. Judges 1:13 tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).
  17. Judges 1:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Judges 1:14 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Achsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. Judges 1:14 tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Achsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14, ” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”
  20. Judges 1:15 tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (verakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; 2 Kgs 5:15).
  21. Judges 1:15 tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).
  22. Judges 1:16 sn The city of date palm trees refers to Jericho. See Deut 34:3.
  23. Judges 1:16 tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”
  24. Judges 1:16 tn Heb “[to] the wilderness of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”
  25. Judges 1:16 tn The phrase “of Judah” is supplied here in the translation. Some ancient textual witnesses read, “They went and lived with the Amalekites.” This reading, however, is probably influenced by 1 Sam 15:6 (see also Num 24:20-21).
  26. Judges 1:17 tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”
  27. Judges 1:17 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. Judges 1:17 sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).
  29. Judges 1:18 tn Heb “The men of Judah captured Gaza and its surrounding territory, Ashkelon and its surrounding territory, and Ekron and its surrounding territory.”
  30. Judges 1:19 tn Or “seized possession of”; or “occupied.”
  31. Judges 1:19 tc Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.
  32. Judges 1:19 tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
  33. Judges 1:20 tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”
  34. Judges 1:21 sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).
  35. Judges 1:22 tn Heb “house.” This is a metonymy for the warriors from the tribe.
  36. Judges 1:22 tn Heb “went up.”
  37. Judges 1:24 tn Heb “saw.”
  38. Judges 1:26 tn Heb “the man.”
  39. Judges 1:27 tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”
  40. Judges 1:27 tn Or “were determined.”
  41. Judges 1:27 tn Heb “in this land.”
  42. Judges 1:30 tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”
  43. Judges 1:31 tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”
  44. Judges 1:33 tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”
  45. Judges 1:33 tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  46. Judges 1:34 tn Heb “come down into.”
  47. Judges 1:35 tn Or “were determined.”
  48. Judges 1:35 tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.
  49. Judges 1:35 tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”
  50. Judges 1:36 tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [ʿaqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).
  51. Judges 1:36 tn Or “Amorite territory started at the Pass of the Scorpions at Sela and then went on up.”
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Judges 1
New American Standard Bible

Jerusalem Is Captured

1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel (A)inquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us (B)against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “(C)Judah shall go up; behold, I have handed the land over to him.” 3 Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Go up with me into [a]the territory allotted me, and let’s fight the Canaanites; and [b]I in turn will go with you into [c]the territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and (D)the Lord handed over to them the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they [d]defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they [e]defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him, and cut off his [f]thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; (E)as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah fought against (F)Jerusalem and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward, the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, and in the [g]Negev, and in the lowland. 10 (G)So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was previously Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Capture of Other Cities

11 Then (H)from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was previously Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 Now (I)Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 Then (J)it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. Then later, she dismounted from [h]her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What [i]do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing: since you have given me the land of the [j]Negev, give me springs of water also.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 Now the [k]descendants of (K)the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the (L)city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of (M)Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called (N)Hormah. 18 And Judah took (O)Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not [l]drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had (P)iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, (Q)as Moses had [m]promised; and he drove out from there (R)the three sons of Anak. 21 (S)But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the (T)Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The house of Joseph had men spy out Bethel ((U)the name of the city previously was Luz). 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and (V)we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, (W)but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz, [n]which is its name to this day.

Places Not Conquered

27 (X)But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so (Y)the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. 28 And it came about, when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they did not drive them out completely.

29 And (Z)Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of [o]Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites [p]forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 yet the Amorites persisted in living on Mount Heres, in Aijalon and Shaalbim; but when the [q]power of the house of Joseph [r]grew strong, they became forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the (AA)ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:3 Lit my lot
  2. Judges 1:3 Lit I, even I
  3. Judges 1:3 Lit your lot
  4. Judges 1:4 Lit struck them
  5. Judges 1:5 Lit struck
  6. Judges 1:6 Lit thumbs of his hands and his feet
  7. Judges 1:9 I.e., South country
  8. Judges 1:14 Lit the
  9. Judges 1:14 Lit to you, an ancient idiom
  10. Judges 1:15 I.e., South country
  11. Judges 1:16 Lit sons
  12. Judges 1:19 Or dispossess
  13. Judges 1:20 Lit spoken
  14. Judges 1:26 Lit it
  15. Judges 1:30 Perhaps same as Nahalal
  16. Judges 1:34 Lit pushed
  17. Judges 1:35 Lit hand
  18. Judges 1:35 Lit was heavy
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