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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
International Standard Version

The Capture of Jerusalem

1 Sometime after Joshua had died, the Israelis asked the Lord, “Who is to lead[a] us against the Canaanites in our opening attack against them?”

2 The Lord replied, “The tribe of[b] Judah is to lead you.[c] Look! I’ve given the land into their control.”

3 But the tribe of Judah told the tribe of Simeon, the descendants of Judah’s[d] brother, “Come with us[e] into our territory, and we’ll both fight the Canaanites. In return, we’ll[f] go with you when you fight in your territory.” So the army of[g] the tribe of Simeon accompanied the army of the tribe of Judah.

4 When the army of the tribe of Judah went into battle, the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their control, and they defeated 10,000 men at Bezek. 5 They located Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek ran off, but they pursued him, caught him, and amputated his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek used to brag, “Seventy kings without thumbs and big toes used to eat what was left under my table. God has repaid me for what I’ve done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he later died there.

8 Then the army of Judah attacked Jerusalem, captured it, executed its inhabitants, and set fire to the city. 9 Later, the army of Judah left Jerusalem[h] to attack the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, the Negev,[i] and the Shephelah.[j] 10 They[k] attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba) and fought Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

The Capture of Debir(A)

11 The army of Judah then proceeded to attack the inhabitants of Debir, which used to be known as Kiriath-sepher. 12 Caleb announced, “I’ll give my daughter Achsah in marriage to whomever leads the attack against Kiriath-sepher and captures it.” 13 Othniel, Caleb’s nephew through his younger brother Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb[l] awarded him his daughter Achsah in marriage.

14 Later on, after she had arrived, she urged Othniel[m] to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want[n] for yourself?”

15 “I want this blessing from you,” she replied. “Since you’ve given me land in the Negev,[o] give me water springs, too.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

The Capture of Certain Southern Territories

16 The descendants of the Kenites, the tribe from which[p] Moses’ father-in-law came, accompanied the descendants of Judah from the city of the palms to the Judean wilderness, which is in the desert area south of Arad, and lived with the people there. 17 The army of Judah accompanied the army of Simeon, Judah’s[q] brother, as they attacked the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed it. Then they renamed the city Hormah. 18 The army of Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory. 19 The Lord was with the army of Judah, and they captured the hill country, but did not expel the inhabitants of the valley because they were equipped with iron chariots.

Hebron Awarded to Caleb(B)

20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised,[r] and he drove out the three sons of Anak from there. 21 However, the descendants of Benjamin did not expel the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the descendants of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

The Capture of Bethel

22 Then the army of the tribe[s] of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 The army of the tribe of Joseph scouted out Bethel, which had been formerly named Luz. 24 The scouts observed a man coming out of the city and they promised him, “Please show us the entrance to the city and we’ll deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they attacked the city with swords, but they let the man and his entire family escape. 26 So the man traveled to the land of the Hittites and built a city that he named “Luz,” and it is called by that name to this day.

Unconquered Territories

27 The army of the tribe of Manasseh did not conquer Beth-shean and its villages, Taanach and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages. Instead, the Canaanites continued to live in that land. 28 When Israel had grown strong, they subjected the Canaanites to conscripted labor and never did expel them completely.

29 The army of the tribe of Ephraim did not expel the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 The army of the tribe of Zebulun did not expel the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but were subjected to conscripted labor.

31 The army of the tribe of Asher did not expel the inhabitants of Acco nor the inhabitants of Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 So the descendants of Asher lived among the Canaanites who continued to inhabit the land, because they did not expel them.

33 The army of the tribe of Naphtali did not expel the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and the inhabitants of Beth-anath. Instead, they lived among the Canaanites who inhabited the land. However, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were subjected to conscripted labor.

34 Later on, the Amorites forced the descendants of Dan into the hill country and did not permit them to come into the valleys of the hills. 35 Furthermore, the Amorites continued to inhabit Mount Heres in Aijalon and Shaalbim. Eventually, however, after the tribe[t] of Joseph had become strong, the Amorites[u] were subjected to conscripted labor. 36 The Amorite border extended upward from the Akrabbim Ascent, that is, from Sela.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:1 Lit. to go up for
  2. Judges 1:2 The Heb. lacks the tribe of; and so throughout the chapter
  3. Judges 1:2 Lit. to go up
  4. Judges 1:3 Lit. Simeon, his
  5. Judges 1:3 Lit. him
  6. Judges 1:3 Lit. I’ll
  7. Judges 1:3 The Heb. lacks the army of; and so throughout the chapter
  8. Judges 1:9 Lit. Judah went down
  9. Judges 1:9 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
  10. Judges 1:9 I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel, and so throughout the book; cf. Josh 10:40
  11. Judges 1:10 Lit. Judah
  12. Judges 1:13 Lit. he
  13. Judges 1:14 Lit. him
  14. Judges 1:14 The Heb. lacks do you want
  15. Judges 1:15 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
  16. Judges 1:16 The Heb. lacks the tribe from which
  17. Judges 1:17 Lit. his
  18. Judges 1:20 Cf. Josh 14:9
  19. Judges 1:22 Lit. house
  20. Judges 1:35 Lit. house
  21. Judges 1:35 Lit. they
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