Judges 1:1-18
Expanded Bible
Judah Fights the Canaanites
1 After Joshua died, the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] asked the ·Lord [or Yahweh; C the translation “Lord” (all caps) represents the divine name YHWH, usually pronounced “Yahweh”], “Who will ·be first to go and [lead the] fight for us against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord said to them, “·The tribe of Judah [L Judah] will go. [L Look; T Behold] I have ·handed the land over to them [L given the land into his hand].”
3 ·The men of Judah [L Judah] said to ·the men of Simeon, their relatives [L his brother Simeon], “Come and help us fight the Canaanites for our ·land [allotment]. If you do, we will go and help you fight for your ·land [allotment].” So ·the men of Simeon [L Simeon] went with them [C Simeon’s land lay within Judah; Josh. 19:1].
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord handed over the Canaanites and the Perizzites to them, and they defeated ten thousand men at the city of Bezek. 5 ·There [L At Bezek] they found Adoni-Bezek [C the ruler of the city], and fought him. The men of Judah defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites, 6 but Adoni-Bezek ran away. The men of Judah chased him, and when they caught him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes [C such mutilation was common in the ancient Near East, rendering a king unfit for military service or priestly functions; Lev. 8:23–24].
7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings whose thumbs and big toes had been cut off used to eat scraps that fell from my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” The men of Judah took Adoni-Bezek to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 Then the ·men [L sons] of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They ·attacked with their swords [L struck it with the edge of the sword] and burned the city [C a temporary conquest; David later captured the city; 2 Sam. 5:7].
9 Later, they went down to fight the Canaanites who lived in the mountains, in the ·dry [or hill] country ·to the south [L in the Negev], and in the ·western hills [or lowland]. 10 ·The men of Judah [L Judah] went to fight against the Canaanites in the city of Hebron (which used to be called Kiriath Arba [Gen. 13:18; 23:2; Josh. 14:15]). And they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai [Num. 13:22; Josh. 15:14].
Caleb and His Daughter
11 Then they left there and went to fight against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher.) 12 Before attacking the city, Caleb said, “I will give Acsah, my daughter, as a wife to the man who attacks and captures the city of Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured the city, so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife. 14 When Acsah came to ·Othniel [L him; C could be Othniel or Caleb], she ·told him to ask [or asked] her father for a field. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?” [Josh. 15:16–18]
15 Acsah answered him, “·Do me a special favor [L Give me a blessing]. Since you have given me land in ·southern Canaan [L the Negev], also give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs [Josh. 15:19].
Fights with the Canaanites
16 The ·Kenite people, who were from the family of [L sons/descendants of the Kenite] Moses’ father-in-law [Ex. 2:16], left the city of palm trees [C Jericho]. They went with the men of Judah to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Judah to live with them there in ·southern Judah [L the Negev] near the city of Arad.
17 The men of Judah and the men of Simeon [1:3], their ·relatives [brothers], defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They ·completely destroyed the city [devoted it to the Lord for destruction; see Josh. 2:10; 6:17–19], so they called it Hormah [C sounds like Hebrew for “total destruction”]. 18 The men of Judah captured Gaza, Ashkelon, Ekron [C Philistine cities along the coast], and the lands around them.
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Judges 1:1-18
Amplified Bible
Jerusalem Is Captured
1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua, that the [a]sons (descendants) of Israel (Jacob) asked the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up [first]; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And [the tribe of the sons of] Judah said to [the tribe of the sons of] Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my allotted territory, so that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up, and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they struck down in defeat ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 Then they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they struck down in defeat the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather up scraps of food under my table; as I have done [to others], so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 Then the sons of Judah fought against [Jebusite] Jerusalem and [b]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 who lived in the hill country, in the Negev (South country) and in the lowland. 10 So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
Capture of Other Cities
11 From there [the tribe of] Judah went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher [city of books and scribes]). 12 And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 When she came to Othniel, she persuaded him to [allow her to] ask her father [Caleb] for a field. Then she [rode up to Caleb and] dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the Negev (South country), give me springs of water, too.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 The sons of [[c]Jethro] the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms (Jericho) with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the Negev (South country) near Arad; and they went and lived with the people.(A) 17 Then [the warriors of the tribe of] Judah went with [the warriors of the tribe of] Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath and utterly destroyed it. So the city was called Hormah (destruction). 18 Also [the warriors of] Judah captured Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory.
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- Judges 1:1 In general, sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites refers to all the people (males and females) of the various tribes descended from the twelve sons (Gen 35:23-26) of Jacob (later renamed Israel by God). In verses concerning things such as warfare or circumcision sons of Israel or Israel or Israelites usually refers only to the males. Tribes of ancient people were identified by the name of their founding ancestor. Therefore, this same general rule applies when referring to individual tribal groups, e.g. sons of Reuben, Reuben, Reubenites and so throughout.
- Judges 1:8 Judah briefly captured Jerusalem, but could not hold and occupy it.
- Judges 1:16 Also called Reuel (Ex 2:18).
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