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Yahweh Tests Israel

(A)Now these are the nations which Yahweh allowed to remain, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan; [a]however, God tested them in order that the generations of the sons of Israel would know war, by learning war, [b]especially those who had not known it formerly). These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and (B)the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as [c]Lebo-hamath. And they were for [d](C)testing Israel, to know if they would [e]obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. (D)Now the sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and (E)they took their daughters for themselves as wives and gave their own daughters to their sons and served their gods.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:2 Lit only
  2. Judges 3:2 Lit only
  3. Judges 3:3 Or the entrance of Hamath
  4. Judges 3:4 Lit testing by them
  5. Judges 3:4 Lit hear

The Land That Remains Unconquered

The following are the nations that the Lord left in place in order to test all the Israelites who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. (This was done so that the generations of Israelites who did not know war would learn how to wage war.) Those who remained were the five serens[a] of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwell in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.[b] They remained there to test Israel, in order to know whether or not they would obey the commands of the Lord, which he commanded to their fathers by the hand of Moses.

The Cycles Begin
The First Judge: Othniel Versus the Arameans

The people of Israel lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. They took the daughters of these peoples as wives for themselves, and they gave their own daughters to the other peoples’ sons. They also served their gods.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 3:3 The word seren is used only for the rulers of the five Philistine city states. It may be related to the Greek word tyrant, an autocratic ruler of a city state. Seren is a title like pharaoh or czar, which is applied to one specific class of rulers. Since this is a unique title, the translation uses the transliteration seren rather than the traditional rendering lord.
  2. Judges 3:3 Or to Lebo Hamath