Judges 1:1-18
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]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 1:1 tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, shaʾal) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”
- Judges 1:1 tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”
- Judges 1:2 tn Heb “Judah should go up.”
- 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.”
- Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”
- Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”
- 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.
- Judges 1:4 tn Heb “Judah went up.”
- Judges 1:5 tn Or “found.”
- 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.
- Judges 1:7 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
- 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.
- 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.
- Judges 1:9 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
- 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.
- 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).
- Judges 1:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 1:14 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Achsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 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.”
- 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).
- 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).
- Judges 1:16 sn The city of date palm trees refers to Jericho. See Deut 34:3.
- Judges 1:16 tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”
- Judges 1:16 tn Heb “[to] the wilderness of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”
- 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).
- Judges 1:17 tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”
- Judges 1:17 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Judges 1:17 sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).
- 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.”
Judges 1:1-18
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Judges 1:1 Lit. to go up for
- Judges 1:2 The Heb. lacks the tribe of; and so throughout the chapter
- Judges 1:2 Lit. to go up
- Judges 1:3 Lit. Simeon, his
- Judges 1:3 Lit. him
- Judges 1:3 Lit. I’ll
- Judges 1:3 The Heb. lacks the army of; and so throughout the chapter
- Judges 1:9 Lit. Judah went down
- Judges 1:9 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Judges 1:9 I.e. the verdant central lowlands of Israel, and so throughout the book; cf. Josh 10:40
- Judges 1:10 Lit. Judah
- Judges 1:13 Lit. he
- Judges 1:14 Lit. him
- Judges 1:14 The Heb. lacks do you want
- Judges 1:15 I.e. the southern region of Israel; cf. Josh 10:40
- Judges 1:16 The Heb. lacks the tribe from which
- Judges 1:17 Lit. his
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