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Israel Fails to Conquer the Land

19 The Lord was with the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains, who had iron chariots. 20 The town of Hebron was given to Caleb as Moses had promised. And Caleb drove out the people living there, who were descendants of the three sons of Anak.

21 The tribe of Benjamin, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live in Jerusalem among the people of Benjamin.

22 The descendants of Joseph attacked the town of Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 They sent men to scout out Bethel (formerly known as Luz). 24 They confronted a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Show us a way into the town, and we will have mercy on you.” 25 So he showed them a way in, and they killed everyone in the town except that man and his family. 26 Later the man moved to the land of the Hittites, where he built a town. He named it Luz, which is its name to this day.

27 The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan,[a] Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region. 28 When the Israelites grew stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they never did drive them completely out of the land.

29 The tribe of Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live there among them.

30 The tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites continued to live among them. But the Canaanites were forced to work as slaves for the people of Zebulun.

31 The tribe of Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. 32 Instead, the people of Asher moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land, for they failed to drive them out.

33 Likewise, the tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. Instead, they moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land. Nevertheless, the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were forced to work as slaves for the people of Naphtali.

34 As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them back into the hill country and would not let them come down into the plains. 35 The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but when the descendants of Joseph became stronger, they forced the Amorites to work as slaves. 36 The boundary of the Amorites ran from Scorpion Pass[b] to Sela and continued upward from there.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:27 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan.
  2. 1:36 Hebrew Akrabbim.

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(A)

20 They gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised,[a] 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[b] 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[c] of Joseph had become strong, the Amorites[d] were subjected to conscripted labor. 36 The Amorite border extended upward from the Akrabbim Ascent, that is, from Sela.

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:20 Cf. Josh 14:9
  2. Judges 1:22 Lit. house
  3. Judges 1:35 Lit. house
  4. Judges 1:35 Lit. they