Judges 1
Judges 1 begins after Joshua’s death, describing how the people of Israel start driving out the peoples remaining in the land of Canaan. Through the situation after Joshua’s death, it shows how each tribe in Israel attempts to take its own territory. In the opening, the chapter clearly sets the stage for the themes that will recur throughout the whole book of Judges: obedience and disobedience, God’s promises, and humanity’s weakness.
1verseAfter the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of the LORD, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”
2verseThe LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.”
3verseJudah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot.” So Simeon went with him.
4verseJudah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. They struck ten thousand men in Bezek.
5verseThey found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him. They struck the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6verseBut Adoni-Bezek fled. They pursued him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
7verseAdoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, having their thumbs and their big toes cut off, scavenged under my table. As I have done, so God has done to me.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8verseThe children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, took it, struck it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
9verseAfter that, the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, and in the South, and in the lowland.
10verseJudah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron. (The name of Hebron before that was Kiriath Arba.) They struck Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11verseFrom there he went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir before that was Kiriath Sepher.)
12verseCaleb said, “I will give Achsah my daughter as wife to the man who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it.”
13verseOthniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it, so he gave him Achsah his daughter as his wife.
14verseWhen she came, she got him to ask her father for a field. She got off her donkey; and Caleb said to her, “What would you like?”
15verseShe said to him, “Give me a blessing; because you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water.” Then Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16verseThe children of the Kenite, Moses’ brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people.
17verseJudah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. The name of the city was called Hormah.
18verseAlso Judah took Gaza with its border, and Ashkelon with its border, and Ekron with its border.
19verseThe LORD was with Judah, and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
20verseThey gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said, and he drove the three sons of Anak out of there.
21verseThe children of Benjamin didn’t drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22verseThe house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.
23verseThe house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before that was Luz.)
24verseThe watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”
25verseHe showed them the entrance into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.
26verseThe man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
27verseManasseh didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its towns, nor Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
28verseWhen Israel had grown strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and didn’t utterly drive them out.
29verseEphraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, but the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
30verseZebulun didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.
31verseAsher didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Sidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;
32versebut the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they didn’t drive them out.
33verseNaphtali didn’t drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but he lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and of Beth Anath became subject to forced labor.
34verseThe Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;
35versebut the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim. Yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became subject to forced labor.
36verseThe border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.
The Flow and Structure of the Chapter
- Verses 1–7: The tribe of Judah takes the lead together with the tribe of Simeon to attack the Canaanites, and God is with them so they lead the war successfully.
- Verses 8–21: The narrative includes taking possession of several towns, such as Jerusalem, Hebron, and Debir. However, there are still lands that have not been fully conquered.
- Verses 22–36: After that, the attempts of Benjamin, the house of Joseph, Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan to conquer are mentioned. Some tribes achieve only part of what they attempt, or end up living mixed with the people of that land.
Key Themes and Overall Meaning
- The obedience and disobedience of each tribe intersect. In particular, the pattern repeats: some tribes set out actively to conquer and achieve partial success, yet they still do not manage to drive them out completely.
- Judges 1 shows how fully the mission the people of Israel had when they first entered Canaan—“drive out all the Canaanite peoples”—was carried out, revealing both realistic limits and spiritual weakness.
- This process ultimately implies that Israel did not completely keep its promises to God, and it previews the “vicious cycle of the era of the judges” that will be repeated later (disobedience—suffering—repentance—deliverance).
Points for Reflection
- Reflect on whether you are not only partially obeying what God has commanded in your life.
- Think about what abilities you could experience when God is with you, and what parts you did not obey because of the limits you set for yourself.
Try Applying It to Yourself
- Today, you can check whether there are any areas in your life where you are partially obeying God or where your obedience is incomplete.
- Think concretely about the decisions and small actions needed to fulfill more fully the mission God has entrusted to you.
