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Judges 1
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]

19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They conquered[ad] the hill country, but they could not[ae] conquer the people living in the coastal plain, because they had chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.[af] 20 Caleb received[ag] Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites. 21 The men of Benjamin, however, did not conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this very day.[ah]

Partial Success

22 When the men[ai] of Joseph attacked[aj] Bethel, the Lord was with them. 23 When the men of Joseph spied out Bethel (it used to be called Luz), 24 the spies spotted[ak] a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.” 25 He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely. 26 He[al] moved to Hittite country and built a city. He named it Luz, and it has kept that name to this very day.

27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo or their surrounding towns.[am] The Canaanites managed[an] to remain in those areas.[ao] 28 Whenever Israel was strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them.

29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol.[ap] The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, nor did they conquer Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.[aq] 32 The people of Asher live among the Canaanites residing in the land because they did not conquer them.

33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath.[ar] They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites[as] living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

34 The Amorites forced the people of Dan to live in the hill country. They did not allow them to live in[at] the coastal plain. 35 The Amorites managed[au] to remain in Har Heres,[av] Aijalon, and Shaalbim. Whenever the tribe of Joseph was strong militarily,[aw] the Amorites were forced to do hard labor. 36 The border of Amorite territory ran from the Scorpion Ascent[ax] to Sela and on up.[ay]

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:1 tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, shaʾal) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”
  2. Judges 1:1 tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”
  3. Judges 1:2 tn Heb “Judah should go up.”
  4. 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.”
  5. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Judah said to Simeon, his brother.”
  6. Judges 1:3 tn Heb “Come up with me into our allotted land and let us attack the Canaanites.”
  7. 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.
  8. Judges 1:4 tn Heb “Judah went up.”
  9. Judges 1:5 tn Or “found.”
  10. 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.
  11. Judges 1:7 tn The words “food scraps” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Judges 1:9 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.
  15. 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.
  16. 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).
  17. Judges 1:13 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Judges 1:14 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Achsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  19. 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.”
  20. 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).
  21. 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).
  22. Judges 1:16 sn The city of date palm trees refers to Jericho. See Deut 34:3.
  23. Judges 1:16 tc Part of the Greek ms tradition lacks the words “of Judah.”
  24. Judges 1:16 tn Heb “[to] the wilderness of Judah in the Negev, Arad.”
  25. 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).
  26. Judges 1:17 tn Heb “Judah went with Simeon, his brother.”
  27. Judges 1:17 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Zephath) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  28. Judges 1:17 sn The name Hormah (חָרְמָה, khormah) sounds like the Hebrew verb translated “wipe out” (חָרַם, kharam).
  29. 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.”
  30. Judges 1:19 tn Or “seized possession of”; or “occupied.”
  31. Judges 1:19 tc Several textual witnesses support the inclusion of this verb.
  32. Judges 1:19 tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
  33. Judges 1:20 tn Heb “they gave to Caleb.”
  34. Judges 1:21 sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).
  35. Judges 1:22 tn Heb “house.” This is a metonymy for the warriors from the tribe.
  36. Judges 1:22 tn Heb “went up.”
  37. Judges 1:24 tn Heb “saw.”
  38. Judges 1:26 tn Heb “the man.”
  39. Judges 1:27 tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”
  40. Judges 1:27 tn Or “were determined.”
  41. Judges 1:27 tn Heb “in this land.”
  42. Judges 1:30 tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”
  43. Judges 1:31 tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”
  44. Judges 1:33 tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”
  45. Judges 1:33 tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
  46. Judges 1:34 tn Heb “come down into.”
  47. Judges 1:35 tn Or “were determined.”
  48. Judges 1:35 tn Or “Mount Heres”; the term הַר (har) means “mount” or “mountain” in Hebrew.
  49. Judges 1:35 tn Heb “Whenever the hand of the tribe of Joseph was heavy.”
  50. Judges 1:36 tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [ʿaqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).
  51. Judges 1:36 tn Or “Amorite territory started at the Pass of the Scorpions at Sela and then went on up.”
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Judges 1
Good News Translation

The Tribes of Judah and Simeon Capture Adonibezek

1 After Joshua's death the people of Israel asked the Lord, “Which of our tribes should be the first to go and attack the Canaanites?”

2 The Lord answered, “The tribe of Judah will go first. I am giving them control of the land.”

3 The people of Judah said to the people of Simeon, “Go with us into the territory assigned to us, and we will fight the Canaanites together. Then we will go with you into the territory assigned to you.” So the tribes of Simeon 4 and Judah went into battle together. The Lord gave them victory over the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adonibezek there and fought him. 6 He ran away, but they chased him, caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adonibezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. God has now done to me what I did to them.” He was taken to Jerusalem, where he died.

The Tribe of Judah Conquers Jerusalem and Hebron

8 The people of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They killed its people and set fire to the city. 9 After this they went on to fight the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the foothills, and in the dry country to the south. 10 They marched against the Canaanites living in the city of Hebron, which used to be called Kiriath Arba. There they defeated the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Othniel Conquers the City of Debir(A)

11 From there the men of Judah marched against the city of Debir, at that time called Kiriath Sepher. 12 One of them, called Caleb, said, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who succeeds in capturing Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel, the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. 14 On the wedding day Othniel urged her[a] to ask her father for a field. She got down from her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted. 15 She answered, “I want some water holes. The land you have given me is in the dry country.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

The Victories of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin

16 The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went on with the people of Judah from Jericho, the city of palm trees, into the barren country south of Arad in Judah. There they settled among the Amalekites.[b] 17 The people of Judah went with the people of Simeon, and together they defeated the Canaanites who lived in the city of Zephath. They put a curse on the city, destroyed it, and named it Hormah.[c] 18-19 The Lord helped the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they did not capture[d] Gaza, Ashkelon, or Ekron, with their surrounding territories. These people living along the coast had iron chariots, and so the people of Judah were not able to drive them out. 20 (B)As Moses had commanded, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove out of the city the three clans descended from Anak. 21 (C)But the people of the tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem, and the Jebusites have continued to live there with the people of Benjamin ever since.

The Tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh Conquer Bethel

22-23 The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh went to attack the city of Bethel, at that time called Luz. The Lord helped them. They sent spies to the city, 24 who saw a man leaving and said to him, “Show us how to get into the city, and we won't hurt you.” 25 So he showed them, and the people of Ephraim and Manasseh killed everyone in the city, except this man and his family. 26 He later went to the land of the Hittites, built a city there, and named it Luz, which is still its name.

People Who Were Not Driven Out by the Israelites

27 (D)The tribe of Manasseh did not drive out the people living in the cities of Beth Shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and the nearby towns; the Canaanites continued to live there. 28 When the Israelites became stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, but still they did not drive them all out.

29 (E)The tribe of Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites living in the city of Gezer, and so the Canaanites continued to live there with them.

30 The tribe of Zebulun did not drive out the people living in the cities of Kitron and Nahalal, and so the Canaanites continued to live there with them and were forced to work for them.

31 The tribe of Asher did not drive out the people living in the cities of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphek, and Rehob. 32 The people of Asher lived with the local Canaanites, since they had not been driven out.

33 The tribe of Naphtali did not drive out the people living in the cities of Beth Shemesh and Bethanath. The people of Naphtali lived with the local Canaanites, but forced them to work for them.

34 The Amorites forced the people of the tribe of Dan into the hill country and did not let them come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites continued to live at Aijalon, Shaalbim, and Mount Heres, but the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh kept them under their rule and forced them to work for them.

36 North of Sela, the Edomite[e] border ran through Akrabbim Pass.

Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:14 Some ancient translations Othniel urged her; Hebrew she urged Othniel.
  2. Judges 1:16 Some ancient translations Amalekites; Hebrew people.
  3. Judges 1:17 This name in Hebrew means “destruction.”
  4. Judges 1:18 One ancient translation But they did not capture; Hebrew And they captured.
  5. Judges 1:36 One ancient translation Edomite; Hebrew Amorite.
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