The Continuing Conquest of Canaan
1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.
Failure to Complete the Conquest
Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.
And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
(ESV)
Judges 1 Commentary
In Judges 1, we pick up on the journey after Joshua’s death. Verse 1 states that the Israelites sought guidance from the Lord on who should lead the fight against the Canaanites. God designated Judah, who enlisted Simeon’s help. Together, they achieved victories, including capturing and punishing Adoni-bezek, who acknowledged divine justice for his past cruelty.
Judah continued conquering cities like Jerusalem, Hebron, and Debir, with Caleb offering his daughter Achsah as a reward to Othniel for capturing Kiriath-Sepher. Achsah later secured additional blessings of land and water from Caleb. The Kenites joined Judah in settling among the people, and Judah successfully captured other territories, though they struggled against iron-chariot-equipped forces in the valleys.
The tribe of Joseph also had success in Bethel, using a local’s help. However, many tribes failed to fully drive out the Canaanites, leading to coexistence, forced labor, and persistent opposition. The Amorites resisted fiercely, confining the Danites to the hills, though they were eventually subdued as forced labor by Joseph’s descendants.
The Book of Judges
This incomplete conquest in Judges 1 sets the stage for the ongoing challenges in the land for the rest of the book. Thematically, Judges covers a broad range of merciful acts by God despite the people’s persistence in wandering away from Him. It is very much about God’s deliverance despite the circumstances. However, in this book, we will also see the extraordinary feats God can accomplish from some of the most ordinary of people.
Going into Judges, it is important to understand that the themes take center stage while the chronology does not. It is a collection of narratives that illustrate great truth, but it is difficult to read like it happened in order because the timing of the events is relatively unknown. Scholars are also undecided on who wrote the book, though many believe it could have been Samuel, Hezekiah, or Ezra.
In Judges, we will see the outcome of pursuing the flesh. We will witness the state of life when men do as they see fit in their own eyes. This will be a constant theme. Through this state, the glory and mercy of God is clearly seen, and we should continually be gracious for the Gospel which allows our life to be used for His glory.
Spiritual Compromise
“The Israelites quickly slipped away from God after Joshua’s death. Almost immediately, the Israelites began to compromise with their worldly neighbors, engaging in their carnal, fleshly ways. They became immoral, materialistic, greedy, lawless, and violent—a wicked people. And they became idolaters, false worshippers. In fact, many of the Israelites began to live just like the Canaanites, so much so that they became Canaanites. There was no distinction between the Israelites and the unholy, wicked Canaanites—not in lifestyle, not in their unholy, day-to-day living before God. The Israelites became a permissive society, a people who lived a compromising, inconsistent life before God.”
The Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible – Old Testament
The latter half of Judges 1 highlights a recurring issue among the tribes of Israel: their failure to fully drive out the inhabitants of the land as God commanded. This disobedience allowed the Canaanites and their idolatrous practices to persist, creating ongoing spiritual and cultural conflict.
Similarly, in our own lives, we often face struggles with areas we fail to fully surrender to God. The influences we allow to remain can battle for our attention and hinder our relationship with Him. Is there something in our lives that needs to be removed to live in peace and obedience with God?
“As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us.”
Hebrews 12:1 GNB
Messiah
In verse 2, Judah was the first tribe the Lord chose to go. It would be their line out of which Jesus would come.
“Judah is a young lion—my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness—who dares to rouse him? [10] The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.”
Genesis 49:9-10 CSB
Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, engaged the powers of darkness. Through His death and resurrection, we share in His victory. We also share in “the people’s obedience” in verse 10. We have been called to be those people. By grace, we have been led to victory and now have the identity (sons and daughters of God through Christ) to use the resources God has given us.
“It is not enough to be assured that “we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus.” We must possess our possessions. By faith, and patience, and daily use, we must appropriate the resources which are stored up in Christ Jesus.”
F.B. Meyer
God has given us His Word. He has given us the Holy Spirit. He has removed sin and death from our eternity. We have everything we need in Jesus to live a godly life.
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. [4] By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.”
2 Peter 1:3-4 CSB