Judges 1:1

Now after the death of Joshua,.... With the account of which the preceding book is concluded, and therefore this very properly follows after that; though Epiphanius (b) places the book of Job between

Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

JUDGES CHAPTER 1 The tribe of Judah, by God's command, begin to make war against the Canaanites, . Adoni-bezek justly requited, . They take Jerusalem, ; and Hebron. Anak's sons slain, ,10. Othniel subdueth Debir, and so obtaineth Caleb's daughter to wife, . The Kenites dwell in Judah, . Simeon subdueth Zephath, ; and Judah divers cities of the Philistines, . The Jebusites dwell with Benjamin, . They of the house of Joseph subdue Beth-el, . Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, Dan drive not out the Canaanites; for which they are vexed by them, and are left to dwell one among another, . After the death of Joshua; not long after it, because Othniel, the first judge, lived in Joshua's time. The children of Israel asked the Lord; being assembled together at Shiloh, they inquired of the high priest by the Urim and Thummim. See Numbers 27:21 1 Samuel 23:9. Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first? Being sensible that the Canaanites are troublesome to them, and expected great advantage against them by their heedless condition, and finding their people to increase and multiply exceedingly, and consequently the necessity of enlarging their quarters, they renew the war. They do not inquire who shall be the captain-general to all the tribes; but (as appears by the answer) what tribe shall first undertake the expedition, that by their success the other tribes may be encouraged to make the like attempt upon the Canaanites in their several lots.

1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Ver. 1. Jude the servant] To distinguish him from Judas the traitor, lest he should suffer by mistake, as Nicholas the deacon is thought to do, as if he were the author of the sect of the Nicolaitans, which Christ hated. This Jude or Judas, was also surnamed Lebbaeus, that is, hearty; as Hooper the martyr was called hearty Hooper. He was indeed a hearty friend to the truth, earnestly contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints; and ( haereticorum malleus) a hammer against heretics, whom he describeth here to the life, and opposeth them to his utmost. To them that are sanctified] Or to them that are beloved, as other copies have it. Preserved] "Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation," 1 Peter 1:5.

(1) Now.—The “now” should rather be rendered And, as in Leviticus 1:1, Numbers 1:1, Joshua 1:1, 1 Samuel 1:1, 2 Samuel 1:1, 2 Kings 1:1. The word connects this book with the last, “as a link in the chain of books which relate in unbroken connection the sacred history of the world from the Creation to the Exile” (Bertheau). Alter the death of Joshua.—In these first words we are met by a difficulty, for there can be little reasonable doubt that most, at any rate, of the events narrated from this verse to Judges 2:5 took place before the death of Joshua, whose death and burial are accordingly mentioned in Judges 2:8-9. For (1) the whole passage (Judges 1:1 to Judges 2:5) evidently describes the first movements of the Israelites after their establishment on the western side of the Jordan. (See Joshua 18:1-3; Joshua 21:43; Joshua 22:32; Joshua 24:28.) (2) It is inconceivable that the Israelites should have remained inactive during the long life of Joshua, who attained the age of 110 years. (3) The events in Judges 1:10-36 are evidently identical with those in Joshua 12:9-24; Joshua 12:14; Joshua 12:19 (4) The angel’s message (Judges 2:1-5) and the subsequent notices (6-18) are closely parallel with, and sometimes verbally the same as, those in Joshua 24:24-33. That these should be records of different and yet most closely analogous series of circumstances is all but impossible. Various ways of accounting for the difficulty have been suggested. (1) Some suppose that many events narrated or touched upon in the Book of Joshua (especially Judges 15:14-19; Judges 15:16-17, &c.) are narrated by anticipation. (2) Clericus arbitrarily supplies the words, “After the death of Joshua the Canaanites recovered strength, but in his lifetime the children of Israel.” (3) Schmidt renders the verbs as pluperfects: “It came to pass after the death of Joshua, the children of Israel had consulted Jehovah,” &c. (4) A more recent conjecture is that the name “Joshua” has here crept in by an error of the scribes. If we read, “After the death of Moses,” all becomes clear and coherent; and if the book, in its original form, possibly began at Judges 3:7, with the words, “And it came to pass, after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,” &c., the clerical error may have been caused by the addition of prefatory matter to the book at the same time that the appendix (Judges 17-21) was added.

THE BOOK OF JUDGES -Year before the common year of Christ, 1443. -Julian Period, 3271. -Year from the Flood, 904. -Year before the first Olympiad, 667. -Creation from Tisri, or September, 2561. CHAPTER I After the death of Joshua the Israelites purpose to attack the remaining Canaanites; and the tribe of Judah is directed to go up first, 1, 2. Judah and Simeon unite, attack the Canaanites and Perrizites, kill ten thousand of them, take Adoni-bezek prisoner, cut off his thumbs and great toes, and bring him to Jerusalem, where he dies, 3-7. Jerusalem conquered, 8. A new war with the Canaanites under the direction of Caleb, 9-11. Kirjath-sepher taken by Othniel, on which he receives, as a reward, Achsah, the daughter of Caleb and with her a south land with springs of water, 12-15. The Kenites dwell among the people, 16. Judah and Simeon destroy the Canaanites in Zephath, Gaza, c., 17-19. Hebron is given to Caleb, 20. Of the Benjamites, house of Joseph, tribe of Manasseh, &c., 21-27. The Israelites put the Canaanites to tribute, 28. Of the tribes of Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali, 29-33. The Amorites force the children of Dan into the mountains, 34-36. NOTES ON CHAP. I Verse 1. Now after the death of Joshua] How long after the death of Joshua this happened we cannot tell it is probable that it was not long. The enemies of the Israelites, finding their champion dead, would naturally avail themselves of their unsettled state, and make incursions on the country. Who shall go up] Joshua had left no successor, and every thing relative to the movements of this people must be determined either by caprice, or an especial direction of the Lord.

1. And it came to pass after the death of Joshua] The events which follow belong, however, to the life-time of Joshua and to the period covered by Joshua 9-12; moreover, the death of Joshua is recorded in chap. Judges 2:6-10, in due sequel to Joshua 24:28. As referring to what immediately follows the words are therefore incorrect; but taking them in connexion with the entire Book they have a certain fitness, for the death of Joshua may be regarded as marking the division between the period of conquest and the period of occupation. In the same way the Book of Joshua opens with the death of Moses, Joshua 1:1 a. The sentence is an editorial addition. asked of the Lord] most likely at the sanctuary, through the medium of the priest; cf. Judges 18:5, 1 Samuel 22:10; 1 Samuel 22:13; 1 Samuel 22:15 etc. The ephod and the Urim and Thummim came into use on such occasions; the divine response was conveyed as a priestly oracle. See Judges 17:3, Judges 18:5, 1 Samuel 14:18 (RVm.), 41 (LXX), 1 Samuel 23:9 ff., Deuteronomy 33:8; and Driver, Exodus, p. 312 f. go up] From Gilgal, 800 ft. below sea-level, the march into the Southern Highlands (2500 to 3600 ft. above the sea) was a continuous ascent. The verb may be used, however, in a general sense, of a military expedition, 2 Samuel 5:19, Isaiah 7:6. first] of time, cf. Judges 10:18; not first in order or rank. the Canaanites] The Jehovist’s name for the various tribes of Palestine; the Elohist calls them ‘Amorites,’ cf. Judges 1:34. If the Canaanites had been extirpated in the manner described in the Book of Joshua there would have been no need to attack them again.

After the death of Joshua - But from Judges 1:1 to Judges 2:9 is a consecutive narrative, ending with the death of Joshua.

PART FIRST.. — Judges 1:1 to Judges 3:6. THE , Judges 1:1-2. 1. After the death of Joshua — Probably not long after.