Judges 1:1

PREFACE (Judges 1:1-3:6)

THE FAILURE OF ISRAEL TO DRIVE OUT THE CANAANITES

In describing the repeated apostasies and subsequent invasions and oppressions of Israel, it was necessary to establish the REASON why God allowed such treatment of the Chosen People. That reason, of course, was their FAILURE TO OBEY God's instructions regarding driving out the corrupt pagan nations of Canaan. In line, therefore, with making this abundantly clear, the author of Judges included a recapitulation of many events recorded in the Book of Joshua. This recapitulation should not obscure the fact that the great burden of the Book of Judges relates to what happened "after the death of Joshua," as stated in Judges 1:1. In fact, "These words, `after the death of Joshua,' must therefore be understood as the title of the whole Book of Judges."[1]

The conquest of Canaan under Joshua was, of course, a success, but in the failure of the Israelites to make a complete destruction of the pagan inhabitants, the door was left open for all of the troubles that came upon Israel in the times of the Judges.

In my commentary on Joshua, we have already discussed practically all of the events mentioned from the period when Joshua was still living. A summary of the general failure of the Chosen People in their disobedience of the Divine instructions to drive out the reprobate nations of Canaan is provided by LaGard Smith in his Narrated Bible.[2]

REUBEN, GAD, and MANASSEH received their inheritance east of Jordan, but these tribes did not drive out the pagan inhabitants (Joshua 13:13).

EPHRAIM did not drive out the inhabitants of Gezer, but made slaves of them (Joshua 16:10; Judges 1:29).

MANASSEH allowed the Canaanites to live in their territory, where, when Israel was stronger, they enslaved the Canaanites, but did not drive them out (Joshua 17:11-13; Judges 1:37,28).

ISSACHAR and ASHER had part of their territory allotted to MANASSEH (Joshua 17:11), but their territory also failed to be purged of the Canaanites (Joshua 17:12).

JUDAH could not drive out the inhabitants of Jerusalem, despite an early victory over that city, and the Jebusites remained there until the time of David (Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:8).

BENJAMIN, along with Judah, inherited Jerusalem, but they could not drive out the Jebusites.

ZEBULUN did not drive out the Canaanites from Litton or Nahalol, but they subjected them to forced labor (Judges 1:30).

ASHER did not drive out the pagan inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Aphek or Rehob, but continued to live among the Canaanites (Judges 1:31-32).

NAPHTALI failed to drive out the Canaanites from Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath, but continued to live among the pagans, and they required the citizens of those towns to become forced laborers for them (Judges 1:33).

DAN was guilty of the same failure. They could not drive out the Amorites from the plain, but when the power of Joseph increased, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor (Judges 1:33).

Thus, all of the Twelve Tribes utterly failed to obey the Divine injunction regarding the extermination of the pagan populations of Canaan. And the completeness of that failure is emphasized by the remarkable recapitulation here in this first chapter of Judges. This shameful lapse on the part of Israel was loaded with terrible consequences.

Not only did the Israelites associate with the residual pagan elements of Canaan, they made slaves of them. They began to intermarry with them. They indulged in the worship of their fertility gods with its shameful licentiousness. They forgot God, and in time, became just as evil as the Canaanites whom God had driven out before them. The repeated deliverances and restorations of Israel during the period of the Judges was God's way of preventing the total ruin and loss of the Chosen People.

"And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked of Jehovah, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites to fight against them? And Jehovah said, Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. And Judah went up; and Jehovah delivered the Canaanites and the Perizites into their hand: and they smote of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And they found Adonibezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizites. But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their food under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there."

"After the death of Joshua" (Judges 1:1). This is the title of the whole Book of Judges and does not apply to the numerous events recorded in this chapter, all of which occurred during Joshua's lifetime.

"Israel asked of Jehovah" (Judges 1:1). "This expression is found only in Judges and First Samuel. The ruler would apply to the High Priest to consult for him the Urim and Thummin ... The High Priest who was consulted here was Eleazar."[3]

"Judah shall go up" (Judges 1:2). The pre-eminence of the tribe of Judah appears quite early in this book, that tribe being the one through whom the Messiah was destined to come. Judah is here mentioned in conjunction with Simeon because their lots were intermingled (Joshua 19:1).

"Adonibezek fled; they caught him ... cut off his thumbs and his great toes" (Judges 1:6). Adonibezek here should not be confused with Adonizedek mentioned in Joshua 10. That one was king of Jerusalem, but Adonibezek was king of Bezek. As might have been expected, Dalglish supposed that the two names are actually references to the same person, basing his theory upon the fact that nowhere else in the Bible is the sacred name [~'Adonay] linked to a geographical location.[4] This does not appear to this writer as sufficient grounds for such a conclusion.

This record of the cruelty executed upon Adonibezek was no doubt included as an example of the "lex talionis," retribution in kind. Adonibezek himself accepted his punishment as something which he deserved.

The fact of Adonibezek's having captured and mutilated seventy kings indicates that these were very tiny principalities which he destroyed. The fragmented and shattered state of the whole land of Canaan is evident in this episode. This condition, of course, contributed greatly to Joshua's conquest of Palestine.

The loss of one's thumbs would prevent his use of any weapons of war, and the loss of his big toes would make flight impossible. Such treatment might have been imposed as a lesser penalty than death and as enabling the conqueror to procure the services of the defeated.