What does Judges 1:30 mean?
The small tribe of Zebulun also failed to drive the Canaanites from their territory. This includes those in and around the cities of Kitron and Nahalol, west of the Sea of Galilee. As was the case with several of the tribes, the people of Zebulun did eventually succeed in forcing the Canaanite people in their territory into slavery or "forced labor."When they grew strong enough to enslave the Canaanites, however, they would have been strong enough to destroy them or drive them out of the land (Judges 1:28). At that point, they were willfully disobeying God's command to devote all the residents of the land to destruction (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). They chose, instead, to keep them around for the economic advantage of their labor. This would create tragic consequences for the entire nation.