What does Judges 1:31 mean?
The territory for the tribe of Asher was a long, narrow strip of land in the very northwest corner of Israel along the Mediterranean coast. Despite being the people of Yahweh, the Asherites did not drive out the Canaanite inhabitants (Deuteronomy 20:16–18) from the towns of Acco, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.In fact, for the first time, rather than reporting that Canaanites lived among the Israelites in a territory, Scripture says the Asherites lived among the Canaanites (Judges 1:32). This means the tribe of Asher stopped well short of conquering the territory. Instead, they integrated into the local communities. The Canaanites allowed them to live in the land instead of the other way around.