Judges 1:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.

NASB: But Manasseh did not take possession 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; so the Canaanites persisted in living in this land.

CSB: At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean and Taanach and their surrounding villages, or the residents of Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo and their surrounding villages; the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.

NLT: The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region.

KJV: Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

NKJV: However, 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 were determined to dwell in that land.

The first chapter of Judges has reported on the success and failure of each tribe of Israel. Their mission was to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan from their allotted territories. Judah, Simeon, and Ephraim all experienced some success (Judges 1:17–20) but were incomplete in their effort to destroy or drive away the Canaanites. Benjamin failed completely. They could not force the Jebusites from Jerusalem, and so they lived among them (Judges 1:21).

Now the chapter concludes with a list of similar failures by most of the remaining tribes in their territories. They were unsuccessful in obeying God's command to devote all the Canaanites to destruction (Deuteronomy 20:16–17). God's purpose for this harsh process was to prevent the depraved evils of Canaanite culture from interfering with Israel (Deuteronomy 20:18).

The writer of Judges makes no comment as to exactly why these tribes of Israel failed. Much grief will come from their failure, beginning in the very next chapter. This has led to much speculation. It's possible the people gave only a halfhearted effort. They might have wavered in their confidence or relied too much on their own strength and not that of God. God might have stymied individual victories due to sin among the people. The following verse points out that the ultimate cause was the Israelites themselves: whether by indifference or lack of effort, they simply stopped short of their goal (Judges 1:28).

The writer starts this latest account with the tribe of Manasseh. The people of Manasseh failed to drive out the Canaanites in the five key cities in their allotted territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. The Canaanites persisted in and around Beth-Shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo, in the strategic heart of the Promised Land.

Judges 1:27–36 gives nearly the same report about six separate tribes of Israel: Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan. Each fails to drive out the inhabitants of the cities in their allotted territories. Some succeed, eventually, in subjugating portions of the Canaanites or Amorites. None succeeds in obeying God's command to completely purge the land of those depraved cultures (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). Instead, the people mingle among the Israelites, with terrible consequences in the chapters to come.

Judges 1 summarizes the early efforts of the tribes of Israel to drive the Canaanites from the land or to destroy them entirely (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). The process starts well with a string of successes by Judah and Simeon in the south. Then the news turns sour as one tribe after another is said to have failed to drive the Canaanites out of their allotted territories. Instead, they occupy certain territories, often allowing inhabitants of the land to live among them.

Judges 1 continues immediately from the death of Joshua (Joshua 24:29–30). It begins a new era for Israel, now referred to as the time of "the judges." In a series of reports, tribe by tribe, the narrator describes Israel's success or failure to drive the deeply wicked Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4) from the land or to destroy them. Judah experiences much success, but it is unable to drive the inhabitants out of one region, at least. Every other tribe either fails utterly to remove the Canaanites, or only gradually grows strong enough to capture the territory.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).