Judges 1:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

NIV: Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor.

NASB: Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

CSB: Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.

NLT: The tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites continued to live among them. But the Canaanites were forced to work as slaves for the people of Zebulun.

KJV: Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

NKJV: Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.

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.

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).