Judges 3:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

NIV: the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.

NASB: These nations are: the five governors of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

CSB: These nations included the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.

NLT: These are the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers), all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

KJV: Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

NKJV: namely, five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entrance of Hamath.

The Lord has said that He has left the nations that remained in existence at the time Joshua died. God has not brought these nations to an end or driven them out of the region of Canaan. That was God's command to Israel (Deuteronomy 20:16–17), so the people would not follow the horrific evil of those cultures (Deuteronomy 20:18). But Israel disobeyed the Lord and stopped well short of their goal (Judges 2:20). And so, God intends to use these nations against His rebellious people. He will demonstrate by example; God will "test" Israel for their response to the hardships of war (Judges 2:21–22).

Reading the book of Judges, it seems the Canaanites plagued Israel in two primary ways. One was through temptation to idolatry (Judges 2:11–13), coming from those the people of Israel allowed to remain in the land (Judges 3:5). The others, listed here, are the nations living in areas not fully conquered by Israel.

The Philistines, known for their five lords, were sometimes called the Sea Peoples. Said to have originated on the island of Crete, they had migrated to the shores of the Mediterranean in Palestine at some point. They eventually came to hold five city-states in Canaan, including Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. Together, these were called the Pentapolis and were ruled by the five chieftains mentioned in this verse. The Philistines became longtime enemies of Israel in the region.

"All the Canaanites" seems to be a general term for all the non-specific people groups in Canaan that would war against Israel in the coming generations. The Sidonians may have eventually been better known as the Phoenicians. The Hivites are identified as occupying a mountainous region north of the Sea of Galilee. While they live in their own territories, the reach of these nations covered the entire Promised Land. All of Israel would be impacted by the wars they would bring against God's people.

Judges 3:1–6 names the nations the Lord leaves in existence in and around the Promised Land. These nations will plague future generations of Israelites to see if they will be faithful. Some of these represent unconquered territories whose inhabitants will raid and oppress Israel: the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites. Groups living amongst the captured regions will tempt Israel in different ways. These are listed as Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite peoples. Starting with the very first generation after Joshua, the people betray God, intermarrying with these depraved nations and serving their gods.

God leaves several Canaanite nations in and around the Promised Land to test Israel's reliance on Him. Some live among the people, others are part of unconquered territories. The Israelites immediately ignore God's commands and begin serving other gods. First, the Lord subjects them to Mesopotamia. After eight years, the first judge, Othniel, leads them to victory and peace. Israel again rebels and is conquered by Moab for 18 years. Ehud's brutal assassination of the Moabite king sparks another period of freedom and peace. In a single brief statement, the obscure Shamgar is celebrated for his victory.

After Israel's failure to complete their mission, as described in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 begins by describing the idolatrous nations God left intact to test Israel. In the first of many such cycles, the people sin, are conquered, then are rescued by a "judge." This chapter describes the victories of Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Chapter 4 mentions the first of the truly famous names among the judges, describing the careers of Deborah and Barak. This is followed in chapter 6, which introduces Gideon.

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).