Judges 3:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

NIV: The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

NASB: The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites;

CSB: But they settled among the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

NLT: So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,

KJV: And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

NKJV: Thus the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

This and the following verse conclude the second introduction to the book of Judges. These two verses reiterate how catastrophically Israel failed to obey the commands of the Lord after moving into the Promised Land. The first and most glaring problem is that they failed to obey God's command to drive out all the other inhabitants of the land. God explicitly told them not to allow the wicked, depraved Canaanite culture to persist (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). And yet, Israelites settled among the occupants of the land.

Those occupants—the cultures allowed to co-exist alongside Israel in the territories they captured—included the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These are not precisely the same nations listed earlier (Judges 3:3). The prior nations are those living in unconquered territory, who would plague Israel with raids and military oppression. This verse lists the residents of Canaan who continue to exist within Israel's own borders, because the Israelites disobeyed God's direct commands to get rid of them.

God's warning to Israel was clear: that the Canaanites were deeply evil. The Lord intended to use Israel to bring about the Savior of the entire world (Luke 2:11; Genesis 12:3). A major reason God commanded a purging of the Promised Land was the combination of those two facts (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4–5). Casual readers might be confused as to why God seems so intensely concerned that Israel remove these people from the land. History tells us that Canaanite religion involved depraved practices like temple prostitution. They also participated in human and child sacrifice.

Had the Canaanites been eradicated from the Promised Land, they would not have become such a persistent negative influence on their loyalty to God (Judges 3:6).

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).