Judges 1:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

NIV: After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, 'Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?'

NASB: Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, 'Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?'

CSB: After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the Lord, "Who will be the first to fight for us against the Canaanites? "

NLT: After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, 'Which tribe should go first to attack the Canaanites?'

KJV: Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

NKJV: Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?”

The book of Joshua ends with Joshua's challenge to the people of Israel, followed by his death at 110 years old (Joshua 24:29–31). Under Joshua's rule and the Lord's blessing, Israel has entered the Promised Land and experienced great success in breaking the stronghold of the Canaanites over the land. They have begun to take possession of their new homeland.

Joshua asked the people to choose whether they would abandon all other gods, to serve and obey God alone. The people responded in a focused exchange with their leader (Joshua 24:19–24). Their back-and-forth conversation made it clear that the people understood the consequences of rejecting the Lord. In renewing the covenant between God and Israel, Joshua left no doubt that there would be consequences if the people fell into sin and idolatry.

Now, without a king or clear national leader, it was time for the Israelites to clear out the Canaanites from each tribe's portion of the Promised Land. Even before Joshua's campaign, the people of Israel had been told about the depraved evil of the Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). They begin this new campaign by faithfully asking Yahweh for direction about which of the tribes should attack first to take full and uncontested possession of their inheritance.

Judges 1:1–20 describes the campaign of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, to drive out or destroy all the Canaanites from their large territory in southern Israel. It begins with victories over Bezek and Jerusalem. The report rehearses the former victories by Caleb and his family in the hill country. The campaign continues into the desert wilderness of the Negeb, where a group of descendants of Moses' father-in-law settles. Judah dominates the hill country but doesn't entirely evict the wicked Canaanites because of their iron chariots.

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).