Judges 1:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”

NIV: the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, 'Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.'

NASB: And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, 'Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will treat you kindly.'

CSB: The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, "Please show us how to get into town, and we will show you kindness."

NLT: They confronted a man coming out of the town and said to him, 'Show us a way into the town, and we will have mercy on you.'

KJV: And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

NKJV: And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.”

The tribe of Ephraim has a plan to capture the city of Bethel, also known as Luz. They are eager to reclaim the place because the site is nearly sacred to the people of Israel (Genesis 28:16–22). Bethel means "house of God."

Apparently following a similar plan used against Jericho (Joshua 2:1–7), the people of Ephraim send spies to scout out Bethel, looking for the shortest route possible to get into the city. The spies see a man leaving the city and offer to deal kindly with the man if he will show them the route.

It's true that something similar happened with Jericho. The prostitute Rahab protected the spies. She, however, confessed loyalty to the God of Israel. She was allowed to live when the walls came down, but she and her people were also fully integrated into the people of Israel. It's clear that the people of Ephraim mean to allow this man to live if he will show them the way into the city. However, this man does not claim to follow Israel's God. He becomes a traitor to his people simply to save his own life.

Judges 1:21–26 follows a long description of Judah's conquest with reports on two other tribes and their attempts to drive out the Canaanites from their territories. The tribe of Benjamin fails to remove the Jebusites from Jerusalem and so the Jebusites remained living among the people. Scouts from the tribe of Ephraim, here called "the house of Joseph," unwisely agree to allow one citizen of the Canaanite city of Bethel, also known as Luz, to live in exchange for providing them a way into the city. That man starts a new Canaanite city with the same name.

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).

Accessed 4/27/2024 6:53:20 AM