Judges 1:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him.

NIV: The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, 'Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.' So the Simeonites went with them.

NASB: Then Judah said to his brother Simeon, 'Go up with me into the territory allotted me, and let’s fight the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted you.' So Simeon went with him.

CSB: Judah said to his brother Simeon, "Come with me to my allotted territory, and let's fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your allotted territory." So Simeon went with him.

NLT: The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, 'Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.' So the men of Simeon went with Judah.

KJV: And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

NKJV: So Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him.

After Joshua's death (Joshua 24:29–31), Israel's new mission was clear. As they had been told by Moses (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4), they were to drive all the wicked Canaanite peoples out. Each tribe of Israel was to take complete possession of the territory apportioned to them. The people have asked the Lord which tribe should attack first. God responded that Judah (Genesis 49:8–9) should lead, promising to give Judah's territory into its hands (Judges 1:1–2).

This verse depicts the conversation between the tribes of Judah and Simeon as if the patriarchs themselves were speaking. The leaders of Judah's tribe invite the leaders of Simeon's tribe into an alliance. If Simeon will come and fight with Judah for Judah's territory, then Judah will fight with Simeon's people to clean the Canaanites out of their land. Simeon's people agreed.

This arrangement makes excellent sense for two reasons. First, Judah's tribe is large and has been given the largest single territory of all the tribes, on the southern end of the Promised Land. Simeon's tribe is the smallest of the others by far. It will need help. Second, Simeon's territory exists within the borders of Judah's territory. By default, Judah will end up serving as Simeon's protector. It follows that their fighting men should join forces.

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).