What does Judges 1:4 mean?
ESV: Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek.
NIV: When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
NASB: Judah went up, and the Lord handed over to them the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek.
CSB: When Judah attacked, the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They struck down ten thousand men in Bezek.
NLT: When the men of Judah attacked, the Lord gave them victory over the Canaanites and Perizzites, and they killed 10,000 enemy warriors at the town of Bezek.
KJV: And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
NKJV: Then Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek.
Verse Commentary:
Israel's campaign to defeat and drive out all the remaining Canaanites in the land begins as Judah and Simeon band together (Judges 1:1–3). They strike against the Canaanites and a smaller people-group known as the Perizzites, which live in and around the territory given to the tribes of Judah and Simeon.
It's unknown where in this region the city of Bezek was located. Scholars believe it was near what would become the city of Jerusalem. According to the literal words of this verse, ten thousand enemy fighters fall at Bezek as the Lord gives the victory to the people of Judah. In biblical literature, numbers like "10,000" were often used as symbolic references to very large numbers. This is much the same as how modern English-speakers might say "I spent a million dollars getting my car fixed." The exact number of troops defeated is not the main point—the purpose is to indicate that the victory was massive and overwhelming.
Verse Context:
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.
Chapter Summary:
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.
Chapter Context:
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.
Book Summary:
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).
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