Judges 2:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land.

NIV: After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance.

NASB: When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went, each one to his inheritance, to take possession of the land.

CSB: Previously, when Joshua had sent the people away, the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.

NLT: After Joshua sent the people away, each of the tribes left to take possession of the land allotted to them.

KJV: And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

NKJV: And when Joshua had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.

There is a significant break between the events of Judges 2:1–5 and verse 6. Joshua was not at Bochim when the angel of the Lord rebuked the people. The events which inspired God's rebuke happened after Joshua's death (Judges 1:1). Rather, the writer of Judges makes a poetic choice to re-tell how Israel came to enter a cycle of sin and oppression (Judges 2:11–15). This passage provides the context of what God is doing, through the people's sin and a series of rescuers: the judges.

To set this stage properly, the writer of Judges goes back to Joshua and repeats some of the information from Joshua 24. The initial campaign to take the land of Canaan has ended. Joshua sends the tribes to take possession of their specific territories in the land and to begin to drive out the Canaanites (Joshua 24:29–31).

Judges 2:6–10 is almost a second introduction to the book of Judges. It reiterates the end of Joshua's life, when he sent the tribes to occupy their territories and drive the people from the land (Joshua 24:29–31). The people continued to follow the Lord all the days of Joshua's life and his generation. He died and was buried on his allotted land in the territory of Ephraim at 110 years old. The generations following Joshua's death did not acknowledge God or the work He had done for Israel.

The tribes of Israel committed great sin when they failed to drive the depraved, wicked Canaanites from the land. God rebukes them harshly, warning them of the consequences to follow. The people weep and offer sacrifices. And yet, the generations after Joshua abandon God. They worship false gods and perform heinous sins. The Lord burns with anger and uses Israel's enemies as punishment. When the suffering becomes intense, God rescues Israel through a human "judge." When the judge dies, the people return to their sin, deeper even than before.

Judges 2 follows reports about the failure of Israel to drive the Canaanites from each tribes' territories. Despite being rebuked by God, the generations after Joshua eventually abandon the Lord to worship the gods of the Canaanites: the Baals and the Ashtaroth. This establishes a pattern to be repeated in the chapters to come. Israel will worship Canaan's gods. God punishes the people through their enemies. God saves the people through a human judge. When the judge dies, the people return to their sin. This cycle continues throughout the rest of the book of Judges.

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 5/15/2024 9:43:43 AM