So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family. So he showed themThe phrase indicates an act of revealing or disclosing information. In the Hebrew context, the word for "showed" can be linked to the idea of guidance or instruction. This act of showing is significant as it demonstrates a pivotal moment of trust and betrayal. The man who showed the entrance was likely motivated by self-preservation, a common human instinct. This reflects the broader theme of Judges, where individuals often act out of personal interest rather than communal or divine loyalty. the entrance to the city
The entrance to a city in ancient times was not just a physical gateway but a symbol of access and control. Cities were fortified, and knowing the entrance was crucial for any military conquest. Archaeologically, city gates were often complex structures with defensive features. Spiritually, this entrance can be seen as a metaphor for the choices and decisions that lead to either destruction or salvation. The entrance represents the threshold between safety and vulnerability. and they put the city to the sword
This phrase is a vivid depiction of the complete destruction that befell the city. The Hebrew root for "put to the sword" implies a thorough and decisive action, often used in the context of divine judgment. Historically, such conquests were common in the ancient Near East, where cities were often razed as a demonstration of power and dominance. From a theological perspective, this act can be seen as a fulfillment of divine justice, where the Israelites were executing God's judgment on the Canaanite cities. but released that man and all his family
The release of the man and his family highlights a theme of mercy amidst judgment. The Hebrew concept of "release" here suggests a deliberate sparing or saving. This act of mercy is reminiscent of the account of Rahab in Joshua 2, where a similar act of kindness is shown to those who assist God's people. It underscores the biblical principle that God honors those who align themselves with His purposes, even in the midst of widespread judgment. This release serves as a reminder of God's grace and the possibility of redemption for those who choose to support His people. Persons / Places / Events 1. The SpiesThese are the men from the tribe of Joseph who were sent to scout the city of Bethel (formerly Luz) to determine how to conquer it. 2. The ManAn unnamed inhabitant of Bethel who provided the spies with crucial information about the city's entrance, leading to its capture. 3. The City of BethelOriginally known as Luz, this city was strategically important and was conquered by the Israelites with the help of the insider information. 4. The Tribe of JosephThis tribe, representing the descendants of Joseph, was responsible for the conquest of Bethel. 5. The Event of ConquestThe capture of Bethel was a significant event in the Israelites' campaign to take possession of the Promised Land. Teaching Points Divine Strategy and Human CooperationGod often uses human cooperation to fulfill His divine plans. The man’s assistance to the spies was crucial for the Israelites' victory. Mercy and JusticeThe Israelites showed mercy to the man and his family, highlighting the balance between justice (the conquest) and mercy (sparing the informant). Faith and ActionLike Rahab, the man acted in faith by assisting God's people, which led to his and his family's salvation. The Importance of ObedienceThe tribe of Joseph's obedience to God's command to take the land demonstrates the importance of following divine instructions. God's Sovereignty in ConquestThe successful capture of Bethel underscores God's sovereignty and His role in guiding the Israelites to victory. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the account of the man in Bethel compare to Rahab's account in Jericho, and what can we learn about God's use of unlikely individuals? 2. In what ways does the sparing of the man and his family demonstrate the balance between justice and mercy in God's character? 3. How can we apply the principle of divine strategy and human cooperation in our own lives and ministries today? 4. What does the conquest of Bethel teach us about the importance of obedience to God's commands? 5. How does understanding God's sovereignty in the Israelites' conquests encourage us in facing our own battles and challenges? Connections to Other Scriptures Joshua 2The account of Rahab and the spies in Jericho parallels this account, where an insider helps the Israelites in exchange for protection. Genesis 28:19Bethel is first mentioned when Jacob names the place after his dream of the ladder, indicating its spiritual significance. Hebrews 11:31Rahab's faith is commended, drawing a parallel to the faith and actions of those who assist God's people. People Abednego, Achsah, Adonibezek, Ahiman, Amalekites, Amorites, Anak, Anath, Arad, Arba, Asher, Asherites, Benjamin, Benjamites, Caleb, Canaanites, Dan, Danites, Debir, Edomites, Hittites, Hobab, Israelites, Jebusites, Joseph, Joshua, Kenaz, Manasseh, Naphtali, Naphtalites, Othniel, Perizzites, Rehob, Sheshai, Simeon, Simeonites, Talmai, Zebulun, ZidonPlaces Acco, Achzib, Ahlab, Aijalon, Akrabbim, Aphik, Arad, Ashkelon, Beth-anath, Bethel, Beth-shan, Beth-shemesh, Bezek, Debir, Dor, Ekron, Gaza, Gezer, Gibeah, Hebron, Helbah, Hormah, Ibleam, Jerusalem, Kiriath-arba, Kiriath-sepher, Kitron, Luz, Megiddo, Mount Heres, Nahalol, Negeb, Rehob, Sela, Shaalbim, Sidon, Taanach, ZephathTopics Clear, Edge, Entrance, Family, Free, Mouth, Safe, Sheweth, Showed, Smite, Smote, Spared, Struck, Sword, TownDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 1:23-24 5552 spies Library The Historical Books.
1. In the Pentateuch we have the establishment of the Theocracy, with the preparatory and accompanying history pertaining to it. The province of the historical books is to unfold its practiced working, and to show how, under the divine superintendence and guidance, it accomplished the end for which it was given. They contain, therefore, primarily, a history of God's dealings with the covenant people under the economy which he had imposed upon them. They look at the course of human events on the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the BibleThe Coast of the Asphaltites, the Essenes. En-Gedi.
"On the western shore" (of the Asphaltites) "dwell the Essenes; whom persons, guilty of any crimes, fly from on every side. A nation it is that lives alone, and of all other nations in the whole world, most to be admired; they are without any woman; all lust banished, &c. Below these, was the town Engadda, the next to Jerusalem for fruitfulness, and groves of palm-trees, now another burying-place. From thence stands Massada, a castle in a rock, and this castle not far from the Asphaltites." Solinus, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Beth-El. Beth-Aven.
Josephus thus describes the land of Benjamin; "The Benjamites' portion of land was from the river Jordan to the sea, in length: in breadth, it was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." Let these last words be marked, "The breadth of the land of Benjamin was bounded by Jerusalem and Beth-el." May we not justly conclude, from these words, that Jerusalem and Beth-el were opposite, as it were, in a right line? But if you look upon the maps, there are some that separate these by a very large tract of land, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Tsippor
"Tsippor is the greatest city of Galilee, and built in a very strong place." "Kitron (Judg 1:29,30) is Tsippor: and why is it called Tsippor? Because it is seated upon a mountain as Tsippor, a bird." "Sixteen miles on all sides from Tsippor was a land flowing with milk and honey." This city is noted in Josephus for its warlike affairs; but most noted in the Talmudists for the university fixed there, and for the learning, which Rabbi Judah the Holy brought hither, as we have said before. He sat in …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica A Nation's Struggle for a Home and Freedom.
ISRAEL'S VICTORIES OVER THE CANAANITES.--Josh. 2-9; Judg. 1, 4, 5. Parallel Readings. Hist. Bible II,1-4.1. Prin. of Politics X. That the leaders took the lead in Israel, That the people volunteered readily, Bless Jehovah! Zebulun was a people who exposed themselves to deadly peril, And Naphtali on the heights of the open field. Kings came, they fought; They fought, the kings of Canaan, At Taanach by the Waters of Megiddo, They took no booty of silver. Prom heaven fought the stars, From their …
Charles Foster Kent—The Making of a Nation The Place of the Old Testament in Divine Revelation
[Sidenote: Advent of the Hebrews] Modern discovery and research have demonstrated that the truth revealed through the Babylonians and with less definiteness through the people of the Nile was never entirely lost. Such a sad waste was out of accord with the obvious principles of divine economy. As the icy chill of ceremonialism seized decadent Babylonia and Egypt, there emerged from the steppes south and east of Palestine a virile, ambitious group of nomads, who not only fell heir to that which …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament The Prophet Jonah.
It has been asserted without any sufficient reason, that Jonah is older than Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah,--that he is the oldest among the prophets whose written monuments have been preserved to us. The passage in 2 Kings xiv. 25, where it is said, that Jonah, the son of Amittai the prophet, prophesied to Jeroboam the happy success of his arms, and the restoration of the ancient boundaries of Israel, and that this prophecy was confirmed by the event, cannot decide in favour of this assertion, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Scythopolis. Beth-Shean, the Beginning of Galilee.
The bonds of Galilee were, "on the south, Samaris and Scythopolis, unto the flood of Jordan." Scythopolis is the same with Beth-shean, of which is no seldom mention in the Holy Scriptures, Joshua 17:11; Judges 1:27; 1 Samuel 31:10. "Bethsaine (saith Josephus), called by the Greeks Scythopolis." It was distant but a little way from Jordan, seated in the entrance to a great valley: for so the same author writes, "Having passed Jordan, they came to a great plain, where lies before you the city Bethsane," …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
Here we will borrow Josephus' pencil, "Jericho is seated in a plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,--and southward, to the country of Sodom, and the utmost coast of the Asphaltites." Of this mountain mention is made, Joshua 2:22, where the two spies, sent by Joshua, and received by Rahab, are said to "conceal themselves." "Opposite against this, lies a mountain on the other side Jordan, beginning from …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
THE ISRAELITES IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: THE JUDGES--THE PHILISTINES AND THE HEBREW KINGDOM--SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON, THE DEFECTION OF THE TEN TRIBES--THE XXIst EGYPTIAN DYNASTY--SHESHONQ OR SHISHAK DAMASCUS. The Hebrews in the desert: their families, clans, and tribes--The Amorites and the Hebrews on the left bank of the Jordan--The conquest of Canaan and the native reaction against the Hebrews--The judges, Ehud, Deborah, Jerubbaal or Gideon and the Manassite supremacy; Abimelech, Jephihdh. The Philistines, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6 Jews and Gentiles in "The Land"
Coming down from Syria, it would have been difficult to fix the exact spot where, in the view of the Rabbis, "the land" itself began. The boundary lines, though mentioned in four different documents, are not marked in anything like geographical order, but as ritual questions connected with them came up for theological discussion. For, to the Rabbis the precise limits of Palestine were chiefly interesting so far as they affected the religious obligations or privileges of a district. And in this respect …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Judges 1:25 NIVJudges 1:25 NLTJudges 1:25 ESVJudges 1:25 NASBJudges 1:25 KJV
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