And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor. And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim.The Amorites were a significant Canaanite group known for their resistance against Israelite settlement. Their determination to dwell in these areas highlights the ongoing struggle between the Israelites and the native Canaanite populations. Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim were strategically located in the territory allotted to the tribe of Dan, but the Danites struggled to fully possess it due to the strong Canaanite presence. This reflects the broader theme in Judges of incomplete conquest and the Israelites' failure to fully obey God's command to drive out the inhabitants of the land ( Joshua 13:13). The persistence of the Amorites in these locations also foreshadows future conflicts, as these areas were significant for trade and military routes. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength,
The "house of Joseph" refers to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, descendants of Joseph, who were among the more powerful tribes in Israel. Their growing strength indicates a period of consolidation and increased military capability. This growth can be attributed to God's blessing and fulfillment of His promises to the patriarchs, as seen in Genesis 48:19, where Jacob prophesies that Ephraim would become a multitude of nations. The strengthening of the house of Joseph is a reminder of God's faithfulness to His covenant people, even amidst their struggles and failures. they pressed the Amorites into forced labor.
Instead of completely driving out the Amorites as commanded (Deuteronomy 7:1-2), the Israelites chose to subject them to forced labor. This decision reflects a compromise with the surrounding culture and a failure to fully trust in God's provision and commands. The use of forced labor is a recurring theme in Israel's history, seen later in Solomon's reign (1 Kings 9:20-21), and often leads to negative consequences, such as the influence of pagan practices and idolatry. This compromise foreshadows the cyclical pattern of disobedience and oppression found throughout the book of Judges, where Israel's failure to fully obey God leads to their own subjugation by foreign powers. Persons / Places / Events 1. AmoritesA group of ancient people living in Canaan, often in conflict with the Israelites. They were known for their strong resistance against Israelite settlement. 2. Mount HeresA location in the territory of the tribe of Dan, where the Amorites were determined to dwell. 3. AijalonA city in the tribal territory of Dan, significant in Israelite history for various battles and events. 4. ShaalbimAnother location in the territory of Dan, where the Amorites settled. 5. House of JosephRefers to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, descendants of Joseph, who played a significant role in the conquest and settlement of Canaan. Teaching Points Incomplete ObedienceThe Israelites' failure to fully drive out the Amorites reflects a broader theme of incomplete obedience to God’s commands. This serves as a reminder of the importance of full obedience in our spiritual lives. Consequences of CompromiseAllowing the Amorites to remain led to forced labor, a compromise that fell short of God’s original plan. Compromise with sin or disobedience can lead to unintended consequences in our lives. Strength in God’s TimingThe "hand of the house of Joseph grew stronger" suggests that God’s timing and empowerment are crucial. We must rely on God’s strength rather than our own to overcome challenges. Spiritual VigilanceJust as the Israelites needed to be vigilant in driving out the Amorites, we must be vigilant in addressing sin and spiritual complacency in our lives. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the persistence of the Amorites in dwelling in Israelite territory teach us about the nature of spiritual battles in our lives? 2. How does the concept of incomplete obedience in Judges 1:35 relate to other areas of our lives where we might be tempted to compromise? 3. In what ways can we ensure that we are relying on God’s strength rather than our own when facing challenges, as seen in the strengthening of the house of Joseph? 4. How can the Israelites' experience with the Amorites inform our understanding of the importance of spiritual vigilance and the dangers of complacency? 5. Reflect on a time when you faced a situation that required complete obedience to God. What were the outcomes, and how does this passage encourage you to pursue full obedience in the future? Connections to Other Scriptures Joshua 17:12-13This passage describes the inability of the tribe of Manasseh to drive out the Canaanites, similar to the situation in Judges 1:35, highlighting a recurring theme of incomplete conquest. Exodus 23:31-33God’s command to drive out the inhabitants of the land, which the Israelites struggled to fully obey, leading to ongoing conflicts. 1 Kings 9:20-21Describes Solomon’s use of remaining Canaanite peoples for forced labor, showing a continuation of the practice mentioned in Judges 1:35. 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 Aijalon, Ai'jalon, Ajalon, Amorite, Amorites, Desirous, Determined, Dwell, Dwelling, Forced, Grew, Harheres, Har-heres, Heavily, Heavy, Heres, Hold, Increased, Joseph, Labor, Mount, Persisted, Power, Pressed, Prevailed, Resolved, Rested, Shaalbim, Sha-al'bim, Strong, Stronger, Subject, Taskwork, Tributaries, Tributary, YetDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 1:27-35 7259 promised land, later history 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 1:35 NIVJudges 1:35 NLTJudges 1:35 ESVJudges 1:35 NASBJudges 1:35 KJV
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