23. Beth-el: and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name RP 24. of the city beforetime was Luz.) And the watchers saw J a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, 25. and we will deal kindly with thee. And he shewed them the entrance into the city, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man 26. go and all his family. And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day. II. THE FAILURE TO DESTROY UTTERLY THE NATIVE 27. And Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of J Beth-shean and her 1towns, nor of Taanach and her 1 Heb. daughters. at times called themselves members of the house of Joseph, 2 Sam. 19: 20. Beth-el, according to Josh. 18: 22, belonged to Benjamin. Also went up. Even as Judah had done (cf. v. 4). Beth-el. Modern Beitin, twelve miles north of Jerusalem. A place celebrated in Israel's history, the seat of the worship of one of the golden calves (1 Kgs. 12: 28 ff.). And the Lord was with them. I.e. they were successful. 23. Luz. Cf. Gen. 28: 19; 35:6; Josh. 18: 13. 26. Land of the Hittites. This was directly north of Palestine; see on 3: 3, 5. The location of the new Luz is unknown. 27. Manasseh. Settled on both sides of the Jordan about midway between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Here the reference is only to western Manasseh. Beth-shean. In the Greek period known as Scythopolis, modern Beisan, situated three miles from the Jordan, commanding the entrance into the valley of towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the in habitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaan28. ites would dwell in that land. And it came to pass, 29. 30. when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out. And Ephraim drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. Zebulun drave not out the inhabitants of Kitron, Jezreel and thus into the plain of Esdraelon. Ibleam, modern Bel'ameh, Taanach, modern Ta'annuk, and Megiddo, modern El-leggun, are towns on the southern side of the plain of Esdraelon, in this order from east to west. Meggiddo, commanding the main road southward, was a place of strategic importance, mentioned in both Assyrian and Egyptian inscriptions. Dor, modern Tantura, is farther west on the coast about halfway between Cæsarea and the promontory of Carmel. The Canaanites thus held a district embracing the fertile plain of Esdraelon, extending from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, separating the tribes of Joseph in Central Palestine from their brethren in Galilee. 28. When Israel was waxen strong. The reference is to the reigns of David and Solomon. The subjugation was by the former, while the latter put the Canaanites to taskwork in compelling them to labor in the erection or the Temple and other buildings (1 Kgs. 9:15, 20). 29. Ephraim. Settled in the hill country south of the plain of Esdraelon and the territory of Manasseh. Gezer. On the southwestern border of Ephraim. Its ancient site is marked by a mound of the same name which has been recently excavated. The city retained its independence until, in Solomon's reign, it was conquered by the Pharaoh of Egypt and given to his daughter the wife of Solomon (1 Kgs. 9: 16). 30. Zebulun. Settled directly west of the sea of Galilee. Kitron and Nahalol have not been identified; and beyond the 31. nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became 1 tributary. Asher drave not out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, 32. nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob: but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out. 33. 34. Naphtali drave not out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributary unto them. And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country: for they would not suffer them to come 1 Or, subject to taskwork, and so vv. 33, 35. latter's appearing in the list of Zebulun's cities in Josh. 19:15; 21:35 they are not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. 31. Asher. Directly north of Zebulun, bounded on the west by the coast land of Phoenicia and on the east by Naphtali. Acco, modern 'Akka, on the coast north of Carmel. Zidon, the wellknown Phoenician city. Achzib, modern es-Zib on the coast south of Tyre. The other cities of this verse have not been surely identified. Except Ahlab they were probably inland towns. These cities seem never to have been subject to Israel. 33. Naphtali. Settled in the eastern half of upper Galilee. Beth-shemesh, meaning "house of the sun," hence seat of sun worship, not identified. Beth-anath, meaning "house of Anath," a goddess (see 3:31), hence a seat of her worship, probably the modern 'Ainitha northwest of the Waters of Merom. 34. Amorites. Equivalent here to the Canaanites (so generally in the document E). Amorites are sometimes distinguished from the Canaanites as referring more exclusively to the earlier inhabitants of the land, and then again those inhabiting the highlands. The name is common in the inscriptions of the Assyr 35. down to the valley: but the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they 36. became tributary. And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from 1 the rock, and upward. 2. And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal ians who entered the country on the east. The territory of Dan was southwest of that of Ephraim. The Danites failed to make themselves masters of the plain stretching seaward and later migrated to the north (cf. chapters 17 f.). 35. Heres is mentioned only here. Perhaps the same as Beth-shemesh in the valley of Sorek, modern 'Ain Shems, about halfway between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean. Aijalon. Modern Yalo, some five miles north of Beth-shemesh. Shaalbim. Identified by some with modern Selbit about three miles northwest of Yalo. 36. Amorites. A textual corruption for Edomites, since the boundaries of the verse are those of Edom. The ascent of Akrabbim. I.e." Scorpions," a pass leading from the Arabah (the valley extending southward from the Dead Sea, the home of the Edomites) into the table land of southern Judah, probably the Nagb es-Safa, by which the main road ascends from Petra to Hebron. This pass marks, then, the beginning of the territory of the Edomites, who were the reputed descendants of Esau and thus kinsfolk of Israel. They were subdued by David, but about 850 B.C. regained their independence, and at the time of the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and later were bitterly hostile to Israel. From the rock. (Hebrew Sela.) Some specific locality, either a great cliff near the southern end of the Dead Sea or the Edomite capital known as Petra, rock. And upward. As though the boundary or territory extended beyond the point mentioned. But all is obscure since the text is either corrupt or incomplete. 2: 1-5. This paragraph seems like an expansion of vv. Ia and 5b, which probably originally read" And the angel of Jehovah 2. to Bochim. And he said, I made you to go up out of RP you: and ye came up from Gilgal to Bethel and they sacrificed there unto Jehovah." Such words would form a fitting conclusion to the story of the conquest outward from Gilgal (1 : 1), concluding with the capture of Bethel (1:22-26). Bethel is preserved along with Bochim in the Greek translation. The name Bochim is a likely substitute for Bethel, because the latter stood in v. 5, and perhaps also because Bethel was later the seat of the abhorred calf worship. The reproof of the angel and the account of its effect upon the people (vv. 1b-5a) were written probably by the Priestly editor (RP) who prefixed this first section of the Book of Judges, and to whom the Canaanites left in the land were not a mark of Israel's weakness, the view of the original writer of chapter 1, but a mark of Israel's failure to keep the Deuteronomic law of extermination (see I: 17). 1. The angel of the Lord (Jehovah). The divine presence which according to tradition conducted the people on their march through the wilderness (Exod. 14: 19; 23: 20 ff.; 32: 34; 33: 2; Num. 20:16) and appeared in a human form to Gideon and the mother of Samson (6:11 ff.; 13:3 ff.). Gilgal. The first camping place of the children of Israel after crossing the Jordan, Josh. 5:9, and according to Josh. 9:6; 10:6 ff., 15, 43; 14:6, their headquarters during the conquest of the land. The moving of the angel implied the removal of the Ark to Bochim (see v. 5), i.e. Bethel (see above). Although according to Josh. 18:1; 19:51, the tabernacle, and therefore the ark, was placed, at Shiloh at the close of the conquest, another tradition clearly placed it at Bethel (cf. 20: 26 f.). Gilgal as well as Bethel was a later sanctuary (Hos. 4:15; 9: 15; 12: 11; Amos 4:4;5:5). Which I sware, etc. For the promises cf. Gen. 12:7; 13: 14 f.; 15:18; 17:7 f.; 22: 16 f.; 26: 3 f.; 28: 13 f.; 50: 24. The references to the oath are very frequent in Deuteronomy (1:8; 6: 10, 18, 23; 7: 13; 8:1; 11:9, 21; 19:8; 26: 3, 15, etc.). My covenant with you. The reference is to Exod. 34: 10 ff. 2. Cf. Exod. 34: 12 f.; Deut. 7:5; 12: 3. |