LESSON XXXI THE SETTLEMENT OF THE TRIBES The settlement of the tribes was very incomplete at first. As a rule the Israelites gained possession of the hill country, but failed to conquer the towns and the valleys. They intermarried with the Canaanites, and worshipped their gods. JUDGES I. 1—III. 6 1 1 And it came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked of the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, 5 Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. And they found Adoni-bezek1: and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after 10 him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adoni-bezek 1 said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And the children of Benjamin 2 did not drive out the Jebusites 1 For Adoni-bezek read Adoni-zedek (Josh. 10. 1). 15 20 that inhabited Jerusalem: but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin 1 in Jerusalem, unto this day. 20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drave out thence the three sons of Anak, [10] Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai. And from thence he went against 25 the inhabitants of Debir. (Now the name of Debir beforetime was Kiriath-sepher.) And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And 30 it came to pass, when she came unto him, that she moved him 2 to ask of her father a field: and she lighted down from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing 3; for that thou hast set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. 35 And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' brother in law,4 went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.5 And Judah went 40 with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. 22 And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el : and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph sent 45 to spy out Beth-el. And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, 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 go 50 and all his family. And the man went into the land of the 1 For Benjamin read Judah (as Josh. 15. 63). 2 For she moved him read he moved her. 3 For a blessing read a present (R). 4 For the children law read Hobab the Kenite, Moses' father in law. 5 For the people read the Amalekites. Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day. 27 And Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor of Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam 55 and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns : but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. And it came to pass, when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out.1 29 And Ephraim drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt 60 in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Zebulun drave not out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributary. 31 Asher drave not out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the 65 inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, 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 Naphtali drave not out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, 70 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. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill 75 country for they would not suffer them to come 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 became tributary. : 2 1 And the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim.2 80 And he said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you and ye shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall break down their altars but ye have not hearkened unto my voice: 85 1 For did not out read did not dispossess them at all. ... 2 For Bochim read Bethel (S). why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words 90 unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim and they sacrificed there unto the LORD. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, 95 nor yet the work which he had wrought for Israel. 11 And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands 100 of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about. And the LORD raised up judges, which saved them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they hearkened not unto their judges, for they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves down unto 105 them they turned aside quickly out of the way wherein their fathers walked, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge for it repented 110 the LORD because of their groaning by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. But it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they turned back, and dealt more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their 115 doings, nor from their stubborn way. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel; and he said, Because this nation have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations 120 which Joshua left when he died. 31 Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan; only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as beforetime knew nothing thereof; namely, the five lords of the Philistines, 125 and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites 1 that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were for to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers 130 by the hand of Moses. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites; the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. 1 For Hivites read Hittites. 135 |