The Call of Gideon

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 6:1) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.

In the last chapter and post, Deborah as judge, with Barak, had delivered Israel from Jabin king of Canaan and Sisera the captain of his army.  The land had rest for forty years.  But now the people again began doing evil in the sight of the Lord, and He allowed them to be delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years.  The Midianites had been decimated by Moses about 200 years prior, but it seems many of them had fled to neighboring countries and subsequently returned to their own land and grew in number.  God had probably purposely increased their number so that they would be a check on His people.

(2) And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds.

The Midianites prevailed against Israel and brought them into subjection to them.  Because of the oppression of the Midianites, the children of Israel built for themselves dens and caves and places for them to hide out from their enemy.

(3) And it was when Israel had sown that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; (4) And they encamped against them and destroyed the increase of the earth till you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

When the children of Israel came out of their hiding places and sowed the land, the Midianites came along with the Amalekites and the children of the east, who were probably Arabians.  They all joined forces and camped by the Israelites and destroyed their growing crops all the way to Gaza which was on the Mediterranean Sea in the far west of Canaan.  As they had come from the east, this meant they destroyed the whole land from east to west.  They left nothing for the Israelites, no crops and no animals.

(5) For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; both they and their camels were without number, and they entered into the land to destroy it.

The Midianites, Amalekites, and other eastern tribes, came into Canaan with all their flocks and livestock to eat up the crops.  They came with tents that they could move from place to place in order to take of all that Israel had.  They were as grasshoppers in the land, just as numerous and devouring everything in their path.  They came with camels that were just as numerous, as Midian and Arabia were famous for camels.  They ate as well and trampled and destroyed the land. 

(6) And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried to the Lord.

Israel became greatly impoverished because of the Midianites and others, and they cried out to the Lord, which is always the purpose of God's punishments, to bring His people back to Him, their only source for life.

(7) And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried to the Lord because of the Midianites, (8) That the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel who said to them, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you forth out of the house of bondage, (9) And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land, (10) And I said to you, 'I am the Lord your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell but you have not obeyed My voice.'"

When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, He first sent them a prophet to make them realize how they had sinned against Him and brought this oppression on themselves.  The prophet spoke the words of the Lord, reminding the people how He had brought them out of bondage in Egypt, and He continued to drive out all who came against them to give them their land in Canaan.  He had said to the people that they were not to fear the gods of the Amorites.  He did not mean not to be afraid, but rather have no reverential fear of them so as to worship them (Deuteronomy 7:16).  However, the children of Israel had disobeyed Him, and that is why they found themselves in the trouble in which they now were again.

(11) And there came an angel of the Lord and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that of Joash the Abiezrite, and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress to hide it from the Midianites.

Meanwhile, there came an angel of the Lord who sat under an oak tree belonging to Joash, a descendant of Abiezer, in a place called Ophrah.  Joash's son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, which would have been an unsuspecting place, so he could hide from the Midianites.

(12) And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor."

The angel of the Lord who had been under the oak tree appeared to Gideon and called him a mighty man of valor and assured him that the Lord was with him.  I love this!  Gideon was just a son of a poor man trying to get by by hiding away in fear of the Midianites.  Yet God was calling him a mighty man of valor!  God can call any of us poor weak individuals to do great things for Him, as He will be with us to perform any task to which He calls us.

(13) And Gideon said to him, "Oh, my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

However, Gideon answered the angel, probably not understanding he was an angel, but seeing him as a distinguished man, asking how it could be that the Lord was with them when He had allowed all that misery to befall them.  He wondered where all God's miracles were of which their fathers had told them, specifically about how God had brought them out of Egypt.  He felt that the Lord had now forsaken them because He had delivered them into the hands of the Midianites.

(14) And the Lord looked upon him and said, "Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?"

The Lord Himself looked upon Gideon, and through the angel He told him to go forth in the might he had received from the Lord, as he had already been told by the angel that the Lord was with him (verse 12).  He would save Israel from the oppression of the Midianites because the Lord Himself was sending him, and He would be with him.

(15) And he said to Him, "Oh my Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family poor in Manasseh, and I the least in my father's house."

But Gideon answered, asking how it was that he could save Israel.  He was from a simple family in the tribe of Manasseh, which is a better translation than "poor," for we will see in a later verse that he must have had some wealth.  He called himself the least in his father's house.  He may have been the youngest in his family or just considered himself the least fit to take on such a great work.

(16) And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man."

The Lord assured Gideon that He would be with him, and he would be able to strike down the Midianites as easily as if they were just one man.

(17) And he said to Him, "If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that You talk with me."

Gideon then asked that if he had surely found grace in the Lord's sight, he might receive a sign from the Lord that it was truly Him talking to him through the angel.

(18) "Do not depart from here, I pray you, until I come to you and bring forth my present and set it before You." And He said, "I will tarry until you come again."

Gideon asked the angel not to leave there until he had come back with a present for him.  And the Lord, through the angel, said He would wait until Gideon came again.  In the words of Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, this "was a wonderful instance of divine condescension," that the Lord would patiently wait on a man.

(19) And Gideon went in and made ready a kid and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and he brought it out to Him under the oak and presented it.

Gideon went in and prepared a goat kid and unleavened cakes he had made from an ephah of flour, that is about two thirds of a bushel of flour.  He brought some cakes, the goat meat in a basket, and its broth in a pot, out to the angel who was still under the oak tree and presented it all to him.

(20) And the angel of God said to him, "Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes and lay them upon this rock and pour out the broth." And he did so.

The angel told Gideon to place the meat and the unleavened cakes on a rock and pour out the broth.  In this, he was making an offering to God of the meat and bread and likewise with the broth, he used it as a libation, a drink offering poured out to the Lord.

(21) Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff in his hand and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and there rose up fire out of the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.

The angel of the Lord touched the flesh and the cakes with the end of his staff, and fire rose up out of the rock and devoured the meat and cakes.  With that, the angel left, leaving Gideon with the sign for which he had asked.

(22) And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, "Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face."

Gideon then realized that the man was an angel of the Lord, and he cried out.  The exclamation "Alas!" was a word used to express pain exclamatorily in the Bible.  Speaking of seeing the angel of the Lord face to face demonstrates that Gideon had fear because of the notion that it was death for mortal man to see God.

(23) And the Lord said to him, "Peace to you, fear not, you shall not die."

The Lord knew Gideon's fear, and He told him to have peace and not be afraid for he was not going to die.

(24) Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom; unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon then built an altar there to the Lord and called it Jehovah-Shalom, which meant "the Lord is peace."  The altar was still there at the time of the writing of this book, and that was most likely by the prophet Samuel.

(25) And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him, "Take your father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has and cut down the grove that is by it."

That night the Lord spoke to Gideon, perhaps in a dream, and told him to take his father's young bull and a second bull of seven years old.  It's a little difficult to discern if there was one bull or two.  The verse is written in a way that could be interpreted that his father's young bull was a bull of seven years old, perhaps the second in age or position among his team.  However, the phrase "even the second," originally "sheniy," meant more precisely "double, duplicate," so it appears there were two bulls.  It becomes clearer in later verses that there probably were indeed two bulls.  One was to be Gideon's father's young bull and the other may have belonged to the people and was to be offered to Baal which seems plausible in the subsequent verses.  The Lord told him to use the bulls to tear down the altar of Baal that was apparently on his father's property, and also cut down the grove that was by it.  Groves of trees were planted near pagan altars for places of worship to the false gods.

(26) "And build an altar to the Lord your God upon the top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down.

The Lord continued with His command that Gideon then build an altar to Him on the rock, possibly the same one where Gideon had built his altar, or more likely it was just the large rock where Gideon had hidden himself as the Israelites had been forced to do (verse 2).  He was then to take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice of it with the wood of the grove he was going to cut down.

(27) Then Gideon took ten men of his servants and did as the Lord had said to him; and so it was, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.

Gideon took ten men of his servants, which proves he was not a man poor in wealth (verse 15), to help him do what the Lord had told him to do.  Because he feared the wrath of his father, or the fact that his father would surely try to stop him, and he feared the men of the city which proves the altar to Baal, and perhaps the grove, was frequented by the public even if it was on his father's land, he tore down the altar and cut down the grove at night.

(28) And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered on the altar that was built. (29) And they said to one another, "Who has done this thing?" And when they enquired and asked, they said, "Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing."

When the men of the city arose early the next morning, they saw that the altar of Baal had been cast down and the grove next to it had been cut down, and a new altar had been built that had a bull as an offering upon it.  They asked one another who had done such a thing, and either received an answer from someone who knew, or just surmised that it was Gideon, perhaps because they knew him to be no friend of Baal.

(30) Then the men of the city said to Joash, "Bring out your son that he may die because he has cast down the altar of Baal and because he has cut down the grove that was by it."

Then men of the city then demanded of Joash that he bring out his son Gideon so that he might die because he had destroyed the altar of Baal and the grove that was beside it.

(31) And Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? He who will plead for him, let him be put to death while morning. If he is a god, let him plead for himself because one has cast down his altar."

Joash spoke to the men seeking Gideon.  He asked if they would plead the case for the false god Baal.  After all, these men were children of Israel and knew their one true God.  He asked if they would save Baal.  After all, if he was truly a god, he could save himself and plead his own case.  If he was truly a god, he knew who cast down his altar.  He also said that whoever would plead for the false god Baal should be put to death immediately while it was still morning.  It appears that Joash had come to his senses about worshiping false idols, or at the very least, in trying to save his son, he spoke common sense truth.

(32) Therefore on that day he called him Jerub-Baal, saying, "Let Baal plead against him because he has thrown down his altar."

Joash then called his son Gideon, Jerub-Baal, which literally meant "Baal will contend," because Baal would contend with Gideon if he could.  It appears that name stuck as Gideon was called by that name in several other subsequent verses of the Bible.  It seems to me it would be considered a symbol of courage that he was the man with whom Baal should contend and destroy, but obviously he couldn't, and Jerub-Baal's very existence proved His Lord God's dominion over Baal.

(33) Then all the Midianites and Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together and went over and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

Because they had heard what Gideon had done, or perhaps just because it was harvest time and time for their usual devouring of the land, all the Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabians from the east gathered together and went over the Jordan River and pitched their tents in the valley of Jezreel.

(34) But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and Abiezer was gathered after him. (35) And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh who was also gathered after him, and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon and filled him with determination, strength, and courage, and he blew a trumpet of alarm.  The Abiezrites, of whom Gideon was a member (verse 11) gathered after him.  He then sent messengers throughout the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, and they also gathered after him.  He also sent messengers to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and they came up to meet him.

(36) And Gideon said to God, "If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said, (37) Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, and if the dew is on the fleece only and dry on all the earth, then I shall know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said."

Gideon then said to God in prayer that if He intended to save Israel by Gideon's hand, as He had said, then he proposed a sign to confirm it.  Gideon admitted that God had already said what He wanted him to do, yet Gideon asked for a sign.  His faith may have needed a boost, but this may have been more for the soldiers he had gathered together so that they would be encouraged by the confirmation that God would be with them.  He proposed that he would place a fleece of wool on the floor, probably the threshing floor where the angel first appeared to him which would have been exposed to open air, and if dew was on the fleece but not on the ground around, Gideon would know that the Lord would indeed save Israel by his hand.

(38) And it was so, for he rose up early the next day, and he thrust the fleece together and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.

It was just as Gideon had proposed.  He rose up early the next morning, grabbed up the fleece and wrung out a bowl full of dew from it.  The verse doesn't say it, but I am sure we can safely assume that the ground around him was dry.

(39) And Gideon said to God, "Let not Your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; let me prove, I pray You, but this once with the fleece, let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew."

Then Gideon spoke to the Lord and actually asked for another sign!  However, he did ask with a great deal of humility and consciousness of the boldness and appearance of distrust he showed in asking for another sign.  He asked that the Lord not be angry with him, and that this would be the last time he asked for a sign with the fleece.  He asked that this time only the fleece would be dry, and all the ground would be wet with dew.

(40) And God did so that night, for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

The Lord patiently and graciously did as Gideon asked that night, for the next morning the fleece was dry and there was dew all over the ground around it.  Was it Gideon whose wavering faith needed so much strengthening?  If so, it is a beautiful picture of how patient God is and willing to come to us and meet us at our level of weakness and infirmity.  However, Gideon was called one of the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:32.  He probably had faith in God as he had already done things God called him to do but perhaps lacked faith in himself to be the one who could fulfill God's will.  He had thought of himself as simple and poor and the least among his father's house (verse 15).  We must remember that whatever God calls us to do, He equips us to do; He will be with us.  God knows the heart and one's faith and desire to have stronger faith, as demonstrated in Mark 9:24, "...Lord, I believe; help my unbelief."  However, once again, this request for a second sign might have been more for the soldiers Gideon had called, to encourage them and reinforce their faith in God to defeat their enemy. 

Song of Deborah

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 5:1) Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,

In the last chapter, Deborah and Barak had just defeated the king of Canaan and his army and its captain, Sisera, by the hand of the Lord who delivered their enemy to them.  Deborah wrote a song of praise that was sung by both her and Barak:

(2) "Praise you, the Lord, for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves."

Deborah began by praising the Lord for taking vengeance on Jabin king of Canaan, when, led by the Lord, the children of Israel willingly went to fight against their enemies for Israel.

(3) "Hear, O you kings! Give ear, O you princes! I, even I, will sing to the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel."

Deborah desired that all kings and princes hear her song of praise, that all might know the wonderful works of the Lord God of Israel.

(4) "Lord, when You went out of Seir, when You marched out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped; the clouds also dropped water."

Seir and Edom are the same place, and Deborah here acknowledged that the Lord had led His people from there to their land in Canaan.  All the way, He struck dread in the hearts of their enemies with earthquakes and rain and hail storms.

(5) "The mountains melted from before the Lord, that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel."

Even the mountains trembled and melted before the Lord, just as Mount Sinai had trembled and quaked at the presence of God on it.

(6) "In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travelers walked through byways."

Shamgar succeeded Ehud as judge, but did not appear to rule long or accomplish much (Judges 3:31), or at least not a perfect and complete deliverance of Israel.  But during his time and that of Jael, the wife of Heber (Judges 4:17), the highways were unoccupied by the Israelites because they were dangerous, occupied by their enemies who wished to do them harm.  They were forced to travel by less frequented paths.

(7) "The villages ceased; they ceased in Israel until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel."

Life in their villages as it once was ceased because the Israelites were so oppressed by their enemy.  That is, until Deborah rose up; being raised up by God, she was as a mother to the children of Israel, instructing, ruling, and protecting them.  

(8) "They chose new gods, then was war in the gates; was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?"

The children of Israel chose the false gods of the enemy, called new gods because they were new and previously unknown to them.  It's not as if they simply submitted to worshiping them when their enemy forced them, but it seems they willingly chose them.  There was war within the gates of their cities for they were completely taken over by their enemy.  Apparently, their enemy had totally disarmed the Israelites, as well.

(9) "My heart is toward the governors of Israel who offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless you the Lord!"

Deborah had a heart for the rulers of Israel who had offered themselves willingly to do the work of their Lord.  The original word "chaqaq" that was translated as "governors" came from a root that meant "engrave."  So she might have meant that she had a heart for the wise men and scribes who willingly taught the word of God and His commandments.  She blessed the Lord for giving those "governors" hearts to willingly engage in service to Him, whatever it might be.

(10) "Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit in judgment and walk by the way."

Deborah called for nobles and magistrates, or perhaps it was the wise men and scribes, who rode on white donkeys to speak out.  The original word that was translated as "judgment" was "mad," and it most often referred to garments or clothing.  I believe what is meant here is that Deborah called for the upper class of nobles and leaders, described as having white donkeys and fine raiment, who walked among the common people, to tell of God's great works.

(11) "From the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, the righteous acts of His villages in Israel; then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates."

I'm not sure whether this means the places of drawing water were free from the noise of the archers who attacked the people, and there the nobles could celebrate the righteous acts of the Lord, or if even in spite of the noise of the attacks of their enemies, they were to celebrate the Lord.  "Celebrate" is a better translation of the original word "tanah" that was translated as "rehearse."  Most of the Biblical commentators I study see this as celebration after the Lord delivered them, but as the next verse calls on Deborah and Barak to rise up, I see this as happening before they were delivered.  Deborah had called on the nobles to speak out even in the people's oppression.  This they did, and the people cried out to the Lord (Judges 4:3).  Then they would be able to go in and out of the gates when the Lord delivered them.

(12) "Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song. Arise, Barak, and lead your captivity captive, you son of Abinoam."

Once again, I disagree with the commentators I study about the meaning of this verse.  They believe Deborah is stirring herself to more zeal and enthusiasm in her song after the Lord had delivered Israel.  Why then would the verse continue with raising up Barak against the enemy if that had already been done?  The commentators admit that there are some difficulties in the text of the song which probably lost something in translation.  However, I see this as Deborah relating the chronological order of things in her song.  She was called to rise up, and yes, she would eventually utter a song upon victory, but I believe it's also possible this was a call for her to prophesy when she was raised up.  Then she called on Barak to rise up and make those who held the children of Israel captive, themselves captive.

(13) "Then He made him who remained have dominion over the nobles among the people; the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty."

Then the Lord made those who remained of the Israelites after the oppression of the Canaanites to have dominion over the nobles and officers of the enemy among them.  The Lord had raised up Deborah to have dominion over their mighty enemy.

(14) "Out of Ephraim a root of them against Amalek; after you, Benjamin, among your people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they who handle the pen of the writer."

Out of the tribe of Ephraim, of which Deborah was a member, came the root and foundation of the campaign against the Amalekites, chief enemies of Israel among the Canaanites.  Then the tribe of Benjamin joined forces with the tribe of Ephraim against their enemy.  Machir, the son of Manasseh, represented his tribe on the west of the Jordan, and they sent leaders, probably meaning military leaders, to aid in the campaign against the Canaanites.  Even the tribe of Zebulun where normally clerks and scribes and those mighty with the pen dwelled, sent troops to aid Barak in his campaign against Jabin king of Canaan.

(15) "And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah, even Issachar, and also Barak, he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben, great thoughts of heart."

The leaders of Issachar, as well as Issachar in general, were with Deborah in her campaign.  Barak of the tribe of Naphtali, which I believe means to include the whole tribe of Naphtali, were an integral part of the campaign, and they were sent forth into the valley of the river of Kishon where the Lord would draw Sisera of King Jabin's army to them (Judges 4:7).  Among the clans of Reuben, it appears there were many conflicting thoughts about the campaign, and they did not join their brothers on the western side of the Jordan against Sisera.

(16) "Why did you abide among the sheepfolds to hear the bleating of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben, great searchings of heart."

Deborah chided the tribe of Reuben, asking why they would sit there with their flocks of sheep and not go to help their brethren.  Again, she mentions the great searchings of heart.  Either she was disappointed that they couldn't agree to accompany her, or perhaps she and Barak and the other tribes with them were the ones having to search their hearts for what they felt about their brethren who would not help them.

(17) "Gilead abode beyond Jordan, and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the seashore and abode in his breaches."

The land of Gilead belonged to Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan River.  Deborah was proclaiming that those tribes stayed put and did not join the campaign.  Neither did the tribes of Dan or Asher.  The tribe of Dan continued in its work in ships on the Mediterranean Sea, as did Asher tend to its business on the shore of the sea.  They abode in their breaks in the shore and ignored their brothers fighting against Canaan.

(18) "Zebulun and Naphtali, a people who jeopardized their lives to the death in the high places of the field."

Deborah commended the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali who were the chief fighters in the war against Sisera, the 10,000 soldiers initially called by Deborah and Barak (Judges 4:6).  They jeopardized their lives in the height of battle in the battlefield while some of their brethren dwelt in safety within their tribes.

(19) "The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money."

I believe both mentions of the kings refer to the kings of Canaan who came from diverse places within Canaan to fight Israel in Taanach not far from the Kishon River.  They were unable to win any spoils; they lost it all.

(20) "They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera."

The Lord fought for Israel from heaven when what Deborah described as the stars themselves fought against Sisera.  I believe this lends credence to Josephus's assertion that Sisera's army was hit with rain and hail from heaven (see Judges 4:15).

(21) "The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, you have trodden down strength."

The Kishon River may have swept away some dead bodies of the enemy, but I rather think this was a somewhat poetic way of saying that the enemy was conquered there because that is where the Lord drew them for battle (Judges 4:7).  An ancient river, although not a necessarily great one, that is where a strong and mighty army was totally trodden down and crushed.

(22) "Then were horse hooves broken by the means of the galloping, the galloping of their mighty ones."

The enemy's horses' hooves were broken because of their violent galloping, the violent galloping of their strong and mighty horses.  Or perhaps the second part meant they were broken because of the violent galloping through the rain and hail, driven hard by their mighty soldiers.

(23) "'Curse you, Meroz,' said the angel of the Lord, 'Curse you bitterly its inhabitants because they did not come to the help of the Lord against the mighty.'"

Meroz was apparently a city close to where they fought, but none of the Bible commentators I study know where exactly it was.  John Wesley, in his Notes on the Bible, suggested that it may have been part of the curse that there should be no remembrance of it left.  The angel of the Lord called it to be cursed, which was either Deborah's way of describing what the Spirit of the Lord had said to her, or perhaps Barak was called the angel of the Lord because he had been called by Him to deliver His people.  Meroz was cursed because they did not come to the aid of God's people against Sisera even though they had surely been called by the Lord.

(24) "Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tents."

However, Jael was blessed because she had helped Israel, even though she had not been initially called.  She was blessed above women in tents, women whose jobs were to take care of their homes, not to be as soldiers.

(25) "He asked water, she gave milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish."

Sisera had asked Jael for water, and she gave him milk.  It seems it was a very rich milk, cream, that she brought to him in a nice dish, rather than just a drink of water from a ladle or simple cup.  It was probably just meant to be a kind act on her part, but as God was about to direct her to do otherwise, the rich milk probably helped to make him sleepy.

(26) "She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer, and with the hammer she struck Sisera; she smote off his head when she had pierced and stricken through his temples."

Jael had taken a tent spike and a hammer and struck the spike into Sisera's temple which went through and out the other temple, pinning him to the floor.  In that way she crushed his head, which is actually a better translation of the original word "machaq" which was translated as "smote off" by the King James translators.

(27) "At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down; at her feet he bowed, he fell; where he bowed, there he fell down dead."

After Jael had struck him, it was as if Sisera bowed before her feet.  Bible commentators struggled to explain how he must had stood up to bow down and fall.  However, again, I think Deborah is just being poetic in song.  Jael could not have stricken Sisera through the temples and pinned him to the floor (Judges 4:21) unless he was lying down.  Sisera fell dead at Jael's feet.

(28) "The mother of Sisera looked out at a window and cried through the lattice, 'Why is his chariot long in coming? Why do the wheels of his chariots tarry?'"

Deborah imagined Sisera's mother looking out a window and crying through the lattice that covered it, wondering why Sisera was so long in returning.  She wondered why she did not hear the clatter of the wheels of his nine hundred chariots returning.

(29) "Her wise ladies answered her, 'Yes,' she returned answer to herself, (30) 'Have they not sped, have they divided the prey, to every man a damsel or two, to Sisera a prey of diverse colors, a prey of diverse colors of needlework, of diverse colors of needlework on both sides for the necks of the spoilers?'"

Deborah imagined that Sisera's mother's wise maidens or women attending her would answer, and she answered herself that yes, Sisera and his army had surely sped through to victory and were still dividing the spoils.  The soldiers were probably taking the women, and Sisera was taking fine, beautiful, and colorful linens and garments either to be worn on his neck, but probably more likely to be carried on the necks or backs of the soldiers.

(31) "So let all of Your enemies perish, O Lord, but those who love Him as the sun when it goes forth in its might." And the land had rest for forty years.

Deborah ended her song with her desire that all the Lord's enemies perish as Sisera and his army had.  And she wished that all those who loved the Lord be as the sun at its brightest and hottest, with intense love and as a bright light to the world.  And then the land had rest from their enemies for forty years.

Deborah and Barak

After a brief interlude with the story of Ruth that was concurrent with the time of the first judges, Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar, Judges 4 continues to chronicle Israel's judges.  Continuing the chronological Bible study:

(Judges 4:1) And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead.

At the end of the third chapter of Judges, Ehud had delivered the Israelites from Moab.  Shamgar had a brief mention as he delivered them from at least 600 Philistines, but it appears that Ehud was the stabilizing force that allowed Israel rest for eighty years (Judges 3:30).  However, after he died, Israel returned to her wicked ways.

(2) And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera who dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.

Because they did evil in His sight, the Lord delivered them into bondage to Jabin, the king of Canaan.  During the time of Joshua, there was a King Jabin of Hazor whom Joshua killed (Joshua 11).  This was evidently a successor by the same name who had rebuilt and reinhabited Hazor.  It appeared that Jabin kept a standing army to keep Israel in check, and Sisera was the captain of his army.  He dwelt in a place called Harosheth of the Gentiles.

(3) And the children of Israel cried to the Lord, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.

The children of Israel cried out to the Lord after twenty years of oppression by Sisera.  He had cruelly kept them in check with nine hundred chariots of iron.  These were not chariots made of iron, but rather they were chariots equipped with iron scythes that stood out from the orbs of the wheels and could slash through any group of people, thus striking fear in the Israelites, and they cried out to their Lord for deliverance.

(4) And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

Deborah, a prophetess, a female prophet who by the Spirit of God declared His will, judged Israel at that time.  It is said she was the wife of Lapidoth.  However, he is not mentioned anywhere else.  As the original word "ishshah" that was translated as "wife" can also mean "woman," this might have as easily been translated as "a woman of Lapidoth," making Lapidoth a place rather than a man.  However, there is not a place known by Bible scholars with the name of Lapidoth, so who knows?  The fact that it is only mentioned one time in the Bible makes it of little importance either way.

(5) And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim, and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

It appears Deborah sat in judgment in the open air under a palm tree that was called by her name.  It was located between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim.  The Israelites came to her there for judgment.

(6) And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh Naphtali, and said to him, "Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, 'Go and draw toward Mount Tabor and take with you ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun'?"

Deborah called for Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh in Naphtali.  She asked Barak if he knew it to be true that the Lord had commanded Israel to go to Mount Tabor and bring ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun.  Whether or not Barak knew that the Lord had commanded him to do that, I'm not sure.  It might be that this was Deborah's way of informing him that that was what the Lord had said to her, and therefore he could not dare question it.  

(7) "'And I will draw to you to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hand.'"

Deborah continued with the words of the Lord, that He would draw Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, to Barak at the river Kishon with all his army and 900 chariots of iron.  The Lord declared through Deborah that He would deliver them into his hand.

(8) And Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go."

I suppose Barak's answer does show faith that the Lord would deliver Sisera into his hand, as confirmed by Hebrews 11 where he is listed as one of the heroes of faith.  However, it seems to show a little weakness in him that he must have a woman, Deborah, go with him into battle.  Maybe it was because he highly regarded her as an oracle of God and wanted that word of the Lord leading him into battle.

(9) And she said, "I will surely go with you, notwithstanding the journey that you take shall not be for your honor, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." And Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.

Deborah instantly agreed to go with Barak, but she told him that by her accompanying him, he would not be given the glory for defeating Sisera, but the Lord would deliver Sisera into the hand of a woman.  Indeed, I believe Deborah is better remembered than Barak.  Deborah rose up and went with Barak to Kedesh.

(10) And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh, and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him.

Barak called the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali to him in Kedesh, where ten thousand men were chosen, and those being under Barak's command, and Deborah, went forward with him.

(11) Now Heber the Kenite of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites and pitched his tent to the plain of Zaanaim which is by Kedesh.

Heber, a Kenite from the children of Hobab, actually the son of Moses's father-in-law Jethro, along with all the children of Hobab (see Joshua 1:16), had severed himself from the Kenites, and he dwelt in the plain of Zaanaim which was close to Kedesh.

(12) And they showed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor.

It was reported to Sisera that Barak had gone up to Mount Tabor.  It does not say exactly who reported it.  It could have been Canaanites, but it also could have been some of the Kenites who had remained at peace with Jabin as we will see in verse 17.  Whether it was out of good will or perhaps ill will to further God's will, either way it was surely God's will that Sisera be informed about Barak being at Mount Tabor.

(13) And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles to the river of Kishon.

Therefore Sisera gathered together all his nine hundred chariots of iron and all his people from Harosheth of the Gentiles where he resided to the Kishon River which was near Mount Tabor where Barak and his men were.

(14) And Deborah said to Barak, "Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand; is not the Lord gone out before you?" So Barak went down from Mount Tabor and ten thousand men after him.

Deborah told Barak to rise up for she had been told by a spirit of prophecy that that was the day when the Lord had delivered Sisera into his hand.  She assured Barak that the Lord had gone out before him so he might be sure of victory.  Therefore he and his ten thousand men went down from Mount Tabor.

(15) And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot and fled away on his feet.

The word that was translated as "discomfited" literally meant "to put in commotion."  The Lord confused, troubled, and frightened Sisera and his men and even his chariots.  The historian Josephus wrote that there was a great storm of rain and hail, and a great wind blew rain in the faces of the enemy that blinded their eyes.  The hail numbed their hands so that they could not hold their swords.  If all that is true, there would be no doubt that it was the Lord who stirred up the commotion that allowed Barak to come in with the sword and destroy them.  However, Sisera jumped off his chariot and ran away.

(16) But Barak pursued after the chariots and after the host to Harosheth of the Gentiles, and all the host of Sisera fell on the edge of the sword; there was not a man left.

Barak pursued after the chariots and Sisera's army all the way back to where they had started at Harosheth of the Gentiles.  Everyone of Sisera's army was killed.  There was not a single man left of his army, but Sisera himself had escaped.

(17) However, Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.

Sisera had fled to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber, because there had been peace between Jabin the king and the house of Heber, so he felt he would be safe there.  

(18) And Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not." And when he had turned in to her into the tent, she covered him with a rug.

Indeed, Jael went out to meet Sisera and invited him to turn into her tent and not be afraid, insinuating he would be safe there.  When he came into her tent, she covered him with a rug perhaps to hide him, or it may have been a blanket made similarly as a rug just to comfort and warm him.

(19) And he said to her, "Give me, I pray you, a little water to drink for I am thirsty." And she opened a bottle of milk and gave him drink and covered him.

Sisera asked Jael for some water because he was thirsty.  She actually gave him milk, possibly as a courtesy to give him something more nourishing, or perhaps something more than water to make him sleep.  She then covered him.

(20) Again he said to her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be when any man comes and enquires of you, and says, 'Is there any man here?' that you shall say, 'No.'"

Sisera spoke to Jael again and asked her to stand in the doorway of her tent, so that if anyone came looking for a man, they would have no need to enter her tent for she would be in the doorway and would answer that there was no one in her tent besides her.

(21) Then Jael, Heber's wife, took a nail of the tent and took a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and struck the nail into his temples and fastened it into the ground, for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

When Sisera was fast asleep for he was so weary, Jael took a tent spike and a hammer and went quietly to him and drove the spike through his temples, fastening him to the ground, where he, of course, died.  Some of the Biblical scholars I study had a moral dilemma with what Jael did.  Only God knows the heart, but He definitely used Jael to deliver Sisera into the hand of a woman as Deborah had prophesied (verse 9).  Jael may have been sincere when she encouraged Sisera to come into her tent, but she was later struck by the Spirit of God to kill him.  She may have witnessed the rain and hail and chaos that had struck Sisera and his army and may have come to realize that it was of God, and she was therefore led to do what she did.  Whatever was in her heart and spirit at the time, we can be sure that God put it there, or He knew what was there and used it for His purposes.

(22) And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek." And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.

As Barak was still pursuing Sisera and neared Jael's tent, she went out to meet him and told him she would show him the man for whom he was seeking.  This tells me that she was probably Spirit led to do what she did as she knew without a doubt that Barak was looking for Sisera, and she felt safe to invite him into her tent to see him for himself.  Indeed, Barak went into Jael's tent and saw that Sisera was dead with the spike still in his temples.

(23) So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. (24) And the hand of the children of Israel prospered and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Thus God had subdued Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel.  The Israelites prevailed against the king of Canaan until they had destroyed him.  Scripture does not tell specifically how King Jabin died, but his army and its captain being defeated, the king was apparently easily destroyed.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 1:1) Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?"

Joshua had died in the last chapter and post.  As he left no successor, no commander in chief, the people inquired of the Lord, either by prayer or the Urim and Thummim, which were some sort of objects worn by the high priest that were used to determine God's will, about who would go first to fight the Canaanites that remained in their land.

(2) And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand."

The Lord said that the tribe of Judah should go first against the Canaanites that remained in their land.  He said He had already delivered that Canaanite land into their hand.

(3) And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot that we may fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with you into your lot." So Simeon went with him.

As the tribe of Simeon lay in the middle of the tribe of Judah, Judah's tribe asked the tribe of Simeon to go with them to fight the Canaanites, and in turn, Judah would go with Simeon when they were called to fight.  The tribe of Simeon agreed and went with the tribe of Judah.

(4) And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

Judah with Simeon went up against the Canaanites and the Perizzites.  The term "Canaanites" often referred to the seven nations that occupied Canaan as a whole, but there was one nation of Canaanites, and it, as well as the nation of Perizzites, were delivered into Israel's hand by the Lord.  The Israelites killed ten thousand men in and around the area of Bezek which was just west of Jerusalem.  This section of a map borrowed from Psalms to God shows the tribes of Judah and Simeon and where they went up to fight in the northeastern part of Judah:

(5) And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. (6) But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

The Israelites found the king of Bezek there and fought against him.  They slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites, but King Adoni-Bezek fled from them.  They pursued him and eventually caught him, and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.  This would have disabled him from fighting as he would not be able to hold a weapon, and he would no longer be able to run.  It was unusual for the Israelites to inflict such torture and punishment, but it may have been God's will as the king himself recognized:

(7) And Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off gathered scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

The king confessed that he had cut off the thumbs and big toes of seventy kings who were then left to gather scraps from under his table.  He said that as he had done so cruelly to others, God had repaid him by doing the same to him.  It's interesting that a pagan king would realize that God had done that to him, so it may be that he spoke under the influence of God's Holy Spirit.  The Israelites brought him to Jerusalem where he died.

(8) Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

Judah had previously conquered Jerusalem which was how they were able to take the king there.  During the time of Joshua, the Israelites had not yet been able to drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:63), but apparently Judah had been able to do it.

(9) And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, and in the south, and in the valley.

After the death of King Adoni-Bezek, the Israelites went southward to fight against the Canaanites who still dwelt in other areas of Judah, in the mountains, in the valley, and in the southern part of Judah.

(10) And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath Arba), and they killed Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

The tribe of Judah went against the Canaanites who still dwelt in Hebron.  The city of Hebron was before named Kirjath Arba for Arba, a chief among the Anakims who were giants in the city.  Caleb had previously driven out the giants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai (Joshua 15:14), but it seems they must have regained at least parts of the city.  This time the tribe of Judah killed the three giants.

(11) And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir, and the name of Debir before was Kirjath Sepher.

This and what follows in the next few verses appears to be a retelling of Joshua 15:15-19.  It couldn't have happened after Joshua died because Joshua wrote about it.  Since Jewish tradition considers the prophet Samuel to be the author of Judges, and he would have written this about 300 years after the fact, it may be reasonable to believe he might not have gotten the chronology exactly right.  However, here Samuel was writing about the lands that were conquered after Joshua's initial conquest, and the conquest of Hebron did happen after that.  It was after the tribe of Judah had been given their allotment that Caleb (of Judah) went against the inhabitants of Debir.  Before it was renamed Debir the city was called Kirjath Sepher.

(12) And Caleb said, "He who strikes Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter to wife."

Caleb had said at the time that whoever was able to take Kirjath Sepher would be given his daughter Achsah in marriage (Joshua 15:16).

(13) And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

It was Caleb's nephew Othniel, the son of Kenaz who was Caleb's younger brother, who took Kirjath Sepher, and Caleb indeed gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage.

(14) And it came to pass when she came, that she moved him to ask of her father a field, and she dismounted, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?" (15) And she said to him, "Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land; give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

When Achsah came to Othniel on her donkey, she persuaded him to ask for a field from her father.  She dismounted her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted.  She asked for an extra blessing.  He had already given her a south land, which might indicate a dry land, so she now asked for springs of water.  Caleb gave her upper springs and lower springs.

The fact that this account was written twice made me look harder at the reason why it was so important.  I read many commentaries and understood what others had found.  It was an illustration of how we can boldly approach our Father in heaven with our requests.  Imagine that!  The holy God of the universe wants to have a father/child relationship with us sinful creatures, and He urges us to come to Him with our petitions.  However, we must remember that the only way we unclean sinners are able to approach Him is because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ that purifies us when we accept His gift.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?"  However, we are to use wisdom and discernment as Achsah did.  She didn't ask for a gold-plated castle, but for springs for her dry land to make it more fruitful for her family.  James said in James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."  Our Father in heaven wants to bless us with the things that will help us grow and be more effective servants for His church, not with worthless trinkets.  He knows what is best for us, but He invites us to come confidently to Him with our requests, having faith that He will give us what we need, but perhaps not always what we want.

(16) And the children of the Kenite, Moses's father-in-law, 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 among the people.

Moses's father-in-law was Jethro, a Kenite.  There is no consensus for whom the Kenites were named, but they were an ancient people living in Canaan in the time of Abraham (Genesis 15:19).  They were among ten tribes whose land God said He was giving to Abram.  However, during the time of Moses and Joshua, only seven nations were named as occupying Canaan.  The Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, had either become extinct, moved out of Canaan, or mixed with other nations.  Jethro's daughter Zipporah married Moses.  Jethro and his son Hobab had joined with Moses, and Hobab's descendants lived among the Israelites in the land of Canaan; they were the Kenites.  The city of palm trees was Jericho (Deuteronomy 34:3).  The Kenites had apparently resided in Jericho, but they now left it to go with the tribe of Judah and settled in the wilderness of Judah which was south of Arad, which would put them east of the tribe of Simeon according to the map above.  According to Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, the rabbinical story was that Jericho had been given to Hobab.  Joshua had cursed that city and any person who rose up to rebuild it (Joshua 6:26), so apparently the descendants of Hobab had determined to leave that cursed city and dwell among the tribe of Judah in the wilderness.

(17) And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

As the tribe of Judah had promised, they went with the tribe of Simeon and killed the Canaanites who inhabited a city called Zephath in eastern Simeon, and they renamed it Hormah.

(18) Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

Judah also took Gaza and Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast and Ekron in the north.  The Biblical scholars I study wrote that the cities were later retaken and possessed by the Philistines.  John Wesley in his Notes on the Bible, observed that the scripture did not say they slew the people as it did in the verse before it.  The people, being spared, regained their control of the cities.

(19) And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the mountaineers, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.

The Lord was with Judah, and the tribe was able to drive out the inhabitants of the mountainous region of Judah.  However, it appears their faith failed when they feared the chariots of iron, and they were unable to drive out the inhabitants of the valley.  The Lord was with them, and there was no reason to believe that He wouldn't be with them to drive out those people, but it appears they didn't even try because of their fear.

(20) And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

 

Once again, the author of this book wrote in this chapter about the areas that had been left unconquered after Joshua's conquest. He referred again to Hebron which had been given to Caleb.  Caleb had driven out the three giants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, whom Judah later killed (v.10).

(21) And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

The tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem.  Although the tribe of Judah had previously taken the city (v. 8), it appears it was reinhabited by the Jebusites.  They remained dwelling with the tribe of Benjamin to the day the author, probably Samuel, wrote this.  John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that Samuel wrote the book of Judges before the reign of David who would dispossess the Jebusites.

(22) And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

The house of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, went up against Bethel in the southern portion of Ephraim.  The inhabitants of Bethel had been driven away from the city by Joshua (Joshua 8:17), but apparently the city had become reinhabited by the Canaanites.  The Lord was with Ephraim and Manasseh as they went against the inhabitants of Bethel.  This map borrowed from Precept Austin, shows all of the tribes, and Bethel is seen in southern Ephraim:

(23) And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh sent spies into Bethel to examine the conditions.  The name of Bethel was formerly Luz.

(24) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy."

The spies saw a man coming out of Bethel.  They asked him to tell them how to get into the city, and they in turn would show him mercy.

(25) And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all of his family go.

The man showed the spies a way into the city, and the tribes of Joseph struck the city and killed its inhabitants, but they let the man and his entire family go free.

(26) And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

The man and his family went into the land of the Hittites where the Hittites apparently dwelt after being expelled from Canaan.  He built a city and called it Luz after the city he had been forced to leave.  Luz was still there at the writing of this book, although it was no longer there at the writing of the Biblical scholars I study, as they didn't know where this city of Luz would have been.

(27) Neither did Manasseh drive out Beth Shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Beth Shean, Taanach, Ibleam, Dor, and Megiddo, were cities given to the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan River out of the lots of Issachar and Asher (Joshua 17:11).  Apparently, they never made any attempt to drive out the inhabitants of the cities and inhabit them as their cities, so the Canaanites dwelt in their land.  The map above shows most of these cities in northern West Manasseh.

(28) And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly drive them out.

When Israel became strong, they still did not drive out the Canaanites but made them tributaries under them.

(29) Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

Neither did Ephraim, the other son of Joseph, drive out Canaanites in his land, specifically Gezer, and the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.  

(30) Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributaries.

Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol, and the Canaanites there became tributaries.

(31) Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob, (32) But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

The tribe of Asher appears especially slothful in driving the Canaanites out of their land as God had instructed.  Out of 22 cities they had been given (Joshua 19:30), they failed to drive the enemy out of seven of them, about one third of their allotted cities.

(33) Neither did Naphtali drive 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 Beth Anath became tributaries to them.

The tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites from Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath, so they dwelt among the Canaanites, but they did make the Canaanites in those cities tributaries to them.

(34) And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.

The Amorites in the tribe of Dan's territory forced their tribe into the mountains and would not allow them to go down to the valley.  There must have been a serious lack of faith in God to drive out their enemies that their enemies were able to drive them from their land.

(35) 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 tributaries.

It appears that the Amorites even dwelt among Dan in the mountains.  However, the house of Joseph helped its brother tribe, as Ephraim and Manasseh bordered Dan.  They at least made the Amorites tributaries in Mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim, however it doesn't appear that they were ever able to make tributaries of the Amorites in the valley.

(36) And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.

Akrabbim means "scorpion," so this is believed to be the Scorpion Pass, a pass between the south end of the Dead Sea and Zin.  "The rock" is believed to be Petra which was located east of that region on the east side of the Dead Sea.  Looking at the map above, I believe the territory of the Amorites at this time was from the eastern edge of the Wilderness of Zin, eastward below the Dead Sea, and upward on the east side of the Dead Sea, the regions of Edom and Moab.  The Amorites were said to be the most powerful people among the Canaanites and would prove to be very troublesome to Israel.

The Israelites were very careless with their duty to drive out all the Canaanites from their land.  Whether it was laziness or fear and a lack of faith, they did not do as their Lord God had told them to do.  Some of the cities where the Israelites failed to remove the Canaanites were cities that had been given to the Levites, including Taanach, Gezer, Nahalal, and Rehob, which may have been the reason they were lax in driving out the Canaanites.  However, you would think they would take better care of their priests and ministers who served their Lord God.  There may have been some covetousness on Israel's part as well, as they decided making the Canaanites pay tribute was more advantageous to them than driving them out.  However, God's way is always the best way, and by disobeying Him in their total conquest of Canaan, they brought troubles on themselves.  However, this may have been by divine design.  The Israelites had proved to be a people lacking faith and easily drawn away from their Lord.  Perhaps they needed adversity to keep them in check.  It's most often in adversity that people turn toward God.  It's not that God purposely designed things the way they were in order to punish His people.  He just allowed them to do or not do according to their own desires, letting them learn great lessons as He brought them through their adversities.

Cities Allotted to Levi

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 21:1) Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.

In the past chapters and posts, Eleazar the high priest and Joshua, along with heads of the tribes, had divided the land and given inheritance to each of the tribes.  Then the people appointed cities of refuge among their tribes.  Now the heads of the Levites came to Eleazar, and Joshua, and those heads of the other tribes.

(2) And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs of them for our cattle."

The Levites reminded them that the Lord had commanded through Moses that they should have cities and suburbs within the other tribes, to live in and keep livestock.  The Levites had not been given a lot of their own as had been given the other tribes, because as the priests, God was to be their inheritance.  However, God did provide for them cities in which to dwell within the other tribes (Numbers 35:2).

(3) And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.

The Israelites indeed gave to the Levites cities out of their inheritance in which to dwell, descriptions of which follow.

(4) And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites, and the children of Aaron the priest of the Levites had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

The first lot came out for the Kohathites, descendants of Kohath, a son of Levi.  The children of Aaron the priest, son of Amram who was a son of Kohath, were the only priests of the Levites.  The other Levites assisted the priests and acted as ministers for the people.  The children of Aaron, the priests, were given cities out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities in all.

(5) And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan River, ten cities.

The rest of the Kohathites, Levites, but not priests, had their cities assigned by lot within the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities in all.

(6) And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

The children of Gershon, another son of Levi, had cities assigned by lot within the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan River.

(7) The children of Merari by their families, had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

The children of Merari, the third son of Levi, were given cities within the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, twelve cities in all.  All the tribes were to give cities to the Levites as a sort of tithe.  They were to provide for the priests and the ministers who attended the priests and ministered to the people within each tribe.  Although it was a benefit to the other tribes to have Levite ministers living among them, it was the fulfillment of a curse made by Jacob, that because of their anger and cruel wrath, they would be scattered throughout Israel (Genesis 49:7).  A total of forty-eight cities were given to the Levites according to the commandment of the Lord (Numbers 35:7).

(8) And the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

The Israelites gave by lot cities along with their suburbs within each of their tribes, just as the Lord had commanded.

(9) And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned by name, (10) Which the children of Aaron of the families of the Kohathites of the children of Levi had, for theirs was the first lot. (11) And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which is Hebron, in the hills of Judah with the suburbs of it round about it.

The Israelites gave the children of Aaron who were of the Kohathites, cities, names which follow in the text, out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.  First, they gave them the city and suburbs of Kirjath Arba, "city of Arba," Arba being a son of the Anakims, a race of giants among whom Arba was chief.  It was renamed Hebron (Joshua 14:15) and it lay in the hill country of Judah.  

(12) But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

However, the fields and villages surrounding Hebron belonged to Caleb (Joshua 14:13).  He had been given Hebron, but as with all the tribes, he gave a city in which the Levites could dwell.  According to Biblical scholars, the suburbs of the Levitical cities were generally 2000 cubits, about 1000 yards.  Anything beyond that belonged to the tribe that was giving the city for Levitical use.

(13) Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Libnah and her suburbs.

The Israelites gave the children of Aaron, the priests, the city of Hebron which was also a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7) and the city of Libnah and their suburbs.

(14) And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, (15) And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, (16) And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, Beth Shemesh with her suburbs, nine cities out of those two tribes.

The priests also had the cities of Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, in which to live and dwell.  They had a total of nine cities within the tribes of Judah and Simeon, Simeon being within Judah.

(17) And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, (18) Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

Out of the tribe of Benjamin, the Levitical priests had the cities of Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, four cities and their suburbs.  Anathoth and Almon were not listed among the cities within Benjamin's tribe in chapter 18 and must have been a couple of the smaller villages that were said to be part of the larger cities.  The cities within Benjamin were described as cities with their villages rather than cities with their suburbs.

(19) All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, totaled thirteen cities with their suburbs.

(20) And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

The rest of the Kohathites, those who were not of Aaron and the priests, also had cities, theirs from the tribe of Ephraim.

(21) For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Gezer with her suburbs.

The rest of the Kohathites were given the cities of Shechem, also a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and Gezer.

(22) And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth Horon with her suburbs, four cities.

The Kohathites were also given the cities of Kibzaim and Beth Horon in the tribe of Ephraim.

(23) And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, (24) Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath Rimmon with her suburbs, four cities.

Out of the tribe of Dan, the Kohathites were given the cities of Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, a total of four cities.

(25) And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs and Gath Rimmon with her suburbs, two cities.

Two cities were given out of the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River, Tanach and Gath Rimmon, which appears to be a different city than the one in the tribe of Dan.

(26) All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath who remained.

The Kohathites who were not descendants of Aaron, and therefore not priests, had a total of ten cities within the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.

(27) And to the children of Gershon of the families of the Levites, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Be Eshterah with her suburbs, two cities.

The Levites who were children of Gershon received the city of Golan, which was also a city of refuge, and Be Eshterah, with their suburbs, out of the half tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

(28) And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs, (29) Jarmuth with her suburbs, En Gannim with her suburbs, four cities.

The Gershonites were also given four cities out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En Gannim, with their suburbs.

(30) And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, (31) Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs, four cities.

They were also given four cities out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, with their suburbs.

(32) And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Hammoth Dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs, three cities.

They were given three cities out of the tribe of Naphtali, Galilee, also a city of refuge, Hammoth Dor, and Kartan.

(33) All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

The total number of cities given to the Levitical tribe of the Gershonites was thirteen.

(34) And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs, (35) Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs, four cities.

The rest of the Levites, children of Merari, were given four cities out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their suburbs.

(36) And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahaz with her suburbs, (37) Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs, four cities.

They were also given four cities out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

(38) And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Mahanaim with her suburbs, (39) Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs, four cities in all.

The children of Merari also received four cities out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth, also a city of refuge, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, with their suburbs.

(40) So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were their lot, twelve cities.

The children of Merari were given twelve cities in all.

(41) All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs. (42) These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them, thus all these cities.

All the cities given to the Levites within all the other tribes of Israel numbered forty-eight, just as God had commanded (Numbers 35:7).  They were also given the suburbs, said to be about 2000 cubits, or about 1000 yards, round about the cities so that they would have space for livestock and provisions.

(43) And the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt in it.

Thus the Lord had given to Israel all the land of Canaan as He had sworn to their fathers.  All the tribes having received their lots of inheritance, they possessed their land and dwelt in it.

(44) And the Lord gave them rest round about according to all that He swore to their fathers, and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

At that time, the Lord gave Israel peace and rest in their land flowing with milk and honey as He had sworn to their forefathers.  Finally, they had settled into their promised land, that land promised so many years before, and there were no enemies before them, as the Lord had delivered all their enemies into their hand.

(45) There failed not one of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Every good thing the Lord had promised Israel came to pass.  God's promises were exactly fulfilled down to the prophetic blessings and curses that told where some of the tribes might live.  "Your word is true from the beginning, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever" (Psalm 119:160).  Every word of promise God made from the beginning of the world is true and has never failed.  If anything has not yet been fulfilled, you can be sure it will be in the future.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, but is ever-patient, giving us all time to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

The Inheritance of the Tribes of Simeon and Zebulun

The past few chapters and posts have been describing each of the tribe's inheritance that was given to them by lot.  Continuing with that chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 19:1) And the second lot came forth to Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.

The second of the seven remaining lots that were cast after a break of some time went to Simeon.  It's interesting that a lot would be made within another lot, but Simeon's inheritance was within the inheritance of Judah.  This fulfilled prophecy of Jacob when he cursed Simeon's anger and speaking the words of the Lord, said He would divide and scatter Simeon in Israel.  It may have been decided that Judah's inheritance was much larger than its tribe needed, but the prophecy of God would be fulfilled whatever the reasoning.

(2) And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, or Sheba, and Moladah,

Simeon had in their inheritance the cities of Beersheba and Moladah, cities within the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:26, 28).  I found this map of Simeon's tribe within the tribe of Judah at If I Walked With Jesus:

(3) And Hazar Shual, and Balah, and Ezem, (4) And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, (5) And Ziklag, and Beth Marcaboth, and Hazar Susah, (6) And Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen, thirteen cities and their villages.

They also had these cities, thirteen cities with their villages, which appear to be in the north and east of the territory of Simeon.

(7) Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan, four cities and their villages, (8) And all the villages round about these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.

Four more cities and their villages were within the tribe of Simeon, and I would have assumed they were in the south of Simeon by the description above.  However, the following copy of an 1840 map borrowed from Antico Gallery shows all these cities, but interestingly they are in different locations from the first map.  This shows the difficulty of identifying the exact locations of ancient cities and explains why sometimes the scriptures detailing these places don't make sense.  Places move or they don't exist anymore.  But these are details which don't affect the big picture in a Bible study.  We know all the cities mentioned above were within the tribe of Simeon at the time it was allotted to Simeon, as well as all the smaller villages around them.

(9) Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon, for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them; therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.

As speculated above, indeed, the tribe of Simeon was placed within the tribe of Judah because Judah had much more land and many more cities than they could fill, and Simeon, being a small tribe, could easily exist within the area given them.

(10) And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families, and the border of their inheritance was to Sarid.

The third lot of the seven remaining lots came up for the tribe of Zebulun.  This map borrowed from If I Walked With Jesus shows his small lot with its southern border near Sarid.

And this map used before from iBiblemaps.com shows the location of the tribe of Zebulun in relation to the other tribes:

(11) And their border went up toward the sea and Maralah and reached to Dabbasheth and reached to the river that is before Jokneam.

From Sarid in the south the border continued westward toward the Mediterranean Sea to Dabbasheth and a river that was before Jokneam, which appears to be the Kishon River in the map above.

(12) And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising to the border of Chisloth Tabor and then goes out to Daberath and goes up to Japhia.

From Sarid in the south the border went eastward toward the Sea of Galilee to Daberath and a little beyond.  Zebulun was nestled between two great seas which fulfilled Jacob's prophecy that Zebulun would dwell by the sea and be a haven of ships (Genesis 49:13).

(13) And from there passed on along on the east to Gath Hepher, to Eth Kazin and goes out to Rimmon to Neah.

From the southwest corner the border went northward to Rimmon.

(14) And the border compassed it on the north side to Hannathon, and the outgoings of it are in the valley of Jiphthah El.

The language is difficult, but from the map, it appears that the northern border went around in the north and came back to Hannathon.  The original word that was translated as "compassed" was "sabab" and meant "revolve, surround," so the meaning seems to me that the northern portion of their land went in a big circle northward from Rimmon and back to Hannathon.

(15) And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem, twelve cities with their villages.

These cities were included within the tribe of Zebulun.  Bethlehem within Zebulun is not the same place as Bethlehem in Judah where Christ was born.  Twelve cities with their villages were within the lot of Zebulun.  Since only five are mentioned in verse 15, as well as the fact that the western border was not described, some Biblical scholars have been led to think there may have been some text lost from the original manuscripts.

(16) This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Thus ended the description of the lot that fell to Zebulun.