Judges 1:23

23 When they sent men to spy on Bethel, previously named Luz,

Judges 1:23 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 1:23

And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel
To reconnoitre the place, to observe its passes and avenues, which were most accessible, and to examine the walls of it, where they were weakest and least defended:

now the name of the city before [was] Luz;
which signifies a "nut"; perhaps it was so called from large numbers of nut trees which grew near it; the Jews suggest as if it was like a nut, no entrance into it but through a cave or some subterraneous passage, see ( Genesis 28:19 ) .

Judges 1:23 In-Context

21 But the people of Benjamin didn't drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem today.

22 In the same way, Joseph's household went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

23 When they sent men to spy on Bethel, previously named Luz,

24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Show us the way into the city, and we'll be loyal to you in return."

25 So he showed them the way into the city. They killed the city's people with their swords, but they let that man and all his relatives go.