Judges 3:1-11

The Lord Tests Israel

1 These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since none of these Israelites had fought in^[a] any of the wars with Canaan.^[b]

2 This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites [how to fight in] battle, especially those who had not fought before.^[c]

3 [These nations included:] the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains^[d] from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.^[e]

4 The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord's commands He had given their fathers through^[f] Moses.^[g]

5 But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

6 The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.^[h]

Othniel, the First Judge

7 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord's sight; they forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

8 The Lord's anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to^[i] Cushan-rishathaim^[j] king of Aram of the Two Rivers,^[k]^[l]and the Israelites served him eight years.

9 The Israelites cried out to the Lord. So the Lord raised up Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's youngest brother^[m] as a deliverer to save the Israelites.

10 The Spirit of the Lord was on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and the Lord handed over Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram to him, so that Othniel overpowered him.

11 Then the land was peaceful^[n] 40 years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died.

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Judges 3:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 3

This chapter gives an account of the nations left in Canaan to prove Israel, and who became a snare unto them, Jud 3:1-7; and of the servitude of Israel under the king of Mesopotamia for their sins, from which they were delivered by Othniel, Jud 3:8-11; and of their subjection to the Moabites, from which they were freed by Ehud, who privately assassinated the king of Moab, and then made his escape, Jud 3:12-30; and of the destruction of a large number of Philistines by Shamgar, with an ox goad, Jud 3:31.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Footnotes 14

[a]. Lit had known
[b]. Jos 1-12
[c]. Lit not known it
[d]. LXX reads in Lebanon, without reference to mountains
[e]. Or as Lebo-hamath
[f]. Lit by the hand of
[g]. Jdg 3:4; 1 Kg 8:58; 2 Kg 17:13; Ps 78:5; Jr 11:4
[h]. Ex 23:33; Dt 7:16
[i]. Lit into the hand of
[j]. Lit Doubly-Evil
[k]. Or Aram-naharaim; Mesopotamia
[l]. Gn 24:10; Dt 23:4; 1 Ch 19:6; Ps 60 title
[m]. Jdg 1:13
[n]. Jdg 3:30; 5:31; 8:28; 2 Ch 14:1,5-6