Judges 1:3

3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into [a]the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and [b]I in turn will go with you into [c]the territory allotted you." So Simeon went with him.

Judges 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 1:3

And Judah said unto Simeon his brother
The men of the tribe of Judah said to those of the tribe of Simeon, they being not only brethren by father's and mother's side, which was not the case of all the sons of Jacob, but their possessions and inheritances lay near together; and indeed those of Simeon were within the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, ( Joshua 19:1 ) ; so that as they lived in great nearness and familiarity with each other, their interests were closely united together:

come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites;
conjunctly: the meaning is, that the tribe of Simeon, as many of their warlike men as could, would come and join their forces with those of the tribe of Judah, in order to reduce such cities, in the lot of that tribe, the Canaanites as yet were in the possession of:

and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot:
the cities being conquered which were in the lot, of the tribe of Judah, that tribe proposed to bring their united forces into the lot of the tribe of Simeon, and reduce such cities as were in that lot:

so Simeon went with him:
the tribe of Simeon agreed to the proposal, and went along with the tribe of Judah against their common enemy.

Judges 1:3 In-Context

1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired of the LORD , saying, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?"
2 The LORD said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand."
3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into the territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted you." So Simeon went with him.
4 Judah went up, and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek.
5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

Footnotes 3

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.