Judges 2:1-5

Israel Disobeys Yahweh

1 And the angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up from Egypt, and I brought you to the land that I had promised to your ancestors. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you.

2 And [as for] you, do not {make a covenant} with the inhabitants of this land; break down their altars.' But you did not listen to my voice. {Why would you do such a thing}?

3 Now I say, I will not drive them out from before you; they will {become as thorns} for you, and their gods will be a trap for you."

4 And as the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the {Israelites}, the people {wept bitterly}.

5 And they called the name of this place Bokim, and there they sacrificed to Yahweh.

Judges 2:1-5 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 2

This chapter gives an account of an angel of the Lord appearing and rebuking the children of Israel for their present misconduct, Jud 2:1-5; of their good behaviour under Joshua, and the elders that outlived him, Jud 2:6-10; and of their idolatries they fell into afterwards, which greatly provoked the Lord to anger, Jud 2:11-15; and of the goodness of God to them nevertheless, in raising up judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies, of which there are many instances in the following chapter, Jud 2:16-18; and yet that how, upon the demise of such persons, they relapsed into idolatry which caused the anger of God to be hot against them, and to determine not to drive out the Canaanites utterly from them, but to leave them among them to try them, Jud 2:19-23.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "fathers"
• [b]. Literally "cut a covenant"
• [c]. Literally "What is this thing you have done?"
• [d]. Or "become snares;" some ancient manuscripts read "be adversaries"
• [e]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [f]. Literally "lifted up their voices and they wept"
• [g]. "Bokim" means "weepers"