Judges 1:25

25 He shown them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.

Judges 1:25 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 1:25

And when he showed them the entrance, into the city
Pointing to it with his fingers, as the same writers observe:

they smote the city with the edge of the sword;
they gave notice of what intelligence they had got to the body of the army, who came up, entered the city, took it, and put the inhabitants of it to the sword, as they were ordered to do with all the Canaanites:

but they let go the man and all his family;
who had returned to it, encouraged by the promise made him, and for the sake of saving of his family; which though not expressed, he might have asked the favour of sparing them, which might be promised, as was in the case of Rahab; provided he would either renounce Heathenism, and embrace the true religion, or depart to another country, the latter of which he chose.

Judges 1:25 In-Context

23 The house of Yosef sent to spy out Beit-El. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
24 The watchers 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 deal kindly with you.
25 He shown them the entrance into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.
26 The man went into the land of the Hitti, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz, which is the name of it to this day.
27 Menashsheh did not drive out [the inhabitants of] Beit-She'an and its towns, nor [of] Ta`nakh and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Yivle`am and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Kana`anim would dwell in that land.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.