Judges 1:26

26 And the man went into the land of Chettin, and built there a city, and called the name of it Luza; this its name until this day.

Judges 1:26 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 1:26

And the man went into the land of the Hittites
With his family; Kimchi says this was not one of the seven nations of Canaan; and it is very clear from this narrative, that the land this man went to was not in the land of Canaan; though it is certain a people of this name formerly dwelt there, ( Genesis 15:20 ) ( 23:3 ) ( 26:34 ) ; and the land of Canaan is called the land of the Hittites, ( Joshua 1:4 ) ; these either might flee to another country upon Joshua's entry into the land of Canaan, or a colony of them from thence might settle elsewhere, to which this man chose to go, who might be originally of them:

and built a city;
his family was numerous, and he a man of wealth, and was allowed to carry all his substance with him:

and called the name of it Luz;
in memory of the place he left, and had long lived in. There is a city called Loussa, among the cities which Josephus says ^F19 were taken by the Jews from the Arabians; and which is very probably the Lysa of Ptolemy ^F20, which he places in Arabia Petraea, and might be the same with this Luz; and, if so, this shows the land this man went into was in Edom, which is not unlikely; there is another Luza, which Jerom ^F21 says fell to the lot of the sons of Joseph, near Sichem, three miles from Neapolis:

which [is] the name thereof unto this day:
the time of the writing of this book; (See Gill on Judges 1:21).

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Antiqu. l. 14. c. 1. sect. 4.
F20 Geograph. l. 5. c. 17.
F21 De loc. Heb. fol. 92. M.

Judges 1:26 In-Context

24 And the spies looked, and behold, a man went out of the city, and they took him; and they said to him, Shew us the way into the city, and we will deal mercifully with thee.

25 And he shewed them the way into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and his family.

26 And the man went into the land of Chettin, and built there a city, and called the name of it Luza; this its name until this day.

27 And Manasse did not drive out Baethsan, which is a city of Scythians, nor her towns, nor her suburbs; nor Thanac, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Dor, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitant of Balac, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Magedo, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; nor the inhabitants of Jeblaam, nor her suburbs, nor her towns; and the Chananite began to dwell in this land.

28 And it came to pass when Israel was strong, that he made the Chananite tributary, but did not utterly drive them out.