Judges 3:1

1 These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars.

Judges 3:1 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 3:1

Now these [are] the nations which the Lord left to prove
Israel by them
Which are later mentioned, ( Judges 3:3 Judges 3:5 ) ;

[even] as many [of Israel] as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
those that Joshua, and the people of Israel under him, had with the Canaanites, when they first entered the land and subdued it; being then not born, or so young as not to have knowledge of them, at least not able to bear arms at that time.

Judges 3:1 In-Context

1 These are the nations that God left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars.
2 He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war.
3 He left the five Philistine tyrants, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Hamath's Pass.
4 They were there to test Israel and see whether they would obey God's commands that were given to their parents through Moses.
5 But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.