Jueces 1:1

Israel continúa su lucha contra los cananeos

1 Después de la muerte de Josué, los israelitas le preguntaron al SEÑOR:—¿Quién de nosotros será el primero en subir y pelear contra los cananeos?

Jueces 1:1 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 1:1

Now after the death of Joshua
With the account of which the preceding book is concluded, and therefore this very properly follows after that; though Epiphanius ^F2 places the book of Job between them:

it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord;
that is, the heads of them who gathered together at Shiloh, where the tabernacle was; and standing before the high priest, either Eleazar, or rather Phinehas his son, Eleazar being in all probability dead, inquired by Urim and Thummim:

saying, who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight
against them?
for they had no commander in chief, Joshua leaving no successor, though the Samaritan Chronicle ^F3 pretends he did; one Abel, a son of Caleb's brother, of the tribe of Judah, on whom the lot fell, out of twelve of the nine tribes and a half, to whom Joshua delivered the government of the nation, and crowned him: but this inquiry was not for any man to go before them all as their generalissimo, but to know what tribe should first go up, and they were desirous of having the mind of God in it, when they might expect to succeed; which to do, at their first setting out, would not only be a great encouragement to them to go on, but strike dread and terror into their enemies; and this is to be understood of the Canaanites who remained unsubdued, that dwelt among them, and in cities, which though divided to them by lot, they were not in the possession of; and these being troublesome neighbours to them, and besides the Israelites daily increasing, needed more room and more cities to occupy, and more land to cultivate.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 De Mensur. & Ponder. c. 13.
F3 Apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 522.

Jueces 1:1 In-Context

1 Después de la muerte de Josué, los israelitas le preguntaron al SEÑOR:—¿Quién de nosotros será el primero en subir y pelear contra los cananeos?

2 El SEÑOR respondió:—Judá será el primero en subir, puesto que ya le he entregado el país en sus manos.

3 Entonces los de la tribu de Judá dijeron a sus hermanos de la tribu de Simeón: «Suban con nosotros al territorio que nos ha tocado, y pelearemos contra los cananeos; después nosotros iremos con ustedes al territorio que les tocó». Y los de la tribu de Simeón los acompañaron.

4 Cuando Judá atacó, el SEÑOR entregó en sus manos a los cananeos y a los ferezeos. En Bézec derrotaron a diez mil hombres.

5 Allí se toparon con Adoní Bézec y pelearon contra él, y derrotaron a los cananeos y a los ferezeos.