Judges 3:1-6

The Lord Tests Israel

1 These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since none of these Israelites had fought in^[a] any of the wars with Canaan.^[b]

2 This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites [how to fight in] battle, especially those who had not fought before.^[c]

3 [These nations included:] the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains^[d] from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.^[e]

4 The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord's commands He had given their fathers through^[f] Moses.^[g]

5 But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

6 The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.^[h]

Judges 3:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 3

This chapter gives an account of the nations left in Canaan to prove Israel, and who became a snare unto them, Jud 3:1-7; and of the servitude of Israel under the king of Mesopotamia for their sins, from which they were delivered by Othniel, Jud 3:8-11; and of their subjection to the Moabites, from which they were freed by Ehud, who privately assassinated the king of Moab, and then made his escape, Jud 3:12-30; and of the destruction of a large number of Philistines by Shamgar, with an ox goad, Jud 3:31.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit had known
• [b]. Jos 1-12
• [c]. Lit not known it
• [d]. LXX reads in Lebanon, without reference to mountains
• [e]. Or as Lebo-hamath
• [f]. Lit by the hand of
• [g]. Jdg 3:4; 1 Kg 8:58; 2 Kg 17:13; Ps 78:5; Jr 11:4
• [h]. Ex 23:33; Dt 7:16