Judges 3:1-7

1 These are the nations which ADONAI allowed to remain, in order to put to the test all the people of Isra'el who had not known any of the wars with Kena'an.

2 This was only so that the generations of Isra'el who had previously known nothing of war might learn about it.

3 These nations consisted of the five chiefs of the P'lishtim, all the Kena'ani, the Tzidoni, and the Hivi who lived in the hills of the L'vanon between Mount Ba'al-Hermon and the entrance to Hamat.

4 They stayed there to test whether Isra'el would pay attention to the mitzvot of ADONAI, which, through Moshe, he had ordered their ancestors to obey.

5 So the people of Isra'el lived among the Kena'ani, Hitti, Emori, P'rizi, Hivi and Y'vusi;

6 taking their daughters as their wives, giving their own daughters to their sons and serving their gods.

7 Thus the people of Isra'el did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective, forgot ADONAI their God, and served the ba'alim and asherim.

Judges 3:1-7 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.