Judges 3:3

3 The five princes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hevites that dwelt in Mount Libanus, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entering into Emath.

Judges 3:3 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 3:3

[Namely], five lords of the Philistines
The places they were lords of were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; see ( Joshua 13:3 ) ; three of these, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, had been taken from them by Judah, since the death of Joshua, ( Judges 1:18 ) ; but they soon recovered them again, perhaps by the help of the other two. The Philistines were a people originally of Egypt, but came from thence and settled in these parts, and were here as early as in the times of Abraham, and were very troublesome neighbours to the Israelites in later times; see ( Genesis 10:14 ) ( Genesis 21:32 Genesis 21:33 ) ;

and all the Canaanites;
these were a particular tribe or nation in the land so called, which inhabited by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan, ( Numbers 13:29 ) ; otherwise this is the general name for the seven nations:

and the Sidonians;
the inhabitants of the famous city of Sidon, which had its name from the firstborn of Canaan, ( Genesis 10:15 ) ;

and the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon;
on the north of the land of Canaan:

from Mount Baalhermon;
the eastern part of Lebanon, the same with Baalgad, where Baal was worshipped:

unto the entering in of Hamath;
the boundary of the northern part of the land, which entrance led into the valley between Libanus and Antilibanus; see ( Numbers 34:8 ) ( Joshua 11:3 ) ( 13:5 ) .

Judges 3:3 In-Context

1 These are the nations which the Lord left, that by them he might instruct Israel, and all that had not known the wars of the Chanaanites:

2 That afterwards their children might learn to fight with their enemies, and to be trained up to war:

3 The five princes of the Philistines, and all the Chanaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hevites that dwelt in Mount Libanus, from Mount Baal Hermon to the entering into Emath.

4 And he left them, that he might try Israel by them, whether they would hear the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers, by the hand of Moses, or not.

5 So the children of Israel dwelt in the midst of the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, and the Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite: