Judges 3:3

3 He left (alive the) five princes of the Philistines, and all Canaanites, and the people of Sidon, and Hivites that dwelled in the hill Lebanon, from the hill Baalhermon till to the entering of Hamath. (He left alive the five rulers of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the people of Sidon, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baalhermon unto Hamath Pass.)

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 be the folks which the Lord left alive, that in them he should teach Israel, and all men that knew not the battles of Canaanites; (These be the nations which the Lord left alive, so that through them he would teach the Israelites, all those who had not been part of the battles for Canaan;)

2 and that afterward the sons of them should learn to fight with enemies, and to have custom of battle. (and so that through them their sons would learn to fight with their enemies, and know the ways of battle.)

3 He left (alive the) five princes of the Philistines, and all Canaanites, and the people of Sidon, and Hivites that dwelled in the hill Lebanon, from the hill Baalhermon till to the entering of Hamath. (He left alive the five rulers of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the people of Sidon, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baalhermon unto Hamath Pass.)

4 And he left them, that in them he should assay Israel, (to see) whether they would hear the behests of the Lord, which he commanded to their fathers by the hand of Moses, either nay. (Yea, he left them alive, so that through them he could test Israel, to see whether they would listen to the Lord's commands, which he commanded to their fathers through Moses, or not.)

5 And so the sons of Israel dwelled in the midst of Canaanites, of Hittites, and of Amorites, and of Perizzites, and of Hivites, and of Jebusites, (And so the Israelites lived in the midst of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites,)