The Continuing Conquest of Canaan
1 Now after thedeath of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israelasked theLord, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against theCanaanites to fight against them?”
2 And theLordsaid,“Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”
3 So Judah said toSimeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; andI will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him.
4 Then Judah went up, and theLorddelivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men atBezek.
5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
6 Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gatherscrapsunder my table;as I have done, so God has repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
8 Nowthe children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowland.
10 Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt inHebron. (Now the name of HebronwasformerlyKirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debirwasformerly Kirjath Sepher.)
12 Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.”
13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz,Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.
14 Now it happened, when she cametohim,that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted fromherdonkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?”
15 So she said to him,“Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.”
And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
16 Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went upfrom the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, whichliesin the SouthnearArad;and they went and dwelt among the people.
17 And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was calledHormah.
18 Also Judah tookGaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.
19 So theLordwas with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they hadchariots of iron.
20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there thethree sons of Anak.
21 But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel,and theLordwaswith them.
23 So the house of Josephsent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the citywasformerlyLuz.)
24 And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, andwe will show you mercy.”
25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.
26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, whichisits name to this day.
Incomplete Conquest of the Land
27 However, Manasseh did not drive outtheinhabitantsofBeth Shean and its villages, orTaanach and its villages, or the inhabitants ofDor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out.
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
30 Nor didZebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute.
31 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.
32 So the Asheritesdwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
33 Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them.
34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley;
35 and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres,in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute.
36 Now the boundary of the Amoriteswasfrom the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.