Judges 1:8-10

Conquests of Judah Judges 1:8-10

8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten 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, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.
10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

8.

What were the hill country the South, and the lowland? Judges 1:9

These were the main geographical divisions of Palestine. Much of Palestine is quite hilly. Mt. Carmel arises at the Mediterranean Sea and stretches from a point near the Bay of Acre in a southeasterly direction to the center of the land. The center itself is often described as Mount Ephraim. To the south lay the hill country of Judah. All of this could properly be called hill country. The South was a designation of the area south of Hebron, and this territory stretched past Beersheba and reached to the wilderness of Paran, the extreme southern border of the country. It is often called the negeb. Along the Mediterranean Sea stretched the Maritime Plainthe Philistine Plain and the Plain of Sharon. The Jordan Valley was a part of the Ghor, a deep declivity which terminated in the area round the Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth. All of these areas were grouped under the heading, the lowland.

9.

When was Hebron taken? Judges 1:10

Caleb took Hebron before Joshua died (see Joshua 14:6-15 cf. Joshua 15:16-19). The notice is repeated here. This first chapter of Judges is a typical summary of the conquest of the land, most of which was accomplished under Joshua's leadership. As time elapsed after the major battles of conquest, some of the Canaanite tribes drifted back into towns which Israel had burned but had not inhabited immediately. It thus became necessary for many of the sites to be retaken (e.g. Jerusalem). Since this is a summary account of conquest and settlement, it is natural to mention such early assaults as that of Caleb while describing continuing efforts to occupy the territory.