Judges 3:1-4

Introductory (Judges 1:1 to Judges 3:4)

Division 1, Judges 1:1 to Judges 2:5.

This section of the book contains a brief recapitulation of the early conquest of Palestine, told from a somewhat different point of view from that of Joshua 7-21, and supplying much that is there not mentioned. From these vv. it is clear that Palestine was not conquered in one great invasion; and the whole of the book shows Israel to be only in very precarious possession of the land. The narrative in Joshua emphasises the influence over the whole collection of tribes wielded by the Ephraimite hero, Joshua himself; Judges 1:1 to Judges 2:5 narrates the movements of separate tribes, leaving some of them (Issachar, Levi and Benjamin) unmentioned. It would seem that after the main body of Israelites had crossed the Jordan, captured Jericho, and made Gilgal their headquarters, the larger number of them, under Joshua, faced northwards, while Judah and Simeon remained in the south, and, for some time, were almost detached from the main body. The actual narratives of this division of Part 1 deal with (1) the conquest of Adoni-bezek by Judah and Simeon (Judges 1:1); (2) conquests of Othniel in the south (Judges 1:9); (3) further conquests of Judah and Simeon (Judges 1:16); (4) capture of Bethel (Judges 1:22); (5) limits to the conquests of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali and Dan (Judges 1:27); (6) the moral, delivered by the angel at Bochim (Judges 2:1).