Judges 1:29

1:29 The men of Ephraim did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.

Judges 11:23

11:23 Since ¹  the Lord God of Israel has driven out ²  the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? ³ 

Judges 1:30

1:30 The men of Zebulun did not conquer the people living in Kitron and Nahalol. ⁴  The Canaanites lived among them and were forced to do hard labor.

Judges 11:24

11:24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us. ⁵ 

Judges 1:31

1:31 The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco or Sidon, ⁶  nor did they conquer Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob. ⁷ 

Judges 1:33

1:33 The men of Naphtali did not conquer the people living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath. ⁸  They live among the Canaanites residing in the land. The Canaanites ⁹  living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were forced to do hard labor for them.

Judges 1:27

1:27 The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan, Taanach, or their surrounding towns. Nor did they conquer the people living in Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo ¹⁰  or their surrounding towns. ¹¹  The Canaanites managed ¹²  to remain in those areas. ¹³ 

¹ tn Heb “Now.”

² tn Or “dispossessed.”

³ tn Heb “will you dispossess him [i.e., Israel; or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory]?” There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.

¹ tn Heb “the people living in Kitron and the people living in Nahalol.”

¹ tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for three hundred years.

¹ map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

² tn Heb “The men of Asher did not conquer the people living in Acco, the people living in Sidon, Ahlab, Acco, Helbah, Aphek, or Rehob.”

¹ tn Heb “the people living in Beth Shemesh or the people living in Beth Anath.”

² tn The term “Canaanites” is supplied here both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

¹ map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.

² tn Heb “The men of Manasseh did not conquer Beth Shan and its surrounding towns, Taanach and its surrounding towns, the people living in Dor and its surrounding towns, the people living in Ibleam and its surrounding towns, or the people living in Megiddo and its surrounding towns.”

³ tn Or “were determined.”

⁴ tn Heb “in this land.”