19Joshua, however, said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions and your sins. 20If you forsake the LORD and serve alien gods, He will turn and deal harshly with you and make an end of you, after having been gracious to you.” 21But the people replied to Joshua, “No, we will serve the LORD!” 22Thereupon Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have by your own act chosen to serve the LORD.” “Yes, we are!” they responded. 23“Then put away the alien gods that you have among you and direct your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24And the people declared to Joshua, “We will serve none but the LORD our God, and we will obey none but Him.”
25On that day at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant for the people and he made a fixed rule for them. 26Joshua recorded all this in a book of divine instruction. He took a great stone and set it up at the foot of the oak in the sacred precinct of the LORD; 27and Joshua said to all the people, “Sec, this very stone shall be a witness against us, for it heard all the words that the LORD spoke to us; it shall be a witness against you, lest you break faith with your God.” 28Joshua then dismissed the people to their allotted portions.
29After these events, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten years. 30They buried him on his own property, at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 31Israel served the LORD during the lifetime of Joshua and the lifetime of the elders who lived on after Joshua, and who had experienced all the deeds that the LORD had wrought for Israel.
32The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought for a hundred kesitahsb from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, and which had become a heritage of the Josephites.
33Eleazar son of Aaron also died, and they buried him on the hill of his son Phinehas, which had been assigned to him in the hill country of Ephraim.
a Heb. “Great.”
b-b Lit. “across.”
c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a Heb. “They.”
b I.e., placed under herem, which meant the annihilation of the inhabitants. Cf. Deut. 2.34 ff.
a See Exod. 19.10, 15.
b So kethib; qere “from.”
a-a Connection of clause uncertain; cf. Deut. 31.7–8.
b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c See Num. 32.20–22.
a I.e., “the Hill of Foreskins.”
b I.e., of the Egyptian bondage.
c Interpreted as “rolling.”
d Lit. “on the day after.”
a I.e., be put to death; cf. Lev. 27.28–29.
a-a Lit. “melted and turned to water.”
b Lit. “catches.”
c-c Or “caught in the net.”
d-d So some Heb. mss. and some ancient versions; most mss. and editions have “men.”
e I.e., the mantle.
f Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
g Connected with ‘akhar “to bring calamity upon”; cf. v. 25.
a-a So with some mss. (cf. v. 9); most mss. and editions read “marched.”
b Syriac reads “with the troops”; cf. v. 9.
c-c Emendation yields “descent”; cf. 7.5.
d See Deut. 27.3–8.
e See Deut. 27.11–28.68.
a-a Lit. “across.”
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
c Cf. Deut. 7.2.
a-a Heb. “they were.”
b Presumably a collection of war songs.
c Cf. Exod. 11.7.
d So several mss.; most mss. and the editions read “them.”
e I.e., the whole southern part of Canaan.
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b-b Change of vocalization yields “and Misrephoth on the west.”
c Apparently identical with Mizpah in v. 3.
d-d I.e., the valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges.
a Meaning of vv. 2 and 3 uncertain.
b-b Lit. “it.”
c I.e., the slopes of Pisgah; cf. 13.20.
d Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a-a See note on 11.8.
b-b Lit. “them.”
c-c Lit. “it.”
d See Deut. 18.1.
e-e Emendation yields “in the hill country; and in the Valley.&ldots;”
f Change of vocalization yields “Lo-debar”; cf. 2 Sam. 9.4, 5; 17.27.
g Lit. “from Mahanaim.”
h See note on Num. 32.41.
a Lit. “and to go out and come in.”
a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
b Apparently identical with Geliloth, 18.17.
c Not the Seir of Edom.
d Cf. 14.6, 14.
e-e Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Some Greek mss. read “he induced her”; cf. Judg. 1.14.
f I.e., as a dry land, that is, without a dowry.
g I.e., “springs.”
h-h Cf. below 19.6.
i Cf. Ain, Rimmon, 19.7 below, and 1 Chron, 4.32; En-rimmon, Neh. 11.29.
j The number is uncertain. Some of the same towns are listed under Simeon, cf. 19.1–9; so Rashi.
k The number is uncertain. Tappuah and Enam may have been one place; so Rashi on basis of 17.7.
l Emendation yields “Kiriath-sepher”; cf. Septuagint.
m Septuagint adds: Tekoa, Ephrathah—that is, Bethlehem—Peor, Etam, Kulon, Tatam, Sores, Karem, Gallim, Bether, and Manach—11 towns, with their villages.
n Or “the City of Salt.”
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Cf. Num. 27.1–11.
b-b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Emendation yields “eastward.”
b Heb. “the Jebusite.”
c Emendation yields “and Kiriath-jearim.”
a 15.30 reads “Chesil.”
b-b 15.32 reads “Shilhim.”
c I.e., the southern one.
d I.e., the northwest corner, opposite the starting point, Sarid.
e I.e., from Helkath, v. 25.
f-f Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
g Some Heb. mss., as well as Josh. 21.30 and I Chron. 6.59, read “Abdon.”
h The geography of vv. 33–35 is unclear in part.
i Called Laish in Judg. 18.7 ff.
a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
a Elsewhere Anakites; cf. Num. 13.22; Deut. 9.2.
b Explicating v. 5.
c Some mss. and editions add the following (cf. 1 Chron. 6.63–64): “And from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer with its pastures, Jahaz with its pastures, Kedemoth with its pastures, and Mephaath with its pastures—4 towns.”
d Meaning of verse uncertain.
a I.e., the other nine tribes.
b I.e., the two and a half tribes.
c I.e., at Shiloh.
a See note at Exod. 23.28.
b See note at Gen. 33.19.
Judges*
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the LORD, “Which of us shall be the first to go up against the Canaanites and attack them?” 2The LORD replied, “Let [the tribe of] Judah go up. I now deliver the land into their hands.” 3Judah then said to their brother-tribe Simeon, “Come up with us to our allotted territory and let us attack the Canaanites, and then we will go with you to your allotted territory.” So Simeon joined them.
4When Judah advanced, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek. 5At Bezek, they encountered Adoni-bezek, engaged him in battle, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and captured him; and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me.” They brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.
8The Judites attacked Jerusalem and captured it; they put it to the sword and set the city on fire. 9After that the Judites went down to attack the Canaanites who inhabited the hill country, the Negeb, and the Shephelah.
10The Judites marched against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron, and they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. (The name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba.) 11From there they marched against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher). 12And Caleb announced, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.” 13His younger kinsman, Othniel the Kenizzite,a captured it; and Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. 14b-When she came [to him], she induced him to ask her father for some property. She dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb asked her, “What is the matter?” 15She replied, “Give me a present, for you have given me away as Negeb-land; give me springs of water.” And Caleb gave her Upper and Lower Gulloth.-b
16The descendants of the Kenite, the father-in-law of Moses, went up with the Judites from the City of Palms to the wilderness of Judah; and they went and settled among the peoplec in the Negeb of Arad. 17And Judah with its brother-tribe Simeon went on and defeated the Canaanites who dwelt in Zephath. They proscribed it, and so the town was named Hormah.d 18And Judah capturedc Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.
19The LORD was with Judah, so that they took possession of the hill country; but they were not able to dispossess the inhabitants of the plain, for they had iron chariots. 20They gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and he drove the three Anakites out of there. 21The Benjaminites did not dispossess the Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have dwelt with the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.
22The House of Joseph, for their part, advanced against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23While the House of Joseph were scouting at Bethel (the name of the town was formerly Luz), 24their patrolsf saw a man leaving the town. They said to him, “Just show us how to get into the town, and we will treat you kindly.” 25He showed them how
