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17 (A)Then Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who lived in Zephath. They put the city under the ban and renamed it Hormah.[a](B) 18 Judah captured Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, Ekron with its territory, and Ashdod[b] with its territory.(C) 19 The Lord was with Judah, so they gained possession of the mountain region. But they could not dispossess those who lived on the plain, because they had iron chariots.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:17 The ban…Hormah: the narrator relates the city-name “Hormah” to “the ban” (Hebrew herem), which commanded the Israelites to devote to the Lord—and thus to destroy—whatever was captured within the land (cf. Dt 20:10–18).
  2. 1:18 Gaza…Ashkelon…Ekron…Ashdod: four of the five major cities of the Philistines (see note on 3:3). Since these cities were on the coastal plain, the statement that Judah captured them is contrary to v. 19, which notes Judah’s failure to drive out the inhabitants of the lowlands. In the Septuagint the problem is removed by changing the beginning of this verse to read “Judah did not dispossess….”

17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites(A) their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed[a] the city. Therefore it was called Hormah.[b](B) 18 Judah also took[c] Gaza,(C) Ashkelon(D) and Ekron—each city with its territory.

19 The Lord was with(E) the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country,(F) but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Judges 1:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  2. Judges 1:17 Hormah means destruction.
  3. Judges 1:18 Hebrew; Septuagint Judah did not take