After the death of Joshua, Judah goes up first against the Canaanite; Adoni-bezek is requited as he had done; Caleb gives Achsah his daughter to Othniel — but tribe after tribe fails to drive out the inhabitants of the land.
Tap any Hebrew word to reveal its root, value, and meanings.
AND IT came to pass after the death of Joshua, that the children of Israel asked Hashem, saying: ‘Who shall go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?’
verse value 3395
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 68 letters. The shortest word is "who?" (מִ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·Canaanite" (אֶל־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י, 8 letters). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "in·Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges). First appearance of the root היה ("and·it·was") in Judges. First appearance of the root אחר ("after") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Rashi
“Who will go up for us against the Canaanite?”—referring to the portions that we had allotted by lot but which had not yet been conquered.
Radak
"And it came to pass after the death of Joshua: Who shall go up for us? To conquer the land that remains to be conquered:"
Ralbag
The text relates that after the death of Joshua the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord, meaning, through the Urim and Tumim, which of the tribes should go up first to fight the Canaanites remaining in the tribal territories. And we ought to know that the meaning is not that they did not inquire through the Urim and Tumim in the days of Joshua, for the Torah attests that in the days of Joshua too they would inquire through the Urim in judgment. And perhaps the meaning here is that after the death of Joshua they needed to inquire who should go up first, because in the first battle there is a great root for the rest of the battles. And this is that if Israel were defeated in the first battle, the remainder of those nations would say, 'their protection has departed from them,' and they would strengthen themselves to fight against them. And if they defeated them, the matter would cast dread upon those nations and Israel would defeat them easily. And therefore the Lord chose that the one most worthy to defeat should fight first, and that is the tribe of Judah. And Judah caused Shimon to go up with him to fight, as some of those nations remained in his border.
Metzudat David
In GOD. By the Urim and Tummim:
“Who will go up for us?” Although each one fights for his own share, he said “for us,” because when any one of them ascends against the Canaanite and prevails over him, he will strike fear into their hearts and benefit all of them.
At first: to take his portion that fell to him by lot, and he has not yet conquered it.
Malbim
The questions (1–3): Why did they not ask this until now: Who ascends first? And why did he say to Simeon and not to another tribe?
"And they asked." During the lifetime of Joshua, they did not need to inquire through the Urim and Thummim, because Joshua arranged everything according to the words of the Lord, as our Sages of blessed memory stated (Eruvin 63a): "It is written, 'And before Eleazar the priest he shall stand,' and we do not find that Joshua needed him." But upon his death, they needed to inquire through the Urim and Thummim. A) Who shall go up first? For during the lifetime of Joshua, he was the one who designated the people's actions; now they asked who should go up first. B) Initially, they conquered all together, and now each tribe needed to conquer its portion, as it is stated (Joshua 13), "I will drive them out, only you shall cast lots for the inheritance." Therefore, they asked who should conquer first, for if the first one did not succeed, the Canaanite would say that with the death of Joshua, their strength has diminished. And because in the portion of each tribe there remained peoples whom they had not yet conquered, it relates here how they fought against them.
And Hashem said: ‘Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.’
verse value 2067
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 35 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֖ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 2067 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "they" (הִנֵּ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "the·land" (אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "will·go·up" (יַעֲלֶ֑ה), "I·gave" (נָתַ֥תִּי). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "will·go·up" (root עלה, 78x in Judges). First appearance of the root יהודה ("Judah") in Judges. First appearance of the root הן ("they") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'will·go·up', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֥אמֶר [and·said] (257) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + יְהוּדָ֣ה [Judah] (30) + יַעֲלֶ֑ה [will·go·up] (115) + הִנֵּ֛ה [they] (60) + נָתַ֥תִּי [I·gave] (860) + אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ [the·land] (697) + בְּיָדֽוֹ [in·his·hand] (22) = 2067.
Rashi
“Judah shall ascend.” The tribe of Judah shall ascend first to conquer its allotted portion.
Metzudat David
Judah. The tribe of Judah:
"Behold, I have given." And this will bring faintheartedness into the hearts of all [the Canaanites].
Malbim
Judah shall ascend. According to his merit, and because he drew the first lot.
And Judah said to Simeon his brother: ‘Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into your lot.’ So Simeon went with him.
verse value 4106
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 75 letters. The shortest word is "go·up" (עֲלֵ֧ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "from·Simeon" (לְשִׁמְע֨וֹן, 6 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "from·Simeon" (לְשִׁמְע֨וֹן), "into·my·lot" (בְגֹרָלִ֗י), "in·your·lot" (בְּגוֹרָלֶ֑ךָ). The root שמעון appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "and·I·will·walk" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "go·up" (root עלה, 78x in Judges). First appearance of the root אח ("his·brother") in Judges. First appearance of the root כנעני ("among·the·Canaanites") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·lot', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 3 words.
Rashi
"To his brother Simeon": To the tribe of Simeon.
"Ascend with me." And assist me in conquering that which has fallen to my lot. And some interpret: "Judah shall ascend"—this is Etniel, this is Jabez, as we say in tractate Temurah (16a): "What is his name? Judah, the brother of Simeon, is his name," and to Simeon his brother he said that he should go with him.
Metzudat David
To Simeon. To the tribe of Simeon:
Malbim
"And he said to his brother Simeon." For the inheritance of the children of Simeon [was carved out] from the territory of the children of Judah (Joshua 19).
“Come up with me” – to conquer my allotted portion. And it is possible that Judah’s portion to conquer was in the mountains, therefore he said, “Come up with me,” and Simeon’s portion to conquer was in the plains, therefore he said, “And I will go.” And likewise below (verse 17): “And Judah went with Simeon his brother.”
And Judah went up; and Hashem delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they smote of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
verse value 3243
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 56 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "man" (אִֽישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "Canaanite" (אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִ֥י, 8 letters). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "and·went·up" (root עלה, 78x in Judges). First appearance of the root פרזי ("and·Perizzite") in Judges. First appearance of the root נכה ("and·struck·them") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·their·hand', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֣עַל [and·went·up] (116) + יְהוּדָ֔ה [Judah] (30) + וַיִּתֵּ֧ן [and·gave] (466) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִ֥י [Canaanite] (606) + וְהַפְּרִזִּ֖י [and·Perizzite] (308) + בְּיָדָ֑ם [in·their·hand] (56) + וַיַּכּ֣וּם [and·struck·them] (82) + בְּבֶ֔זֶק [in·Bezek] (111) + עֲשֶׂ֥רֶת [ten] (970) + אֲלָפִ֖ים [thousand] (161) + אִֽישׁ [man] (311) = 3243.
Rashi
"At Bezek." A place name:
Malbim
The Questions (4): After it states that the Lord gave the Canaanite into their hands and they struck them down at Bezek, how does it subsequently say that they fought and that they struck the Canaanite?
"And they struck them at Bezek." Initially, the camps went out with their commanders and arrayed themselves around Bezek, and there they struck down ten thousand men. And what is meant by "at Bezek"? It means "around Bezek," similar to the verse: "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho" (Joshua 5:13). The first occurrence of "Adoni-bezek" is accented on the final syllable, indicating that the yod is not superfluous, but rather the yod comes to strengthen the name, as stated in the text. However, the second and third occurrences of "Adoni-bezek" are accented on the penultimate syllable, which is a sign that the yod is superfluous, for by then he was no longer a lord.
And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek; and they fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
verse value 2304
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 47 letters. Verse gematria: 2304 = 48². The shortest word is "in·him" (בּ֑וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "Canaanite" (אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Adoni" (אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֥י), "and·Perizzite" (וְאֶת־הַפְּרִזִּֽי). The root בזק appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·fought" (root לחם, 45x in Judges); "and·they·smote" (root נכה, 28x in Judges). First appearance of the root מצא ("and·they·found") in Judges. First appearance of the root אדון ("Adoni") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַֽ֠יִּמְצְא֠וּ [and·they·found] (153) + אֶת־אֲדֹנִ֥י [Adoni] (466) + בֶ֙זֶק֙ [Adoni-Bezek] (109) + בְּבֶ֔זֶק [in·Bezek] (111) + וַיִּֽלָּחֲמ֖וּ [and·they·fought] (100) + בּ֑וֹ [in·him] (8) + וַיַּכּ֕וּ [and·they·smote] (42) + אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י [Canaanite] (606) + וְאֶת־הַפְּרִזִּֽי [and·Perizzite] (709) = 2304.
Radak
"And they found Adoni-bezek." [The accent is] on the final syllable.
Metzudat Zion
Adoni-Bezek. This was his name; so too (Joshua 10:1) Adoni-Zedek:
Malbim
"And they found." Afterwards, as they drew near to conquer the city itself, there they found Adoni-Bezek; he had remained in the city to fight in its defense when necessary, and did not act like the king of Ai, who left the city and abandoned it open.
"And they fought against him." A second time, and there they struck the Canaanite a second time, who had shut themselves up in a city with doors and a bar.
But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
verse value 2733
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "Adoni-Bezek" (בֶ֔זֶק, 3 letters) and the longest is "thumbs·of" (אֶת־בְּהֹנ֥וֹת, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·cut·off" (וַֽיְקַצְּצ֔וּ), "thumbs·of" (אֶת־בְּהֹנ֥וֹת), "and·his·feet" (וְרַגְלָֽיו). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·hands" (root יד, 75x in Judges); "after·him" (root אחר, 49x in Judges). First appearance of the root נוס ("and·fled") in Judges. First appearance of the root רדף ("and·they·pursued") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'after·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֙נׇס֙ [and·fled] (126) + אֲדֹ֣נִי [Adoni] (65) + בֶ֔זֶק [Adoni-Bezek] (109) + וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֖וּ [and·they·pursued] (306) + אַחֲרָ֑יו [after·him] (225) + וַיֹּאחֲז֣וּ [and·they·grasped] (38) + אוֹת֔וֹ [him] (413) + וַֽיְקַצְּצ֔וּ [and·cut·off] (302) + אֶת־בְּהֹנ֥וֹת [thumbs·of] (864) + יָדָ֖יו [his·hands] (30) + וְרַגְלָֽיו [and·his·feet] (255) = 2733.
Radak
"And Adoni-bezek fled." And it says 'Adoni-bezek' with the accent on the penultimate syllable (מלעיל), and the yod is extra, meaning 'Adon Bezek' (lord of Bezek). And similarly, 'Adoni-tzedek' means 'Adon Tzedek' (lord of righteousness).
"Behonot." From 'bohen yado' (the thumb of his hand); but it is not of its own pattern (mishkal), but rather of the pattern of 'lashon'-'leshonot' (tongue-tongues), and it refers to the thickest of the fingers/toes.
Ralbag
And indeed they cut off the thumbs of Adoni-Bezek's hands and the toes of his feet, to cast dread upon the rest of the kings so that they would fear to fight with Israel, since the Lord had already arranged this to repay him measure for measure, as it is stated, 'as I have done, so God has requited me.'
Metzudat Zion
And they cut them down. The sense of cutting and severing, as in (Exodus 39:3) 'and he cut it into threads':
Thumbs. The thumb fingers, as in (ibid. 29:20) 'the thumb of their right hand':
Malbim
"And he fled." For when he saw that the city had been conquered, they cut off [his thumbs and big toes]. Thus God placed it in their minds to do to him what they had not done to any of their other enemies. This was somewhat contrary to the laws of Israel, for the slaughter of the seven nations is prescribed by the sword, not by torturing them in this manner. However, God repaid him measure for measure.
And Adoni-bezek said: ‘Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered food under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me.’ And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
verse value 6944
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 102 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "so" (כֵּ֥ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "firm·Adoni-Bezek" (אֲדֹֽנִי־בֶ֗זֶק, 7 letters). 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "firm·Adoni-Bezek" (אֲדֹֽנִי־בֶ֗זֶק), "thumbs·of" (בְּֽהֹנוֹת֩), "their·hands" (יְדֵיהֶ֨ם). 21 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "as" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "were" (root היה, 120x in Judges). First appearance of the root שבע ("seventy") in Judges. First appearance of the root מלך ("kings") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'God', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 4 words.
Rashi
"Seventy kings, etc." From here you learn how great and wealthy the kings of Canaan were, for Adoni-bezek was not worthy to be counted (Joshua 12) among the kings of Canaan by the title "king," and yet it is written concerning him thus:
"And they brought him to Jerusalem." This teaches that they went from there to wage war against Jerusalem.
Ralbag
And it is mentioned that they brought him after this to Jerusalem and he died there. And the sons of Judah had already fought in Jerusalem before this, and they captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and they set the city on fire.
Metzudat David
"Cut off." That which I commanded to cut them off:
They were gathering. From the remnants of food that fell beneath the table:
“And he brought him to Jerusalem.” For from there they went out to wage war against it.
Metzudat Zion
Gathering. A term of gathering [i.e., collecting]:
Malbim
"And he said." He recognized in this the justice of Heaven, that it had repaid him according to his measure; and because he confessed his transgressions and recognized the punishments of God, he died in his own way, on the road.
"And they brought him to Jerusalem." For from there they went to fight against Jerusalem, and they took him with them, and there he died.
And the children of Judah fought Jerusalem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
verse value 2984
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "in·the·fire" (בָאֵֽשׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Judah" (בְנֵֽי־יְהוּדָה֙, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "sons·of·Judah" (בְנֵֽי־יְהוּדָה֙), "and·smote·it" (וַיַּכּ֖וּהָ). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of·Judah" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "and·the·city" (root עיר, 52x in Judges); "and·they·fought" (root לחם, 45x in Judges). First appearance of the root לכד ("and·they·captured") in Judges. First appearance of the root חרב ("with·edge·of·sword") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·edge·of·sword', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּלָּחֲמ֤וּ [and·they·fought] (100) + בְנֵֽי־יְהוּדָה֙ [sons·of·Judah] (92) + בִּיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם [in·Jerusalem] (588) + וַיִּלְכְּד֣וּ [and·they·captured] (76) + אוֹתָ֔הּ [her] (412) + וַיַּכּ֖וּהָ [and·smote·it] (47) + לְפִי־חָ֑רֶב [with·edge·of·sword] (330) + וְאֶת־הָעִ֖יר [and·the·city] (692) + שִׁלְּח֥וּ [they·sent] (344) + בָאֵֽשׁ [in·the·fire] (303) = 2984.
Rashi
"They set [it] on fire." [Meaning:] they set fire to the whole of it [the entire city].
Radak
“And the children of Judah fought.” Explanation: They had already fought, for in the days of Joshua they captured Jerusalem, as I explained in the Book of Joshua, that the king of Jerusalem was included among the kings of Canaan whom Joshua struck down.
Metzudat Zion
Sent forth. Because if a person were to kindle the fire in one of the places, it would surely accomplish its mission, going from place to place and burning everything; for this reason [the fire] is called by the term 'sent':
Malbim
Questions (8–22): Abarbanel asked: If the intent here was to recall the wars waged by the tribes of Judah after the death of Joshua, what did he see to record afterward the war of Hebron and Debir, and the matter of Achsah? Moreover, the capture of Hebron was already mentioned in the Book of Joshua, where it was attributed to Caleb. And why did he mention the matter of Achsah a second time? And why did he repeat that Hebron was given to Caleb? Regarding the statement, “And the children of Benjamin could not drive out the Jebusites,” there is a difficulty from three aspects.
"And they fought." This was already mentioned in the Book of Joshua (15:63): "And the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not dispossess them; and the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah in Jerusalem to this day." It is clear from this that they had already fought in Jerusalem but did not conquer it. And later (verse 21) it states: "And the children of Benjamin did not dispossess the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day."
And in my opinion, since Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, was the first among the five kings who gathered against Gibeon and there fell (Joshua 10), they certainly had thoughts of capturing his city, just as they had then captured the cities of the five kings, and they went forth to fight with whatever means they could find. And Judah was the one who fought, because Jerusalem was in the portion of Benjamin, and a strip within it belonged to Judah (as stated above, chapter 15), and from this side he too had an interest in its inheritance. Then, during the lifetime of Joshua, they could not dispossess its inhabitants, who were Jebusites, and they dwelt among the children of Judah until this day—that is to say, until the end of the days of Joshua, who wrote his book. And after the death of Joshua, wars arose between them and the inhabitants of the city, and they captured it and burned the city to punish them for having rebelled and fought against them. And despite all this, although they conquered the city, they did not conquer the fortress which was later called by the name of the Fortress of Zion, which was not captured until the days of David, and there too a Jebusite dwelt, as it is stated (2 Samuel 5:7–8). And Judah did not fight there, because it was not part of their portion, and Benjamin did not begin to fight there at all. And regarding this it is said, “The children of Benjamin did not dispossess”—meaning they did not fight at all—and there they dwelt with the children of Benjamin until this day (which is until the end of the days of Samuel, who wrote the Book of Judges). And this is close to the words of Abarbanel.
“And they sent the city by fire.” The commentators explained: It is as if it says, “They sent fire into the city,” and there is no need for this interpretation, since this usage is also found later (Judges 20:48; II Kings 8:12; Psalms 74:7), “They sent Your Sanctuary by fire,” meaning that through the fire they sent the city from existence into non-existence.
And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites that dwelt in the hill-country, and in the South, and in the Lowland.
verse value 1862
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "son" (בְּנֵ֣י, 3 letters) and the longest is "among·the·Canaanites" (בַּֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑י, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·the·South" (וְהַנֶּ֖גֶב), "and·the·lowland" (וְהַשְּׁפֵלָֽה). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "dwelling" (root ישב, 69x in Judges); "and·after the following part" (root אחר, 49x in Judges). First appearance of the root ירד ("they·went·down") in Judges. First appearance of the root ישב ("dwelling") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'among·the·Canaanites', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאַחַ֗ר [and·after the following part] (215) + יָֽרְדוּ֙ [they·went·down] (220) + בְּנֵ֣י [son] (62) + יְהוּדָ֔ה [Judah] (30) + לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם [to·fight] (113) + בַּֽכְּנַעֲנִ֑י [among·the·Canaanites] (202) + יוֹשֵׁ֣ב [dwelling] (318) + הָהָ֔ר [hill] (210) + וְהַנֶּ֖גֶב [and·the·South] (66) + וְהַשְּׁפֵלָֽה [and·the·lowland] (426) = 1862.
Metzudat Zion
And the lowland. The valley:
Malbim
"And afterward they went down." Since the mountain of Jerusalem was higher than the other mountains, it says "afterward they went down" to fight on the mountain, and from there to the Negev and the Shephelah.
And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron—now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba—and they smote Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
verse value 5184
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 73 letters. Verse gematria: 5184 = 72². The shortest word is "and·went" (וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ, 4 letters) and the longest is "to·Canaanite" (אֶל־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "in·Hebron" (בְּחֶבְר֔וֹן), "and·name·of·Hebron" (וְשֵׁם־חֶבְר֥וֹן), "Sheshai" (אֶת־שֵׁשַׁ֥י). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Canaanite" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "that·dwells" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). First appearance of the root פנים ("to·face") in Judges. First appearance of the root קרית ("Kiriath") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'four', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ [and·went] (66) + יְהוּדָ֗ה [Judah] (30) + אֶל־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ [to·Canaanite] (236) + הַיּוֹשֵׁ֣ב [that·dwells] (323) + בְּחֶבְר֔וֹן [in·Hebron] (268) + וְשֵׁם־חֶבְר֥וֹן [and·name·of·Hebron] (612) + לְפָנִ֖ים [to·face] (210) + קִרְיַ֣ת [Kiriath] (710) + אַרְבַּ֑ע [four] (273) + וַיַּכּ֛וּ [and·they·smote] (42) + אֶת־שֵׁשַׁ֥י [Sheshai] (1011) + וְאֶת־אֲחִימַ֖ן [and·Ahiman] (516) + וְאֶת־תַּלְמָֽי [and·Talmai] (887) = 5184.
Radak
And similarly, "And Judah went to the Canaanite." The explanation is: he had already gone, for in the days of Joshua they captured Hebron and Debir, and the matter of Othniel I explained in the Book of Joshua.
Ralbag
And Judah went against the Canaanite dwelling in Hebron, etc. For it was already clarified in the book of Joshua that it was Kalev who fought against them. And indeed he brought with him there the tribe of Judah because he was the prince of the tribe, and therefore this battle is attributed to the tribe of Judah. And it seems that this battle was already after the death of Joshua, although it was mentioned in the book of Joshua. But it was mentioned there to clarify that the promise of the Lord to Kalev was fulfilled, for Hebron was given to him as an inheritance by the word of the Lord, and he fought against it and conquered it at the end of the matter, although it was not conquered in the days of Joshua.
Metzudat David
"And Judah went." This refers to Caleb and his men, who were from the sons of Judah. Although that war took place in the days of Joshua, the text returns to recount together all the wars that the sons of Judah waged, both the new and the old, along with all that ensued.
Metzudat Zion
Of old. In ancient times:
Malbim
"And Judah went" – This is already mentioned in the conquest of Joshua (chapter 15), and there it is explained that Caleb dispossessed the Anakim, and this occurred during the lifetime of Joshua. Here, however, the text counts together all that Judah conquered, and intends to say that Judah had already gone up against the Canaanite dwelling in Hebron while Joshua was still alive. Although there the matter is attributed to Caleb, he was the head of the tribe, and his tribe went with him; from this perspective, it is attributed to both of them. For Hebron itself was given to the Levites, only the field of the city and its villages were given to Caleb; therefore, both of them exerted themselves in dispossessing it.
And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir—now the name of Debir beforetime was Kiriath-sepher.
verse value 2843
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "from·there" (מִשָּׁ֔ם, 3 letters) and the longest is "against·inhabitants·of" (אֶל־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "against·inhabitants·of" (אֶל־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י), "Debir" (דְּבִ֑יר), "and·name·of·Debir" (וְשֵׁם־דְּבִ֥יר). The root דביר appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "against·inhabitants·of" (root איל, 114x in Judges); "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "to·face" (root פנים, 46x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Debir', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ [and·went] (66) + מִשָּׁ֔ם [from·there] (380) + אֶל־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י [against·inhabitants·of] (359) + דְּבִ֑יר [Debir] (216) + וְשֵׁם־דְּבִ֥יר [and·name·of·Debir] (562) + לְפָנִ֖ים [to·face] (210) + קִרְיַת־סֵֽפֶר [Kiriath-sepher] (1050) = 2843.
Radak
"And the name of Debir." And in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, in the Persian language they call a book (sefer) 'dabir.'
Ralbag
And the Devir mentioned in this place is a different place from the one which Joshua captured, according to what is mentioned in the book of Joshua, it says, 'and Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Devir.'
Malbim
"And he went from there." This narrative, as well as the narrative concerning Achsah, is mentioned in the book of Joshua (there). The intent is to indicate that he had already gone during the lifetime of Joshua, and at that time this narrative occurred. Our Sages of blessed memory were prompted (as it appears) by the fact that this narrative appears twice, and by the fact that it relates that the Kenites came up from the city of palm trees, which has no apparent relevance at all.
And they expounded it in tractate Temurah (page 17): that three thousand laws were forgotten during the days of mourning for Moses, and Othniel ben Kenaz restored them through his dialectical analysis. And there, regarding the phrase "You have given me the land of the Negev," he intended to say that a person is stripped of all good, having nothing but Torah. And the sons of the Kenite left the fatness of Jericho that Joshua had given them, and went to Othniel ben Kenaz to study Torah. They [the Sages] were wise enough to discern this because the matter is repeated twice, for in this instance he aimed at allegorical matters embedded in the gold of rhetoric. For we have found that Debir is called Kiryat Sannah (Joshua 15:43), and from this they derived that this city was then designated as Kiryat Sefer, meaning that there students gathered to ponder and review the Book of Torah, and there was a great yeshivah there. It is also called Kiryat Sannah, named after "the favor of Him who dwells in the bush [sneh]," and named after the fact that Moses received the Torah from Sinai, and Othniel was the head of the yeshivah. And he "struck" Kiryat Sefer, for "striking" is used in the words of the Sages to mean prevailing in dialectical debate, as it is said, "The war of Torah," and it is said, "When you sit to fight against the ruler, your arrows are sharp," and similar verses which they expounded regarding the war of Torah. And "striking" refers to one who prevails in the battle and derives a halakhic conclusion, as it is stated in Berakhot (page 18) regarding the verse "and he went down and struck the lion in the pit on a day of snow": the Sifra de-Vei Rav teaches, "on a winter day." And Othniel prevailed: whether in the war against the Canaanite at Kiryat Sefer according to its plain meaning, which is mentioned in the Book of Joshua, or in the second, Torah-related victory, which is mentioned here. And because Achsah saw that the land of the Negev had fallen to her lot, this is due to two matters: a) that the land was parched and thirsty for water, which is mentioned in the Book of Joshua; b) that her husband went to the land of the Negev, for "whoever wishes to become wise should go south," and this was all his hope and all his desire, for it would not produce a livelihood for his household. And regarding this she said "You have given me" instead of "You gave me," meaning that I have become the land of the Negev through my husband, and therefore she requested a blessing and a field for sustenance. And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. a) To water her parched land; b) He also hinted to her that you already have a husband who draws living waters from the source of the upper and lower blessing, from divine and human wisdom.
As our Sages of blessed memory stated in the Midrash: "One upon whom the secrets of the upper and lower realms have been revealed should ask Me a question." And in accordance with this, the text recounts, in the parable and rhetorical style in which it speaks here, that when he settled and disseminated much Torah, as he asked in I Chronicles (4:10) — and, according to the exposition of our Sages of blessed memory (I Chronicles 2:55), the sons of the Kenite came up to him to the wilderness of Judah, which is near there. And he settled this people in a session of wisdom.
And Caleb said: ‘He that smites Kiriath-sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.’
verse value 4567
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֛וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֛וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "Kiriath-sepher" (אֶת־קִרְיַת־סֵ֖פֶר, 9 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "who·smites" (אֲשֶׁר־יַכֶּ֥ה), "Kiriath-sepher" (אֶת־קִרְיַת־סֵ֖פֶר), "and·takes·it" (וּלְכָדָ֑הּ). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "who·smites" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "and·I·will·give" (root נתן, 69x in Judges). First appearance of the root כלב ("Caleb") in Judges. First appearance of the root בת ("my·daughter") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·takes·it', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֣אמֶר [and·said] (257) + כָּלֵ֔ב [Caleb] (52) + אֲשֶׁר־יַכֶּ֥ה [who·smites] (536) + אֶת־קִרְיַת־סֵ֖פֶר [Kiriath-sepher] (1451) + וּלְכָדָ֑הּ [and·takes·it] (65) + וְנָתַ֥תִּי [and·I·will·give] (866) + ל֛וֹ [to·him] (36) + אֶת־עַכְסָ֥ה [Achsah] (556) + בִתִּ֖י [my·daughter] (412) + לְאִשָּֽׁה [to·wife] (336) = 4567.
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
verse value 3018
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "brother" (אֲחִ֥י, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·captured·it" (וַֽיִּלְכְּדָהּ֙, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·gave·him" (וַיִּתֶּן־ל֛וֹ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·gave·him" (root נתן, 69x in Judges); "to·wife" (root אשה, 59x in Judges); "son·of·Kenaz" (root בין, 50x in Judges). First appearance of the root עתניאל ("Othniel") in Judges. First appearance of the root בין ("son·of·Kenaz") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַֽיִּלְכְּדָהּ֙ [and·captured·it] (75) + עׇתְנִיאֵ֣ל [Othniel] (561) + בֶּן־קְנַ֔ז [son·of·Kenaz] (209) + אֲחִ֥י [brother] (19) + כָלֵ֖ב [Caleb] (52) + הַקָּטֹ֣ן [young] (164) + מִמֶּ֑נּוּ [from·him] (136) + וַיִּתֶּן־ל֛וֹ [and·gave·him] (502) + אֶת־עַכְסָ֥ה [Achsah] (556) + בִתּ֖וֹ [his·daughter] (408) + לְאִשָּֽׁה [to·wife] (336) = 3018.
And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field; and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said to her: ‘What would you?’
verse value 3460
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "from·upon" (מֵעַ֣ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·incited·him" (וַתְּסִיתֵ֙הוּ֙, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "when·she·came" (בְּבוֹאָ֗הּ), "and·incited·him" (וַתְּסִיתֵ֙הוּ֙), "to·ask" (לִשְׁאֹ֤ל). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said·to·her" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "what·to·you" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). First appearance of the root מאה ("from·her·father") in Judges. First appearance of the root שדה ("field") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on '(he) ass', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 3 words.
Rashi
"And she incited him." (Targum:) "And she caused him to be swayed," from the term of being swayed [נמלך], meaning that people advise a person and incline his heart toward another matter, it seems to me.
"And she dismounted." (Targum:) "And she bent down," to fall at her father's feet:
Ralbag
And indeed it is mentioned that Akhsah persuaded her husband to ask from her father a field, and when he gave it to her, she added to ask for springs of water.
Metzudat David
"When she came." To her husband's house:
And she persuaded him. She induced him to grant her permission, so that she would ask her father for the field.
And she fell. Out of respect for her father, she threw herself from the donkey with such force that it was as if she had been driven into the ground.
"What is with you? What is lacking to you, that you wish to seek for it?"
Metzudat Zion
And she enticed him. From the word for enticement and seduction:
And she plunged. The sense of driving in, as in (Judges 4:21) 'and it plunged into the ground'—meaning she fell with force, as if driven into the ground:
And she said to him: ‘Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the Southland, give me therefore springs of water.’ And Caleb gave her the Upper Springs and the Nether Springs.
verse value 7632
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 72 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֜וֹ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 7632 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֜וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·gave·to·her" (וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֣הּ, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 433: bowls·of, bowls·of, bowls·of. 8 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "give·me" (הָֽבָה־לִּ֣י), "blessing" (בְרָכָ֗ה), "south-country" (הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙). The root נתן appears 3 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "upper" (root עלה, 78x in Judges); "for" (root כי, 70x in Judges). First appearance of the root כי ("for") in Judges. First appearance of the root לי ("to·me") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'water', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 8 words.
Rashi
The land of the Negev. A person whose house is stripped of all good, so that nothing remains in it but Torah.
"Gulat mayim" (springs of water). [This refers to] the field of Beit Ha'ba'al. The Targum [translates it as]: "The site of the house of water-irrigation."
Radak
"Gulot illit and gulot tachtit" (upper springs and lower springs). And in the Book of Joshua it is 'gulot aliyot' and 'gulot tachtiyot' [plural]: 'aliyot' and 'tachtiyot' refer to the springs themselves, while 'illit' and 'tachtit' [here] refer to the plot of the field in which the springs were. And there are other variations as well: for in the Book of Joshua it says 'tena li' (give me), and here 'havah li' (give me) — mnemonic: תהקרו; and there it says 'sadeh' (a field), and here 'ha-sadeh' (the field) — and one verse serves as the mnemonic: "And the field of Ephron was made over [to Abraham]" (Genesis 23:17), "the field and the cave."
Metzudat David
"The land of the Negev." A dry field, without springs of water.
And you shall give to me. For this I ask, that you give to me a field in which is a spring of flowing water:
"Gulloth Illit" [Upper Gulloth]. A field, in which there is a spring above and a spring below:
Metzudat Zion
Give. Grant, as in (Genesis 47:15) 'give us bread':
A gift. A gift and offering, so too (ibid. 33:11) 'accept my gift':
The south. The sense of aridity, as in (Isaiah 21:1) 'like storms in the south':
You have given me. You gave to me:
Your spring. A spring, as in (Song of Songs 4:12) 'a locked garden':
Upper. From the word for 'high/supreme':
And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.
verse value 4663
Insights
Verse structure: 17 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "son-in-law" (חֹתֵ֨ן, 3 letters) and the longest is "palm·trees" (הַתְּמָרִים֙, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: Judah, Judah. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Kenite" (קֵינִי֩), "in·south·of" (בְּנֶ֣גֶב), "Arad" (עֲרָ֑ד). The root יהודה appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "and·sons·of" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges). First appearance of the root קיני ("Kenite") in Judges. First appearance of the root חתן ("son-in-law") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Arad', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 3 words.
Rashi
"From the city of palms." This is Jericho, for they were given the portion of Jericho to consume until the Holy Temple was built, and whoever would build the Chosen House in his share would take it, so that all Israel would have a share in the Chosen House. They gave it to the descendants of Jethro for four hundred and forty years, and the students among them abandoned it and went to Etniel, son of Kenaz, who is Jabez, in the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev, at Arad, to study Torah.
"וישב את העם" – He sat with the people. With the students who were sitting before him, he prayed to the Holy One, blessed be He, that He would provide him with worthy students, as it is stated (1 Chronicles 4:10): "And Jabez called upon God," etc., and He provided him with these pious men.
Radak
“City of palms.” Jonathan [ben Uzziel] rendered it as “from the city of Jericho,” because there were many date palms in it, it was called by that name, and it is stated explicitly in the Torah: “the valley of Jericho, the city of palms.”
"And he went and dwelt with the people." This is said concerning the head of the Kenites: the members of the family went with him and dwelt there with the children of Judah in the wilderness of Judah. Scripture does not explain why they went up from the City of Palms, or whether they had been dwelling there with the Canaanites. It is possible that they had been dwelling there with the Canaanites, for Jethro himself was not with the children of Israel, since it is written, "and he went to his own land" (Exodus 18:27). The passage "And Moses said to Hobab" and the passage "And Jethro heard" occurred at the same time, in the second year after their departure from Egypt; and Hobab is Jethro, as it is written, "of the sons of Hobab, Moses' father-in-law" (Judges 4:11). The passage "And Jethro heard" was written out of its [chronological] place in order to juxtapose the matter of Jethro with the matter of Amalek, because Amalek did evil to Israel when they left Egypt and oppressed them; therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, kept the matter against him until the end of all generations, as it is written, "the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation" (Exodus 17:16). And Jethro did good to Israel and rejoiced in their good fortune, and benefited them with his counsel; so the Holy One, blessed be He, kept the good for him until the end of all generations. For behold, it says that they dwelt with the children of Judah, and were given a place to dwell in their land, and they joined the religion of Israel. In the days of Saul they were dwelling among the Amalekites, for they dwelt in tents and moved from place to place, and Saul said to them, "Depart, go down from among the Amalekites... for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel" (1 Samuel 15:6) — so the kindness was preserved for them forever. In the days of Jehu, Jonadab son of Rechab was beloved and honored among Israel; and in the days of Jeremiah the prophet the house of the Rechabites were among the children of Israel, and Scripture says, "a man of the house of Jonadab son of Rechab shall not be cut off, standing before Me always" (Jeremiah 35:19); and the house of the Rechabites are of the sons of Jethro, as it says, "they are the Kenites who came from Hammath, father of the house of Rechab" (1 Chronicles 2:55). Now when the children of Judah captured Hebron, they [the Kenites] had been dwelling with the Canaanites in Hebron, in a town near it called the City of Palms; and when the children of Judah captured Hebron, they [the Kenites] went up from there in peace, for the children of Judah called to them for peace during their war with the Canaanites, that they should go up from among them and not be swept away with them — just as Saul called to them during his war with the Amalekites — and so they did, and went up from there in peace and dwelt in the wilderness of Judah with the children of Judah. This is what appears to me by the plain sense and by reason. And our Sages, of blessed memory, expounded that the children of Israel gave him the City of Palms, which in their view is Jericho, as Jonathan translated, "they gave it to the sons of the Kenite"; and that what Moses our teacher, peace be upon him, said, "and the good that the LORD shall do to us, the same will we do to you" (Numbers 10:32), refers to the fertile land of Jericho, which was five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits, and they left it undivided, saying, "whoever builds the Temple in his portion shall have it"; and meanwhile it was given to the sons of Jethro, and remained in their hands four hundred and forty years until the Temple was built, and then Benjamin came to take it from them, and they vacated it for them, as it says, "went up from the City of Palms"; and Jethro remained with Israel, as Moses said to him, "please do not leave us" (Numbers 10:31). And what it says, "and he went to his own land," means that he went to convert the members of his family. And they further expounded that what it says, "went up from the City of Palms," means that they left it of their own accord, for they went to study Torah in the wilderness of Judah with Othniel son of Kenaz, who is Ya'betz, as it is written in Chronicles, "and the families of scribes who dwelt at Jabez..." (1 Chronicles 2:55) — "they are the Kenites who came from Hammath, father of the house of Rechab."
Ralbag
And the sons of the Kenites, Moses' father-in-law, returned to the religion of Israel, and therefore they dwelt with Judah.
Metzudat David
Kini. This is Jethro, who was Moses’ father-in-law.
They went up from the city of palms. For they had dwelled among the Canaanites, and when the sons of Judah came to fight against them, they called out for peace to the sons of Keni, and they went up from there to go with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, etc.
“And he went and dwelt.” He referred to the entire family by using the singular form. Likewise, [it is written] (Psalms 118:2): “Let Israel now say.”
"[He dwelt] with the people." [That is,] with the children of Judah.
Malbim
"And the sons of the Kenite." They were tent-dwellers, traveling from place to place, and they had peace with Israel. When Judah fought with the Canaanite, they went up from the City of Palms, which was in the place of the battle, and settled in the wilderness of Judah. And he settled the people in a covenant of peace and tranquility. Just as Saul did when he fought with Amalek, saying to the Kenite, "Separate yourself, go down from among the Amalekites," etc. (1 Samuel 15:6), so too was it now.
Cross-references: Numbers 24:21; Judges 4:11; I Samuel 15:6
And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they smote the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.
verse value 4812
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 67 letters. The shortest word is "Zephath" (צְפַ֑ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "Canaanite" (אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י, 8 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Simeon" (אֶת־שִׁמְע֣וֹן), "Zephath" (צְפַ֑ת), "and·utterly·destroyed" (וַיַּחֲרִ֣ימוּ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "dwelling" (root ישב, 69x in Judges); "name·of·the·city" (root עיר, 52x in Judges). First appearance of the root קרא ("and·called") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Zephath', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ [and·went] (66) + יְהוּדָה֙ [Judah] (30) + אֶת־שִׁמְע֣וֹן [Simeon] (867) + אָחִ֔יו [his·brother] (25) + וַיַּכּ֕וּ [and·they·smote] (42) + אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י [Canaanite] (606) + יוֹשֵׁ֣ב [dwelling] (318) + צְפַ֑ת [Zephath] (570) + וַיַּחֲרִ֣ימוּ [and·utterly·destroyed] (280) + אוֹתָ֔הּ [her] (412) + וַיִּקְרָ֥א [and·called] (317) + אֶת־שֵׁם־הָעִ֖יר [name·of·the·city] (1026) + חׇרְמָֽה [Hormah] (253) = 4812.
Metzudat Zion
And they devoted to destruction. The sense of ruin and destruction:
Malbim
"And he went." According to his agreement (above, verse 3).
Also Judah took Gaza with the border thereof, and Ashkelon with the border thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof.
verse value 3669
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "and·he·captured" (וַיִּלְכֹּ֤ד, 5 letters) and the longest is "and·Ashkelon" (וְאֶֽת־אַשְׁקְל֖וֹן, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 453: and·border, and·border, and·border. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Gaza" (אֶת־עַזָּ֣ה), "and·Ashkelon" (וְאֶֽת־אַשְׁקְל֖וֹן), "and·Ekron" (וְאֶת־עֶקְר֖וֹן). The root גבול appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Judah" (root יהודה, 22x in Judges). First appearance of the root גבול ("and·border") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·border', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. 6 of the verse's 8 words begin with the letter ו. Full calculation: וַיִּלְכֹּ֤ד [and·he·captured] (70) + יְהוּדָה֙ [Judah] (30) + אֶת־עַזָּ֣ה [Gaza] (483) + וְאֶת־גְּבוּלָ֔הּ [and·border] (453) + וְאֶֽת־אַשְׁקְל֖וֹן [and·Ashkelon] (894) + וְאֶת־גְּבוּלָ֑הּ [and·border] (453) + וְאֶת־עֶקְר֖וֹן [and·Ekron] (833) + וְאֶת־גְּבוּלָֽהּ [and·border] (453) = 3669.
And Hashem was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the hill-country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
verse value 3731
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָה֙) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. Verse gematria: 3731 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "Judah" (אֶת־יְהוּדָ֔ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 31: and·it·was, not. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Judah" (אֶת־יְהוּדָ֔ה), "and·drove·out" (וַיֹּ֖רֶשׁ), "the·hill" (אֶת־הָהָ֑ר). The root ירש appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges). First appearance of the root ירש ("and·drove·out") in Judges. First appearance of the root לא ("not") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·hill', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 8 words. Full calculation: וַיְהִ֤י [and·it·was] (31) + יְהֹוָה֙ [Hashem] (26) + אֶת־יְהוּדָ֔ה [Judah] (431) + וַיֹּ֖רֶשׁ [and·drove·out] (516) + אֶת־הָהָ֑ר [the·hill] (611) + כִּ֣י [for] (30) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + לְהוֹרִישׁ֙ [to·dispossess] (551) + אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י [inhabitants·of] (723) + הָעֵ֔מֶק [valley] (215) + כִּי־רֶ֥כֶב [for·a team] (252) + בַּרְזֶ֖ל [iron] (239) + לָהֶֽם [to·them] (75) = 3731.
Rashi
"For they were not able to dispossess." Targum Yonatan: "After that they sinned, they were not able to drive out the inhabitants of the plain."
Radak
"For they could not drive out." They could not drive out [them], even though the LORD was with them, to dispossess the inhabitants of the mountain; the inhabitants of the valley they could not drive out, because they had iron chariots. And the true reason is that the Lord left them to test Israel by them, as it states, "whom the LORD left to test Israel by them." And Jonathan translated in the Targum: "And they drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; afterward, when they sinned, they were not able to drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had iron chariots."
Ralbag
And the Lord was with Judah, and they inherited the mountain. Meaning, that Judah found himself aided by the Lord in inheriting the mountain. But he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron and they were stronger than him. And you ought to know that if there had come to him a promise from the Lord to aid him in another place, outside of the battle, it would not say that he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, for there is no restraint upon the Lord to save with many or with few. Rather, we do not find a promise of the Lord for Judah to win except in the border of his inheritance, as is mentioned at the beginning of this book. And this battle was in the border of Shimon.
Metzudat David
"And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the mountain." This means: the fact that Judah dispossessed the inhabitants of the mountain was not due to the strength of his own hand, in the natural way, but rather the hand of the Lord accomplished this.
"For [he] was not able to dispossess." The word 'could' is omitted [from the verse], and the intent is to say: indeed, Judah did not have the ability to dispossess the inhabitants of the valley — because they had iron chariots, he lacked the strength to dispossess them — even though they dwelt in the valley, which is easier to conquer than the dwellers of the mountain. If so, how then did he dispossess the dwellers of the mountain, who are far more difficult [to conquer]? Rather, the hand of the Lord did this, and He left the inhabitants of the valley to test Israel with them, as is written below (below 2:22). And had He left the mountain-dwellers and driven out the valley-dwellers, they would have thought that by their own strength they could drive out the valley-dwellers — even though they too had iron chariots — while regarding the mountain-dwellers, who are more difficult, they would not be able to overcome them. Therefore, He dispossessed the mountain-dwellers and left the valley-dwellers.
Metzudat Zion
And dispossessed. From the word for banishing [i.e., divorcing/expelling]:
Chariots of iron. Men of chariots, strong as iron:
Malbim
"And it came to pass." Until now, the text has recounted how Judah, who went up after the death of Joshua to fight according to the word of the Lord, succeeded and accomplished great deeds, and the Lord was with him. From now until the end of the chapter, it begins to recount that afterward they did not act in accordance with the commandment of the Lord, and they did not dispossess the inhabitants of the land, even though they saw that the Lord was with them. This serves as an introduction to what is stated in the next chapter, that the angel of the Lord went up to the weepers to reprove them for this. And it recounts how each tribe sinned in this matter, beginning with Judah. It says: Even though the Lord was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country—and consequently it was easy for them to descend from the hill country to the valley and conquer the inhabitants of the valley, as it is stated (Joshua 17:18): "The hill country shall be yours... and its outlying areas shall be yours, for you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the valley and conquer the inhabitants of the valley"—and as it is stated (Joshua 17:18): "The hill country shall be yours... and its outlying areas shall be yours, for you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the valley"—it is clear that after the conquest of the hill country, it was very easy to conquer the valley. Nevertheless, they did not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley. That is to say, they did not conquer the hill country with the intention of subsequently conquering the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron, and they became weak and afraid to fight against them. For even their intention in conquering the hill country was not to dispossess the Canaanite from their portion, but rather from one side, because...
And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had spoken; and he drove out thence the three sons of Anak.
verse value 4518
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 47 letters. Verse gematria: 4518 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "had·spoken" (דִּבֶּ֣ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "Hebron" (אֶת־חֶבְר֔וֹן, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "to·Caleb" (לְכָלֵב֙), "Hebron" (אֶת־חֶבְר֔וֹן), "and·he·dispossessed" (וַיּ֣וֹרֶשׁ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "and·they·gave" (root נתן, 69x in Judges). First appearance of the root דבר ("had·spoken") in Judges. First appearance of the root שלוש ("three") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Moses', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ [and·they·gave] (472) + לְכָלֵב֙ [to·Caleb] (82) + אֶת־חֶבְר֔וֹן [Hebron] (667) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר [as] (521) + דִּבֶּ֣ר [had·spoken] (206) + מֹשֶׁ֑ה [Moses] (345) + וַיּ֣וֹרֶשׁ [and·he·dispossessed] (522) + מִשָּׁ֔ם [from·there] (380) + אֶת־שְׁלֹשָׁ֖ה [three] (1036) + בְּנֵ֥י [son] (62) + הָעֲנָֽק [the·Anak] (225) = 4518.
Metzudat Zion
The Anakim. Men of tall stature:
Malbim
"And they gave Hebron to Caleb." They needed to assist Caleb, since this had been promised to him by Moses, and he drove out the three sons of Anak; but they did not intend to dispossess [the inhabitants of] the surrounding land round about.
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem, to this day.
verse value 3936
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·Jebusite" (וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 152: Benjamin, Benjamin. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·Jebusite" (וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי֙), "Jebusite" (הַיְבוּסִ֜י). The root ישב appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "son" (root בן, 116x in Judges); "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges); "day" (root יום, 76x in Judges). First appearance of the root בנימן ("Benjamin") in Judges. First appearance of the root עד ("until") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Benjamin', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 8 words.
Rashi
"And the Jebusite dwelt in Jerusalem." There was a district in Jerusalem called Jebus (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 36), and they were from the descendants of Abimelech. They were not dispossessed because of the oath (Genesis 21:23–24) until David came (2 Samuel 5:6–7), because his grandson was still alive, and he had sworn to him, his son, and his grandson.
Radak
The sons of Benjamin did not dispossess them. And in the Book of Joshua it states, “The sons of Judah were not able to dispossess them,” which is as we have explained, because Jerusalem is situated between Judah and Benjamin. And what it says, “to this day,” was written by the prophet Samuel, for he wrote the Book of Judges according to tradition, and in his days the Jebusite was still in Jerusalem, and even in the days of David, as it is written:
Ralbag
And you ought to know that the Jebusite dwelt in Jerusalem until the days of David, as is mentioned in the book of Samuel. And the cause of his standing there was the covenant that Avraham made with Avimelech that he would not wrong him, his great-grandson, or his grandson. And indeed Samuel the prophet wrote this book, as our Sages of blessed memory said, and that is what he meant by 'until this day,' namely until the days of his writing this book. And after this he mentions what remained of these nations in the border of Israel, to clarify that they were a snare for them, as is mentioned in the Torah.
Metzudat David
The Jebusite. The name of a nation:
The sons of Benjamin. For Jerusalem was part of their inheritance, and apart from a single strip of land that belonged to Judah within it. Thus our Sages of blessed memory stated (Zevachim 53b):
Malbim
"And the Jebusites." This means that even Benjamin was negligent in this commandment and did not dispossess the Jebusites from his portion. We have already explained this verse (above, verse 8).
And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Beth-el; and Hashem was with them.
verse value 1403
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 29 letters. The shortest word is "with" (עִמָּֽם, 3 letters) and the longest is "house·of·Joseph" (בֵית־יוֹסֵ֛ף, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "also·they" (גַּם־הֵ֖ם), "and·Hashem" (וַיהֹוָ֖ה). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·Hashem" (root יהוה, 171x in Judges); "Beth-el" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "with" (root עם, 79x in Judges). First appearance of the root יוסף ("house·of·Joseph") in Judges. First appearance of the root גם ("also·they") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Beth-el', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וַיַּעֲל֧וּ [and·they·went·up] (122) + בֵית־יוֹסֵ֛ף [house·of·Joseph] (568) + גַּם־הֵ֖ם [also·they] (88) + בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל [Beth-el] (443) + וַיהֹוָ֖ה [and·Hashem] (32) + עִמָּֽם [with] (150) = 1403.
Rashi
Bethel. “Which fell to their lot” (Joshua 16:1), and even though Micah’s idol was with them—for Micah was from the tribe of Ephraim (Judges 17:1)—it is stated here, “And the Lord was with them.” This is what Daniel said (Daniel 9:7): “To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, and to us shame of face.”
Metzudat David
“Also they.” Just as the tribe of Judah fought to conquer their allotted portion, so too did the tribe of Joseph fight for their allotted portion.
Malbim
"And the house of Joseph also went up." They were sluggish in the conquest of the land, and to magnify their guilt, he first stated that the house of Joseph also went up to conquer Bethel, and then they had proof and a sign that the Lord was with them, and that was because...
And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el—now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.
verse value 2529
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "Luz" (לֽוּז, 3 letters) and the longest is "house·of·Joseph" (בֵית־יוֹסֵ֖ף, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·spied·out" (וַיָּתִ֥ירוּ), "in·Beth-el" (בְּבֵֽית־אֵ֑ל), "and·name·of·the·city" (וְשֵׁם־הָעִ֥יר). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·Beth-el" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "and·name·of·the·city" (root עיר, 52x in Judges); "to·face" (root פנים, 46x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Beth-el', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיָּתִ֥ירוּ [and·spied·out] (632) + בֵית־יוֹסֵ֖ף [house·of·Joseph] (568) + בְּבֵֽית־אֵ֑ל [in·Beth-el] (445) + וְשֵׁם־הָעִ֥יר [and·name·of·the·city] (631) + לְפָנִ֖ים [to·face] (210) + לֽוּז [Luz] (43) = 2529.
Rashi
"And they sent to scout." By means of others. (Targum: "and they sent scouts.") [The phrase] "and they scouted the land" (Numbers 13:2) is stated regarding the spies themselves, whereas regarding those who sent the spies it says "and they sent to scout."
Radak
"And they scouted." It is a transitive verb (po'el yotze), and the emissaries are the scouts; Scripture calls them "watchmen" because they stood facing the city and watched to see if they would spot anyone leaving the city, for they could not see the entrance of the city — perhaps there were gardens and orchards around it.
Metzudat Zion
And they scouted out. The sense of investigation and searching, as in (Numbers 13:2) 'and explore the land of Canaan':
Malbim
The Questions (23): For what purpose did the Scripture recount this? Would it not have sufficed to say, “They captured the city of Bethel”?
"And the house of Joseph scouted at Bethel." The camp had not yet approached Bethel itself; rather, they sent [men] to scout the land all around. For the verb "tur" (to scout) is always connected with the word "et" (as in "to scout the land"), but here it appears with the usage of the letter "bet" (meaning "in"), because they did not scout Bethel itself, but rather "in Bethel," meaning within the border of Bethel. And it is explained by us that there is a difference between a "tar" (scout) and a "meragel" (spy): the "meragel" seeks the vulnerabilities of the land and places where it is easy to conquer it, whereas the "tar" seeks what is good (as in "to scout for them a place of rest"). They sought in the surroundings of Bethel a good place for the camp to encamp, because they planned to besiege and stand around Bethel for many days. (And also, they said "vayyatiru" is in the Hif'il conjugation, meaning that they sent scouts to scout, and they themselves did not scout, as Rashi explains.) And "the city" means that it is not the Bethel that is near Ai, which belonged to Benjamin, but rather Bethel Luz, as stated above (Joshua 16:2).
And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him: ‘Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.’
verse value 3602
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 61 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֗וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֗וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·watchmen" (הַשֹּׁ֣מְרִ֔ים, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "going·forth" (יוֹצֵ֣א), "and·we·shall·offer" (וְעָשִׂ֥ינוּ). The root ראה appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 268x in Judges); "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "entrance·of" (root בוא, 93x in Judges). First appearance of the root ראה ("and·they·saw") in Judges. First appearance of the root שמר ("the·watchmen") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·the·city', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיִּרְאוּ֙ [and·they·saw] (223) + הַשֹּׁ֣מְרִ֔ים [the·watchmen] (595) + אִ֖ישׁ [man] (311) + יוֹצֵ֣א [going·forth] (107) + מִן־הָעִ֑יר [from·the·city] (375) + וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ [and·they·said] (263) + ל֗וֹ [to·him] (36) + הַרְאֵ֤נוּ [show·us] (262) + נָא֙ [please] (51) + אֶת־מְב֣וֹא [entrance·of] (450) + הָעִ֔יר [the·city] (285) + וְעָשִׂ֥ינוּ [and·we·shall·offer] (442) + עִמְּךָ֖ [with] (130) + חָֽסֶד [goodness] (72) = 3602.
Rashi
"The entrance of the city." [This refers to the fact] that they would enter it through a cave, and a certain luz tree stood at the mouth of the cave, and they would enter through the luz [tree] into the cave.
Radak
"Show us, please, the entrance of the city." In the words of our Sages, of blessed memory: Why is it called Luz? Just as this "luz" has no opening, so too no one could stand at the entrance of the city. Rabbi Shimon said: A luz stood at the entrance of a cave, and the luz was hollow, and they would enter through the luz into the cave, and through the cave into the city. This is what is written: "And the watchmen saw," etc.
"And we will do with you (ve'asinu immakh)." The mem has a shva and the kaf a qamats. There are texts in which it is written with a qamats under the mem and a shva under the kaf, but this is an error, and we know this from the Masorah.
Metzudat David
"The watchmen." For it was from the sons of Joseph that the watchmen were stationed opposite the gate, to see if anyone would come out of the city to ask about the way in.
"And we will do kindness with you." When we shall conquer the city:
Metzudat Zion
Entrance. From the word for entering:
Malbim
"And they saw." In the meantime, the guards (whom they had stationed around the city so that no man would go out from the city) saw a man going out from the city. And although the guards were few in number, because the camp had gone off to scout the land, nevertheless they clothed themselves with strength and valor.
And they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city.” He meant to say: not the open gate, but rather the hidden entrance.
And he showed them the entrance into the city, and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.
verse value 4408
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 53 letters. The shortest word is "the·city" (הָעִ֔יר, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·all·clan" (וְאֶת־כׇּל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ, 11 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·showed·them" (וַיַּרְאֵם֙), "and·the·man" (וְאֶת־הָאִ֥ישׁ), "and·all·clan" (וְאֶת־כׇּל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ). The root עיר appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·the·man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "entrance·of" (root בוא, 93x in Judges); "the·city" (root עיר, 52x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'with·edge·of·sword', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיַּרְאֵם֙ [and·showed·them] (257) + אֶת־מְב֣וֹא [entrance·of] (450) + הָעִ֔יר [the·city] (285) + וַיַּכּ֥וּ [and·they·smote] (42) + אֶת־הָעִ֖יר [the·city] (686) + לְפִי־חָ֑רֶב [with·edge·of·sword] (330) + וְאֶת־הָאִ֥ישׁ [and·the·man] (723) + וְאֶת־כׇּל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ [and·all·clan] (1291) + שִׁלֵּֽחוּ [they·let·go] (344) = 4408.
Rashi
"He showed them." With his finger:
Radak
"And he showed them the entrance of the city." Our Sages of blessed memory said: he hinted to them with his finger and showed them, so that no one would notice him.
Metzudat David
"They sent [them] away." [i.e., set them] free, and they did not strike them along with the people of the city.
Malbim
"And he showed them, etc., and they smote." The watchmen, by themselves, struck the city, and from this they should have seen that the Lord was with them, so that one would pursue a thousand. (And as for "the man," it is stated here incidentally: a) because they kept what they had promised, which was the proper and just thing to do; b) lest they err and think that this Luz is the Luz that is in the land of the Hittites.)
And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz, which is the name thereof to this day.
verse value 2698
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "until" (עַ֖ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Hittites" (הַחִתִּ֑ים, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 345: her·name, her·name. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "the·Hittites" (הַחִתִּ֑ים). The root שם appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "man" (root איש, 190x in Judges); "and·went" (root הלך, 109x in Judges); "day" (root יום, 76x in Judges). First appearance of the root בנה ("and·he·built") in Judges. First appearance of the root הוא ("it") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·Hittites', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 10 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ [and·went] (66) + הָאִ֔ישׁ [man] (316) + אֶ֖רֶץ [land] (291) + הַחִתִּ֑ים [the·Hittites] (463) + וַיִּ֣בֶן [and·he·built] (68) + עִ֗יר [city] (280) + וַיִּקְרָ֤א [and·called] (317) + שְׁמָהּ֙ [her·name] (345) + ל֔וּז [Luz] (43) + ה֣וּא [it] (12) + שְׁמָ֔הּ [her·name] (345) + עַ֖ד [until] (74) + הַיּ֥וֹם [day] (61) + הַזֶּֽה [this] (17) = 2698.
Rashi
Luz. Because thin nuts grew there; in the vernacular (Old French): "coldre."
It is there to this day. Sennacherib did not confound it [intermix its people with other nations], and Nebuchadnezzar did not destroy it.
Radak
The land of the Hittites. It is not the Hittites of the seven nations:
"That it is called by that name to this day." Since he named it [the new city] by the name of the other city, it means that by the same name he called it, they call it to this day: Luz. And in its midrashic sense of "that it is called by that name to this day," it was taught: It is the Luz in which they dye tekhelet; it is the Luz into which Sennacherib came and did not confound [it]; Nebuchadnezzar came and did not destroy it; and even the Angel of Death has no permission to pass through it — except for its elders: when their minds grow weary of life, they are taken outside the camp, and there they die.
And Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its towns, nor of Taanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites were resolved to dwell in that land.
verse value 12086
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 133 letters. The shortest word is "period" (ד֜וֹר, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·its·towns" (וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֶ֘יהָ֮, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 880: and·its·towns, and·its·towns, and·its·towns. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·did·not·drive·out" (וְלֹֽא־הוֹרִ֣ישׁ), "Beth-shean" (אֶת־בֵּית־שְׁאָ֣ן), "and·Taanach" (וְאֶת־תַּעְנַ֣ךְ). The root ישב appears 5 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Beth-shean" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "and·inhabitants·of" (root ישב, 69x in Judges); "earth" (root ארץ, 56x in Judges). First appearance of the root מנשה ("Manasseh") in Judges. First appearance of the root ענה ("and·Taanach") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·its·towns', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 5 words.
Rashi
"And Manasseh did not dispossess." The Scripture relates this to his disgrace, for they began to transgress against the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who had commanded them (Numbers 33:52): "And you shall dispossess all the inhabitants of the land, etc."
Metzudat Zion
And he was willing. The sense of willingness, so too (Exodus 2:21) 'and Moses was content':
Malbim
The Questions (27): Has this not already been stated in the Book of Joshua, chapter 17?
"And they did not dispossess." This means to say: nevertheless, even though they saw that the Lord was with them, the House of Joseph—namely, Manasseh and Ephraim—still did not dispossess [the inhabitants of] their portion. For Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean, etc. (And this was already stated in Joshua (chapter 17), where it said, "And the children of Manasseh could not dispossess Beth-shean," and that was during the lifetime of Joshua; but now they were able to do so, yet they did not wish to.)
And it came to pass, when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to task-work, but did in no wise drive them out.
verse value 2894
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 43 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "Canaanite" (אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 527: and·dispossessing, his·dispossessing. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "because·was·severe" (כִּֽי־חָזַ֣ק), "and·dispossessing" (וְהוֹרֵ֖ישׁ). The root ירש appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "Israel" (root ישראל, 114x in Judges); "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges). First appearance of the root חזק ("because·was·severe") in Judges. First appearance of the root שום ("and·put") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·tribute', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַֽיְהִי֙ [and·it·was] (31) + כִּֽי־חָזַ֣ק [because·was·severe] (145) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל [Israel] (541) + וַיָּ֥שֶׂם [and·put] (356) + אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י [Canaanite] (606) + לָמַ֑ס [to·tribute] (130) + וְהוֹרֵ֖ישׁ [and·dispossessing] (527) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + הוֹרִישֽׁוֹ [his·dispossessing] (527) = 2894.
Radak
"For Israel is strong." It is a past-tense verb, for half of it has a qamats and half has a patach.
Malbim
"And it came to pass." And although the Israelites were strong over them, they were content with what they took from them as tribute, and did not dispossess them, as commanded by the Torah.
And Ephraim drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.
verse value 3075
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "Canaanite" (אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 212: in·Gezer, in·Gezer. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·Ephraim" (וְאֶפְרַ֙יִם֙). The root ישב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges); "that·dwells" (root ישב, 69x in Judges); "he·cast·out" (root ירש, 27x in Judges). First appearance of the root אפרים ("and·Ephraim") in Judges. First appearance of the root קרב ("in·his·midst") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Gezer', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְאֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ [and·Ephraim] (337) + לֹ֣א [not] (31) + הוֹרִ֔ישׁ [he·cast·out] (521) + אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י [Canaanite] (606) + הַיּוֹשֵׁ֣ב [that·dwells] (323) + בְּגָ֑זֶר [in·Gezer] (212) + וַיֵּ֧שֶׁב [and·dwelt] (318) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י [Canaanite] (205) + בְּקִרְבּ֖וֹ [in·his·midst] (310) + בְּגָֽזֶר [in·Gezer] (212) = 3075.
Malbim
"And Ephraim." From the house of Joseph, he did not displace the inhabitants of Gezer, nor did he impose tribute upon them; rather, they dwelled among him in a covenant of brotherhood, contrary to the commandment of the Lord, who commanded: "You shall not make a covenant with them; they shall not dwell in your midst, lest they cause you to sin against Me."
Zebulun drove not out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the: inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributary.
verse value 3591
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·inhabitants·of" (וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י, 8 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Kitron" (קִטְר֔וֹן), "Nahalol" (נַהֲלֹ֑ל). The root ישב appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·were" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges); "inhabitants·of" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). First appearance of the root זבולן ("Zebulun") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Nahalol', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: זְבוּלֻ֗ן [Zebulun] (95) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + הוֹרִישׁ֙ [he·cast·out] (521) + אֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵ֣י [inhabitants·of] (729) + קִטְר֔וֹן [Kitron] (365) + וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י [and·inhabitants·of] (735) + נַהֲלֹ֑ל [Nahalol] (115) + וַיֵּ֤שֶׁב [and·dwelt] (318) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ [Canaanite] (205) + בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ [in·his·midst] (310) + וַיִּֽהְי֖וּ [and·they·were] (37) + לָמַֽס [to·tribute] (130) = 3591.
Malbim
Zebulun. He reckons all the tribes in the order of their lot, that after the House of Joseph, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan inherited (for Simeon and Issachar had [fully] dispossessed [the inhabitants of] their inheritance).
Asher drove not out the inhabitants of Acco, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob;
verse value 5329
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 67 letters. Verse gematria: 5329 = 73². The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·inhabitants·of" (וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Acco" (עַכּ֔וֹ), "and·Ahlab" (וְאֶת־אַחְלָ֤ב), "and·Achzib" (וְאֶת־אַכְזִיב֙). The root ישב appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Asher" (root אשר, 178x in Judges); "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges); "inhabitants·of" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). First appearance of the root צידון ("Sidon") in Judges. First appearance of the root חלב ("and·Helbah") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Sidon', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: אָשֵׁ֗ר [Asher] (501) + לֹ֤א [not] (31) + הוֹרִישׁ֙ [he·cast·out] (521) + אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י [inhabitants·of] (723) + עַכּ֔וֹ [Acco] (96) + וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵ֖י [and·inhabitants·of] (735) + צִיד֑וֹן [Sidon] (160) + וְאֶת־אַחְלָ֤ב [and·Ahlab] (448) + וְאֶת־אַכְזִיב֙ [and·Achzib] (447) + וְאֶת־חֶלְבָּ֔ה [and·Helbah] (452) + וְאֶת־אֲפִ֖יק [and·Aphik] (598) + וְאֶת־רְחֹֽב [and·Rehob] (617) = 5329.
but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
verse value 2549
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֖י, 2 letters) and the longest is "Canaanite" (הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "Asherites" (הָאָ֣שֵׁרִ֔י). The root ישב appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 77x in Judges); "for" (root כי, 70x in Judges); "and·dwelt" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ [and·dwelt] (318) + הָאָ֣שֵׁרִ֔י [Asherites] (516) + בְּקֶ֥רֶב [in·midst·of] (304) + הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖י [Canaanite] (205) + יֹשְׁבֵ֣י [dwelling] (322) + הָאָ֑רֶץ [earth] (296) + כִּ֖י [for] (30) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + הֽוֹרִישֽׁוֹ [his·dispossessing] (527) = 2549.
Metzudat David
"And the Asherite dwelt." This means: the Canaanite did not dwell among Israel like sojourners residing within [the land of] its masters; rather, the opposite was true: the Asherite was the one dwelling among the Canaanites, for they were the inhabitants of the land and its masters.
"For they did not dispossess them." The reason for this was that they had not dispossessed them at the outset, when they had the power to do so; and therefore [the nations] rose up against them and ruled over the land.
Malbim
"And Asher dwelled among the Canaanite." For the Canaanite was the majority, and Asher dwelled among them; and so it was with Naphtali.
Naphtali drove not out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributary to them.
verse value 8547
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 86 letters. The shortest word is "spoke" (עֲנָ֔ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "not·he·cast·out" (לֹֽא־הוֹרִ֞ישׁ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 1052: Beth-shemesh, Beth-shemesh. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "not·he·cast·out" (לֹֽא־הוֹרִ֞ישׁ), "and·inhabitants·of" (וְאֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֣י), "Beth-anath" (בֵית־עֲנָ֔ת). The root ישב appears 5 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "were" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "Beth-shemesh" (root בית, 88x in Judges); "to·them" (root הם, 74x in Judges). First appearance of the root נפתלי ("Naphtali") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'earth', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 7 words.
Metzudat David
“Those who dwell in Beth-shemesh, etc.” This means: rather, those who dwell in Beth-shemesh, etc., who were not from among the Canaanites, they alone were subject to tribute to Naphtali, and not the Canaanites dwelling among them; or it may be said that they paid the tribute to the Canaanites and not to Naphtali.
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill-country; for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley.
verse value 2579
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 38 letters. The shortest word is "hill" (הָהָ֑רָה, 4 letters) and the longest is "sons·of·Dan" (אֶת־בְּנֵי־דָ֖ן, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·they·squeezed" (וַיִּלְחֲצ֧וּ), "hill" (הָהָ֑רָה), "for·not" (כִּי־לֹ֥א). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for·not" (root כי, 70x in Judges); "allowed·him" (root נתן, 69x in Judges); "to·go·down" (root ירד, 32x in Judges). First appearance of the root לחץ ("and·they·squeezed") in Judges. First appearance of the root אמרי ("Amorite") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'hill', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיִּלְחֲצ֧וּ [and·they·squeezed] (150) + הָאֱמֹרִ֛י [Amorite] (256) + אֶת־בְּנֵי־דָ֖ן [sons·of·Dan] (517) + הָהָ֑רָה [hill] (215) + כִּי־לֹ֥א [for·not] (61) + נְתָנ֖וֹ [allowed·him] (506) + לָרֶ֥דֶת [to·go·down] (634) + לָעֵֽמֶק [to·the·valley] (240) = 2579.
Metzudat David
The mountain: They pressed upon them to remain on the mountain, for they did not allow them to descend into the valley.
Metzudat Zion
And they pressed hard. The sense of pressure, as in (Numbers 22:25) 'and pressed against the wall':
Did not permit. Did not allow, as in (Genesis 31:7) 'God did not permit':
Malbim
"And they pressed." And this transgression is more apparent in Dan, for initially the Amorite pressed them into the mountain, and afterwards...
But the Amorites were resolved to dwell in Harheres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributary.
verse value 3256
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "hand" (יַ֣ד, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·in·Shaalbim" (וּבְשַׁעַלְבִ֑ים, 8 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "in·mountain·of·Heres" (בְּהַר־חֶ֔רֶס), "and·in·Shaalbim" (וּבְשַׁעַלְבִ֑ים), "and·it·was·heavy" (וַתִּכְבַּד֙). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·were" (root היה, 120x in Judges); "hand" (root יד, 75x in Judges); "to·dwell" (root ישב, 69x in Judges). First appearance of the root חרס ("in·mountain·of·Heres") in Judges. First appearance of the root אילון ("in·Aijal-") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·in·Shaalbim', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיּ֤וֹאֶל [and·consented] (53) + הָאֱמֹרִי֙ [Amorite] (256) + לָשֶׁ֣בֶת [to·dwell] (732) + בְּהַר־חֶ֔רֶס [in·mountain·of·Heres] (475) + בְּאַיָּל֖וֹן [in·Aijal-] (99) + וּבְשַׁעַלְבִ֑ים [and·in·Shaalbim] (460) + וַתִּכְבַּד֙ [and·it·was·heavy] (432) + יַ֣ד [hand] (14) + בֵּית־יוֹסֵ֔ף [house·of·Joseph] (568) + וַיִּהְי֖וּ [and·they·were] (37) + לָמַֽס [to·tribute] (130) = 3256.
Radak
"And the hand of the house of Joseph was strong." This refers to the fact that the cities of Aijalon and Shaalbim, which belonged to the tribe of Dan, were adjacent to the territory of the house of Joseph, as were the territories of the house of Judah. The hand of the house of Joseph was strong against the Amorites, and they made them tributary; however, they did not dispossess them. Therefore, the Amorites were to them as thorns and stings.
Metzudat David
"And the Amorite persisted." After this, they wanted to prevail further, to go up into the mountain and dwell there as well.
Yad Beit Yosef: Since their inheritance was adjacent to the inheritance of the children of Dan, the inhabitants of these cities, they fought the war of the children of Dan, and his hand was heavy upon them, until they subjected them once again to tribute.
Metzudat Zion
And it bore heavily. Its meaning is like 'and it became strong':
Malbim
"And the Amorite persisted." This means that he began to ascend from the valley to the mountain, and he began to settle in Mount Heres, which was in the mountain, together with Ailon and Shaalbim, which were in the valley. The children of Dan alone could not withstand them until the house of Joseph, their neighbors, came to their aid, and the hand of the house of Joseph became strong and their arm prevailed. Nevertheless, "and they made them pay tribute." Although they should now have taken vengeance, dispossessed them, and destroyed them after seeing that they had engaged them in battle, they did not do so; rather, they contented themselves with taking tribute from him, and they marked his boundary until.
And the border of the Amorites was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.
verse value 1266
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "and·border·of" (וּגְבוּל֙, 5 letters) and the longest is "Akrabbim" (עַקְרַבִּ֑ים, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Judges. Unique to this verse in Judges (hapax): "and·border·of" (וּגְבוּל֙), "from·the·ascent·of" (מִֽמַּעֲלֵ֖ה), "Akrabbim" (עַקְרַבִּ֑ים). 6 unique roots are used. First appearance of the root סלע ("from·the·Sela") in Judges. First appearance of the root מעל ("and·unfaithful or treacherous act") in Judges. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Akrabbim', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּגְבוּל֙ [and·border·of] (47) + הָאֱמֹרִ֔י [Amorite] (256) + מִֽמַּעֲלֵ֖ה [from·the·ascent·of] (185) + עַקְרַבִּ֑ים [Akrabbim] (422) + מֵהַסֶּ֖לַע [from·the·Sela] (205) + וָמָֽעְלָה [and·unfaithful or treacherous act] (151) = 1266.
Radak
"And the border of the Amorite." This too, the house of Joseph did not dispossess [the Amorites] from Sela onward.
Metzudat David
"And the border of the Amorite." This phrase refers back to the previous verse, to say: "And also the border of the Amorite, etc., were held to tribute," meaning that they remained subject to tribute, since they were not able to dispossess them.
Malbim
That the border of the Amorite extends from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward. Just as two peoples who make a covenant and delimit for each the boundary of his inheritance, and this was very evil in the eyes of the Lord; therefore He sent an angel to reprove them for this, as will be related in the next chapter.
Rashi
Radak
Ralbag
Metzudat David
Malbim