1 Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel ANum 27:21inquired of the Loʀᴅ, saying, “Who shall go up first for us BJudg 1:27; 2:21-23; 3:1-6against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Loʀᴅ said, “AGen 49:8Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into 1Lit my lotthe territory allotted me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and 2Lit I, even II in turn will go with you into 3Lit your lotthe territory allotted you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up, and APs 44:2; 78:55the Loʀᴅ gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they 1Lit smote themdefeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they 1Lit smotedefeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his 1Lit thumbs of his hands and his feetthumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to gather up scraps under my table; ALev 24:19as I have done, so God has repaid me.” So they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there.

8 Then the sons of Judah fought against AJosh 15:63; Judg 1:21Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the 1I.e. South countryNegev and in the lowland. 10 AJosh 15:13-19So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 Then AJosh 15:15from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). 12 And Caleb said, “The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife.” 13 AJudg 3:9Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. 14 Then AJosh 15:18it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from 1Lit theher donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What 2Lit for yourselfdo you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the 1I.e. South countryNegev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 The 1Lit sonsdescendants of ANum 10:29-32; Judg 4:11the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the BDeut 34:3; Judg 3:13city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness of Judah which is in the south of CNum 21:1Arad; and they went and lived with the people. 17 Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called ANum 21:3Hormah. 18 And Judah took AJosh 11:22Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory. 19 Now the Loʀᴅ was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not 1Or dispossessdrive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had AJosh 17:16; Judg 4:3, 13iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, AJosh 14:9as Moses had 1Lit spokenpromised; and he drove out from there BJosh 15:14; Judg 1:10the three sons of Anak. 21 AJosh 15:63; Judg 1:8But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the B1 Chr 11:4Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the Loʀᴅ was with them. 23 The house of Joseph spied out Bethel (AGen 28:19now the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city and AJosh 2:12we will treat you kindly.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, AJosh 6:25but they let the man and all his family go free. 26 The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz 1Lit itwhich is its name to this day.

27 AJosh 17:12But Manasseh did not take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; so BJudg 1:1the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. 28 It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

29 AJosh 16:10Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of 1Perhaps same as NahalalNahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob. 32 So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

34 Then the Amorites 1Lit pressedforced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 yet the Amorites persisted in 1Lit dwellingliving in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the 2Lit handpower of the house of Joseph 3Lit was heavygrew strong, they became forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the AJosh 15:3ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.