Bible Strands
Judges 1:21
The Benjamites, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the Benjamites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records a post-conquest survey of tribal territories immediately after Judah secures Hebron and before Joseph's campaign at Bethel. The account addresses the ongoing territorial failures of Israel's tribes following Joshua's death.
The words — הוֹרִישׁוּ (ho.Ri.shu) means "they dispossessed," paired with לֹא (lo') "not" to state the Benjamites' inability to remove the Jebusites.
The thread — This failure mirrors Joshua 15:63, which records Judah's inability to dislodge the same Jebusite population, while Joshua 18:11 establishes Jerusalem within Benjamin's original allotment.
Why it lands — The text states the Jebusites permanently remained in Jerusalem among the Benjamites because the tribe failed to drive them out. It demands recognition that incomplete conquest leaves rival populations permanently embedded in the promised land.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:63 But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.
- Joshua 18:11 The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
- Judges 1:8 Then the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
- Judges 19:10 But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
- 2 Samuel 5:6 Now the king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites who inhabited the land. The Jebusites said to David: “You will never get in here. Even the blind and lame can repel you.” For they thought, “David cannot get in here.”