Judges 1:25

So the man showed them the entrance to the city, and they put the city to the sword but released that man and all his family.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The narrative describes the spies and a local man at the moment the man reveals the city's entrance after the spies promised him kindness.

The words — מְב֣וֹא (me.Vo') denotes the entrance of the city, while לְ/פִי (le./fi-) literally means to the mouth of, describing the total destruction wrought upon it.

The thread — The pattern of sparing a guide in exchange for mercy appears in Joshua 6:22, where Joshua commands the spies to bring out Rahab and her household.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that specific promises are fulfilled even amid judgment, requiring readers to observe how mercy operates within divine warfare.

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

וַיַּרְאֵם֙va/i.yar.'E/mand/ he showed/ them אֶת־'et-<obj.>מְב֣וֹאme.Vo'[the] entrance of הָעִ֔ירha./'Irthe/ city וַיַּכּ֥וּva/i.ya.Kuand/ they struck אֶת־'et-<obj.>הָעִ֖ירha./'Irthe/ city לְפִי־le./fi-to/ [the] mouth of חָ֑רֶבCha.rev[the] sword וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>הָאִ֥ישׁha./'Ishthe/ man וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>כָּל־kol-all מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹmish.pach.T/ofamily/ his שִׁלֵּֽחוּ׃shi.Le.chuthey let go

King James Version

And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

Cross-references

Joshua 6:22 Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”