Bible Strands
Judges 1:35
And the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. But when the house of Joseph grew in strength, they pressed the Amorites into forced labor.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the post-conquest territorial stalemate between the advancing house of Joseph and the entrenched Amorites. The text notes the Amorites' refusal to leave Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, followed by their subjugation to forced labor as Israelite strength increases.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיּוֹאֶל (va.yo'el) denotes a firm determination to remain, while וַתִּכְבַּד (va.tikkabed) literally means "it was heavy," describing the growing weight of the house of Joseph's presence. These terms mark the transition from Amorite entrenchment to Israelite dominance.
The thread — The named locations reappear in Joshua 19:42 as part of tribal boundaries and in Judges 12:12 as Elon the Zebulunite's burial site. The pattern of Amorite resistance and territorial adjustment also mirrors the Danites' confinement to the hills in Judges 1:34 and the extended Amorite border in Judges 1:36.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that territorial control shifted through sustained demographic and military pressure rather than immediate, complete conquest. It requires the reader to account for the gradual, often coercive, process of Israelite settlement alongside the recorded boundaries of neighboring peoples.
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
But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.
Cross-references
- Joshua 10:12 On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
- Joshua 19:42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
- Judges 12:12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and he was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.
- 1 Kings 4:9 Ben-deker in Makaz, in Shaalbim, in Beth-shemesh, and in Elon-beth-hanan;