Bible Strands
Judges 1:4
When Judah attacked, the LORD delivered the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Judah’s military advance following a formal coalition with the tribe of Simeon to secure their shared inheritance. This account occurs immediately after the tribal agreement is made and directly precedes the engagement at Bezek.
The words — The verb וַ/יַּ֣עַל (va/i.Ya.'al) literally means "and he went up," marking Judah’s ascent into the hill country for combat. The construction וַ/יִּתֵּ֧ן... בְּ/יָדָ֑/ם (va/i.yi.Ten... be./ya.Da/m) translates to "and he gave... into their hand," denoting the transfer of enemy forces under Israel’s control.
The thread — The motif of Yahweh delivering hostile populations into Israel’s possession recurs in Joshua 11:6 and Exodus 23:28, framing conquest as a divinely orchestrated displacement. The geographic marker Bezek later functions as a military muster site in 1 Samuel 11:8.
Why it lands — The passage requires readers to attribute the tactical victory to divine action rather than human military planning. It establishes a historical pattern where territorial acquisition follows specific tribal cooperation and divine intervention.
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 Judah went up; and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.
Cross-references
- Joshua 11:6 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn up their chariots.”
- 1 Samuel 11:8 And when Saul numbered them at Bezek, there were 300,000 Israelites and 30,000 men of Judah.
- Exodus 23:28 I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
- Deuteronomy 7:2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
- Deuteronomy 9:3 But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them swiftly, as the LORD has promised you.
- Joshua 10:8 The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”
- 1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let us cross over to the outpost of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the LORD will work on our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.”
- 1 Samuel 14:10 But if they say, ‘Come on up,’ then we will go up, because this will be our sign that the LORD has delivered them into our hands.”
- 1 Samuel 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
- 1 Kings 22:6 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”