Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator reports the military actions of the men of Judah immediately following Adoni-bezek’s death in Jerusalem. This occurs during the initial post-Joshua tribal campaigns described in Judges 1.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יִּלָּחֲמ֤וּ (wa-yi-lḥāmû) means "and they fought," paired with וַ/יַּכּ֖וּ/הָ (wa-yakû-hā), literally "and they struck it to the mouth," an idiom for total destruction.
The thread — The text states the men of Judah captured and burned Jerusalem. This claim directly contrasts with Joshua 15:63 and Judges 1:21, which record that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites from the city.
Why it lands — The passage records a historical conquest without moral evaluation, requiring the reader to hold two conflicting accounts of Jerusalem's occupation in tension. It demands attention to how the text tracks both military success and incomplete territorial control.
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
Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
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.
- 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.