Bible Strands
Judges 2:23
That is why the LORD had left those nations in place and had not driven them out immediately by delivering them into the hand of Joshua.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator explains the LORD's action immediately after His declaration in Judges 2:22 to test Israel's obedience. This statement functions as a divine rationale for the incomplete conquest following Joshua's death.
The words — The verb וַיַּנַּח (wa-yannach) literally means "he left" or "he caused to rest," paired with לְבִלְתִּי הוֹרִישָׁם (le-vilti horisham), meaning "to not dispossess them." These terms frame the retention of the nations as a deliberate divine restraint rather than an oversight.
The thread — This verse articulates the theological rationale for the conquest's incomplete execution, directly linking the retained nations to the testing purpose declared in Judges 2:22. The pattern of God leaving nations in the land to test Israel recurs in Judges 3:1 and 3:4.
Why it lands — It demands recognition that the LORD's refusal to act immediately serves a specific pedagogical purpose. The text requires the reader to see retained opposition as a deliberate test of covenant loyalty rather than a divine failure.
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
Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.