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Israel Continues Its Conquest

¹ After the death of Joshua, the Israelites^[a] inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Who will go up first for us against the Canaanites^[b] to fight against them?" ² And Yahweh said, "Judah will go up. I hereby give the land into his hand." ³ And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Go up with me into my allotment, and let us fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into your allotment." And Simeon went with him. ⁴ And Judah went up, and Yahweh gave the Canaanites^[c] and the Perizzites^[d] into their hand, and they defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. ⁵ At Bezek they came upon Adoni-bezek, and they fought against him and defeated the Canaanites^[e] and the Perizzites.^{[f] 6} And Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued after him; they caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.^{[g] 7} Adoni-bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes^[h] cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; just as I have done, so God has repaid to me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

⁸ The descendants^[i] of Judah fought against Jerusalem, and they captured it, put it to the sword,^[j] and set the city on fire.^{[k] 9} Afterward the descendants^[l] of Judah pursued to fight against the Canaanites^[m] who were living in the hill country, the Negev,^[n] and the Shephelah.^{[o] 10} And Judah went against the Canaanites^[p] living in Hebron (the former name of Hebron was Kiriath Arba). And they defeated Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

¹¹ And from there they went to the inhabitants of Debir (the former name of Debir was Kiriath Sepher). ¹² And Caleb said, "Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it, I will give to him Acsah my daughter as a wife." ¹³ Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife. ¹⁴ When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from the donkey, Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"^{[q] 15} And she said to him, "Give me a gift;^[r] you have given me the land of the Negev,^[s] and give me also a spring of water." And Caleb gave to her the upper and lower spring.^[t]

¹⁶ The descendants^[u] of Hobab the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the descendants^[v] of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev^[w] near Arad. And they went^[x] and settled with the people. ¹⁷ And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites^[y] inhabiting Zephath; they utterly destroyed it, so he called the name of the city Hormah. ¹⁸ Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory. ¹⁹ And Yahweh was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. ²⁰ They gave Hebron to Caleb just as Moses said, and he drove out the three sons of Anak from there. ²¹ But the descendants^[z] of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites^[aa] who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived among the descendants^[ab] of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

²² Likewise, the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and Yahweh was with them. ²³ And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (the former name of the city was Luz). ²⁴ And when the spies saw a man leaving the city,^[ac] they said to him, "Please show us the entrance of the city, and we will deal kindly^[ad] with you." ²⁵ So he showed them the entrance of the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword,^[ae] but they let go the man and all his family. ²⁶ And the man went to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city and named it Luz; this is its name to this day.

²⁷ Manasseh did not drive out Beth-Sean and its towns, or Taanach and its towns, or the inhabitants^[af] of Dor and its towns, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the Canaanites^[ag] were determined to live in this land. ²⁸ And it happened, when Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites^[ah] to forced labor, but they never totally drove them out. ²⁹ Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites^[ai] living in Gezer, so the Canaanites^[aj] lived in their midst in Gezer. ³⁰ Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol, so the Canaanites^[ak] lived in their midst and became subjected to forced labor. ³¹ Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob, ³² so the Asherites^[al] lived in the midst of the Canaanites,^[am] the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

³³ Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or Beth-anath, but lived in the midst of the Canaanites,^[an] the inhabitants of the land; the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.

³⁴ The Amorites pressed^[ao] the descendants^[ap] of Dan to the hill country, and they did not allow them to come down to the plain; ³⁵ the Amorites were determined to live in Har-heres,^[aq] in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph was heavy on them, and they became subjected to forced labor. ³⁶ The border of the Amorites^[ar] ran from the ascent of Akrabbim from Sela and upward.