God’s Word Translation
Judges 1:2
2The Lord answered, “Judah’s troops will go first. I am about to hand the Canaanites over to you.”
Judges 1:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
- New International Version (NIV)The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)The Lord said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”
Context of Judges 1:2
1After Joshua’s death the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who will go first to fight the Canaanites for us?” The Lord answered, “Judah’s troops will go first. I am about to hand the Canaanites over to you.” 3The tribe of Judah said to the tribe of Simeon, “Come with us into the territory given to us when we drew lots, and together we will fight the people of Canaan. Then we’ll go with you into your territory.” So the tribe of Simeon went along with Judah. 4Judah’s troops went into battle, and the Lord handed the Canaanites and Perizzites over to them. They defeated 10,000 men at Bezek.
Read all of Judges 1Judges 1:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה יְהוּדָ֣ה יַעֲלֶ֑ה הִנֵּ֛ה נָתַ֥תִּי אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ בְּיָדֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Judges 1:2
- Genesis 49:8“Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
- Numbers 2:3“On the east side, facing the rising sun, the armies led by Judah will camp under their flag. The leader for the people of Judah is Nahshon, son of Amminadab.
- Numbers 7:12The one who brought his gifts on the first day was Nahshon, son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.
- Psalms 78:68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
- Hebrews 7:14Everyone knows that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. Moses never said anything about priests coming from that tribe.
- Revelation 5:5Then one of the leaders said to me, “Stop crying! The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has won the victory. He can open the scroll and the seven seals on it.”
- Revelation 19:11I saw heaven standing open. There was a white horse, and its rider is named Faithful and True. With integrity he judges and wages war.
Commentaries on Judges 1:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2The Lord said, Judah shall go up - They had inquired of the Lord by Phinehas the high priest; and he had communicated to them the Divine counsel.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2And the Lord said - i. e. answered by Urim and Thummim. The land was the portion which fell to Judah by lot, not the whole land of Canaan (see Judges 3:11). The priority given to Judah is a plain indication of divine direction. It points to the birth of our Lord of the tribe of Judah. Judah associated Simeon with him Judges 1:3 because their lots were intermingled Joshua 19:1.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2This verse, also found in the epilogues (Judges 20:18), highlights Judah's importance. This tribe did not participate in the judges' decline (compare Judges 15:9–13) after Othniel, the ideal judge connected to Judah through Caleb (Joshua 14:6; 15:13, 17).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. the Lord said, Judah shall go up--The predicted pre-eminence (Ge 49:8) was thus conferred upon Judah by divine direction, and its appointment to take the lead in the ensuing hostilities was of great importance, as the measure of success by which its arms were crowned, would animate the other tribes to make similar attempts against the Canaanites within their respective territories. I have delivered the land into his hand--not the whole country, but the…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 1:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Judges 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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