God’s Word Translation
Judges 1:23
23They sent men to spy on Bethel. (In the past the city was called Luz.)
Judges 1:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth–el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
- New International Version (NIV)When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz),
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.)
- New King James Version (NKJV)So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.)
Context of Judges 1:23
21The men of Benjamin did not force out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites still live with the tribe of Benjamin in Jerusalem today. 22The descendants of Joseph also went into battle against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. They sent men to spy on Bethel. (In the past the city was called Luz.) 24The spies saw a man coming out of the city. They told him, “Show us how we can get into the city, and we’ll treat you kindly.” 25He showed them. So they got into the city and killed everyone there. But they let that man and his whole family go free.
Read all of Judges 1Judges 1:23 word by word
וַיָּתִ֥ירוּ בֵית־יוֹסֵ֖ף בְּבֵֽית־אֵ֑ל וְשֵׁם־הָעִ֥יר לְפָנִ֖ים לֽוּז׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Judges 1:23
- Judges 18:2So all the families of Dan sent out five qualified men from Zorah and Eshtaol. They were sent to spy throughout the land and explore it. They were told, “Go and explore the land!” They came to Micah’s house in the mountains of Ephraim. They spent the night there.
- Joshua 2:1From Shittim Joshua, son of Nun, secretly sent out two men as spies. He told them, “Go, look at that country, especially the city of Jericho.” So they went to Jericho and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab to spend the night there.
- Joshua 7:2Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai. Ai is near Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He said to them, “Go, look at that country.” So the men went and looked at Ai.
- Genesis 28:19He named that place Bethel [House of God]. Previously, the name of the city was Luz.
- Genesis 35:6Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 48:3Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and blessed me.
Commentaries on Judges 1:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Beth-el - the name of the city before was Luz - Concerning this city and its names, see the notes on Genesis 28:19.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-36Verses 21-36 The people of Israel were very careless of their duty and interest. Owing to slothfulness and cowardice, they would not be at the pains to complete their conquests. It was also owing to their covetousness: they were willing to let the Canaanites live among them, that they might make advantage of them. They had not the dread and detestation of idolatry they ought to have had. The same unbelief that kept their fathers forty years out of Canaan…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22-36Mentions of Joseph's descendants (Judges 1:22, 35) highlight the northern tribes' failures to remove their enemies.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-2917-29. And Judah went with Simeon his brother--The course of the narrative is here resumed from Jud 1:9, and an account given of Judah returning the services of Simeon (Jud 1:3), by aiding in the prosecution of the war within the neighboring tribes. slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath--or Zephathah (2Ch 14:10), a valley lying in the southern portion of Canaan. Hormah--destroyed in fulfilment of an early vow of the Israelites (see on Nu 21:2). The…Read the comment
Topics related to Judges 1:23
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
Commentaries