Judges 1:18
in Judges 1And Judah also captured Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron—each with its territory.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also Judah took Gaza with the border thereof, and Ashkelon with the border thereof, and Ekron with the border thereof.
KJV
Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.
⋯
This verse in Judges 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseJudah took Gaza - and Askelon - and Ekron - There is a most remarkable variation here in the Septuagint; I shall set down the verse: Και ουκ εκληρονομησεν Ιουδας την Γαζαν, ουδε τα ὁρια αυτης· ουδε την Ασκαλωνα, ουδε τα ὁρια αυτης· και την Ακκαρων, ουδε τα ὁρια αυτης· την Αζωτον, ουδε τα περισπορια αυτης· και ην Κυριος μετα Ιουδα. “But Judah Did Not possess Gaza, Nor the coast thereof; neither Askelon, nor the coasts thereof, neither Ekron, nor the coasts thereof; neither Azotus, nor its adjacent places: and the Lord was with Judah.” This is the reading of the Vatican and other copies of the Septuagint: but the Alexandrian MS., and the text of the Complutensian and Antwerp Polyglots, agree more nearly with the Hebrew text.
This site's exposition
the children of the Kenite
on Judges 1:16-18
The Kenites are the family of Moses' father in law, invited into Israel's portion at Numbers 10:29 to 32, and they settle in the south without taking a tribe's inheritance. Their presence in the land is what makes Heber the Kenite's tent possible at 4:11, where Jael drives the nail. The city of palm trees they come up from is Jericho, called by that name again at 3:13 and at Deuteronomy 34:3. Gaza, Askelon and Ekron are three of the five Philistine capitals, and all three are in Philistine hands through the rest of Judges and the books of Samuel, so what verse 18 records as taken did not stay taken.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Judah took - It is only said, they took the cities, and probably contented themselves with making them tributary; but it is not said that they slew the people, as they ought to have done; and as it is said of the other cities here. And the people being thus spared, did by God's just judgment recover their strength, and expel the Jews out of their cities.
They had iron chariots, and therefore it was thought not safe to attack them: but had not Israel God on their side, whose chariots are thousands of angels ( Ps. lxviii. 17 ), before whom these iron chariots would be but as stubble to the fire? Had not God expressly promised by the oracle (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Also Judah took Gaza, with the coast thereof,....
The Kenites gained a settlement in the tribe of Judah, choosing it there rather than in any other tribe, because it was the strongest, and there they hoped to be safe and quiet,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Hormah--destroyed in fulfilment of an early vow of the Israelites (see on Nu 21:2). The confederate tribes, pursuing their incursions in that quarter, came successively to Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron, which they took.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It is remarkable that Ashdod is not here mentioned, as it is in Jos 15:46-47, in conjunction with Gaza and Ekron; but that Askelon, which is not in the list of the cities of Judah at all, is named in its stead. (See Jos 13:3 note.) It is a curious fact that when Rameses III took Askelon it was occupied, not by Philistines, but apparently by Hebrews. Rameses began to reign in 1269 B.C., and reigned 25 years. At any time between 1269 and 1244 B.C. such occupation of Askelon by Hebrews agrees with the Book of Judges.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּלְכֹּ֤ד | vaiyilkod | and he captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
| יְהוּדָה֙ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַזָּ֣ה | ʾazah | Gaza | H5804 → | 21 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גְּבוּלָ֔הּ | gevulah | territory its | H1366 → | 240 times |
| וְאֶֽת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַשְׁקְל֖וֹן | ʾashkelon | Ashkelon | H831 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גְּבוּלָ֑הּ | gevulah | territory its | H1366 → | 240 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֶקְר֖וֹן | ekron | Ekron | H6138 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| גְּבוּלָֽהּ׃ | gevulah | territory its | H1366 → | 240 times |
וַיִּלְכֹּ֤דand he captured
vaiyilkodH3920 →121 times
יְהוּדָה֙Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַזָּ֣הGaza
ʾazahH5804 →21 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
גְּבוּלָ֔הּterritory its
gevulahH1366 →240 times
וְאֶֽת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אַשְׁקְל֖וֹןAshkelon
ʾashkelonH831 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
גְּבוּלָ֑הּterritory its
gevulahH1366 →240 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
עֶקְר֖וֹןEkron
ekronH6138 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
גְּבוּלָֽהּ׃territory its
gevulahH1366 →240 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 11:22No Anakim were left in the land of the Israelites; only in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod did any survive.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:4
Then a champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was six cubits and a span in height,
- Joshua 15:46
from Ekron to the sea, all the cities near Ashdod, along with their villages;
- 1 Chronicles 18:1
Some time later, David defeated the Philistines, subdued them, and took Gath and its villages from the hand of the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 17:4
Through
1 Samuel 6:17As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 5:1
After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 1:20
Tell it not in Gath; proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, and the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.
- 2 Chronicles 26:6
Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 5:1
Through
Judges 3:3the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
it leads to
- Joshua 13:3
All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of…
- Joshua 13:5
the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.
- Joshua 13:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.