Judges 1:23
in Judges 1They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz),
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.)
KJV
And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth–el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
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This verse in Judges 1
Commentary
4 notes on this verseAnd the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel,.... To reconnoitre the place, to observe its passes and avenues, which were most accessible, and to examine the walls of it, where they were weakest and least defended: now the name of the city before was Luz; which signifies a "nut"; perhaps it was so called from large numbers of nut trees which grew near it; the Jews suggest as if it was like a nut, no entrance into it but through a cave or some subterraneous passage, see Gen 28:19.
This site's exposition
they also went up against
on Judges 1:22-26
The city is Luz, where Jacob slept and woke and called the place Bethel at Genesis 28:19, so the house of Joseph takes a town its own forefather had named. The scene follows the shape of Joshua 2, with spies, a resident who gives them the way in, a promise of mercy, and a household let go alive when the city falls. Where it parts from Rahab is the ending, since Rahab is brought inside Israel at Joshua 6:25 and stands in the line of Christ at Matthew 1:5, while this man leaves for the land of the Hittites and builds a second Luz. The text records what he did and gives no judgment on him, and none is offered here.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
Beth-el - the name of the city before was Luz - Concerning this city and its names, see the notes on Gen 28:19.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּתִ֥ירוּ | vaiyatiru | and they caused to spy out | H8446 → | |
| בֵית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יוֹסֵ֖ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| בְּבֵֽית־ | beveit- | at Beth- | H1008 → | 142 times |
| אֵ֑ל | ʾel | -el | H1008 → | 142 times |
| וְשֵׁם־ | veshem- | and [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| הָעִ֥יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לְפָנִ֖ים | lefanim | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לֽוּז׃ | luz | [was] Luz | H3870 → |
וַיָּתִ֥ירוּand they caused to spy out
vaiyatiruH8446 →
בֵית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יוֹסֵ֖ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
בְּבֵֽית־at Beth-
beveit-H1008 →142 times
אֵ֑ל-el
ʾelH1008 →142 times
וְשֵׁם־and [the] name of
veshem-H8034 →864 times
הָעִ֥ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
לְפָנִ֖ים<to> before
lefanimH6440 →2123 times
לֽוּז׃[was] Luz
luzH3870 →
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
Genesis 28:19and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
it leads to
- Genesis 48:3
Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there He blessed me
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 4:15
Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hosea 12:4–5
Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there—
- Genesis 35:1
Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
- 1 Kings 12:29
One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- Genesis 48:3
Through
Joshua 7:2Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied…
it leads to
- Joshua 18:12
On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
- Joshua 18:12
Through
Judges 18:2So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The…
it leads to
- Judges 13:25
And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
- Judges 13:25
Through
Genesis 35:6So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan.
it leads to
- Genesis 28:19
and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
- Genesis 28:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.