What does Judges 1:10 mean?
This passage describes the next three phases of Judah's campaign to drive the Canaanites from their allotted territory in the Promised Land (Judges 1:4–9). The first phase begins here with the attack on Hebron, about 20 miles south of Jerusalem. The writer of Judges uses the ancient name of Hebron, Kiriath-arba, literally meaning "City of Four."The author assumes readers will know Hebron has already been defeated by Caleb, as reported in Joshua 15:13–14. Caleb overcame the three descendants of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. The Anakites were famous for their size and power (Deuteronomy 9:2). Hebron and its surroundings had been given to Caleb as a reward for wholly following the Lord (Joshua 14:14).
Caleb was one of the original 12 spies, along with Joshua, sent into the Promised Land to make an estimation of Israel's enemies. Only he and Joshua insisted that, with the Lord's help, they could take possession of the land (Numbers 13). As a result, of those Israelis over 20 years old at the time, only Joshua and Caleb were allowed to enter the Promised Land, some 40 years later.
Judges 1:1–20 describes the campaign of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, to drive out or destroy all the Canaanites from their large territory in southern Israel. It begins with victories over Bezek and Jerusalem. The report rehearses the former victories by Caleb and his family in the hill country. The campaign continues into the desert wilderness of the Negeb, where a group of descendants of Moses' father-in-law settles. Judah dominates the hill country but doesn't entirely evict the wicked Canaanites because of their iron chariots.
Judges 1 summarizes the early efforts of the tribes of Israel to drive the Canaanites from the land or to destroy them entirely (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). The process starts well with a string of successes by Judah and Simeon in the south. Then the news turns sour as one tribe after another is said to have failed to drive the Canaanites out of their allotted territories. Instead, they occupy certain territories, often allowing inhabitants of the land to live among them.
