Judges 1:34-36

Judges 1:34-36

[34] And the Amorites  forced  the children  of Dan  into the mountain:  for they would not suffer  them to come down  to the valley:  [35] But the Amorites  would  dwell  in mount  Heres  in Aijalon,  and in Shaalbim:  yet the hand  of the house  of Joseph  prevailed,  so that they became tributaries.  [36] And the coast  of the Amorites  to Akrabbim,  from the rock,  and upward. 

What does Judges 1:34-36 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The Amorites in the Shephelah (foothills) in the territory of Dan did not even allow the Danites to occupy the coastal areas of their possession. They forced them to stay in the eastern hill country of their territory.
"One does not have to look far for an explanation of Dan"s difficulties in settling its tribal allotment. The International Coastal Highway passed directly through its territory. This meant that any attempt to take control of the region automatically cut the main land link between Africa (Egypt) and Asia (Mesopotamia). Local centers and peoples in the area would be expected to resist any Danite offensive action. This is brought out vividly in the first chapter of the book of Judges , which in a few sentences [1] accurately describes this region of valleys (Sorek and Aijalon) and nearby Hill Country (just east of the Aijalon-Eshtaol route)." [2]
The Amorites retained domination of a section of territory in southern Canaan as far south as Sela (near Petra), a stronghold in the land of Edom ( Judges 1:36). Like the earlier reference to the Benjamites" failure ( Judges 1:21), this mention of the Danites" weakness anticipates that tribe"s tragic role in chapters17,18.
The writer"s primary purpose in this chapter is quite clear. It was to relate his selective narrative of Israel"s victories and defeats to impress the reader with the failure of God"s people to drive out their enemies increasingly as the passage unfolds.
"This pattern of progressive failure is a fitting introduction to the book of Judges , because it anticipates the rest of the book in two ways. First, chapter1moves geographically from south to north ... The series of Judges , beginning in Judges 3:7-11, is not identical geographically; but it also moves from south to north ... Second, and more important, the increasing failure evident in chapter one anticipates the progressive deterioration that occurs throughout the rest of the book ..." [3]
"The lesson of Judges 1is very clear. The people of Israel chose deliberately to obey God only partly. Rather than following the Lord wholeheartedly, they compromised. They went part way, and that compromise meant inevitable catastrophe." [4]
In the Pentateuch we saw God preparing the chosen people to live under His theocracy in the Promised Land. In Joshua we saw Him establishing them in the land so they could function as a theocracy. In Judges we see Israel for the first time in position to live under theocratic rule in the land. From the very beginning of Judges we see that they failed to take advantage of their great privilege to be a unique nation in the world. They failed because they would not trust and obey God consistently but allowed the Canaanites to remain in the land God wanted them to occupy exclusively. Theocratic rule began to break down as soon as Joshua"s generation died. Consequently God raised up judges to act as His spokespersons in the theocracy. Eventually He replaced them with the kings. The only time in Israel"s history when the theocracy functioned as God intended it to was in the later years of Joshua and in the early years of the next generation. [5] The first part of this chapter describes that period.
"Its [6] primary purpose is to let the readers know why Israel did not experience the blessings that were available." [7]