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Judges Chapter Two

 

Judges 2 Outlines

Israel’s Disobedience (v.1~6)

Death of Joshua (v. 7~10)

Israel’s Unfaithfulness (v. 11~23)

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 2

This chapter gives an account of an angel of the Lord appearing and rebuking the children of Israel for their present misconduct Judges 2:1; of their good behaviour under Joshua and the elders that outlived him Judges 2:6; and of their idolatries they fell into afterwards which greatly provoked the Lord to anger Judges 2:11; and of the goodness of God to them nevertheless in raising up judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies of which there are many instances in the following chapter Judges 2:16; and yet that how upon the demise of such persons they relapsed into idolatry which caused the anger of God to be hot against them and to determine not to drive out the Canaanites utterly from them but to leave them among them to try them Judges 2:19.

 

Judges 2:1  Then the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers; and I said ‘I will never break My covenant with you.

   YLT  1And a messenger of Jehovah goeth up from Gilgal unto Bochim

And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim .... The Targum calls him a prophetF25So Maimonides Moreh Nevochim par. 1. c. 15. & par. 2. c. 6. ; and the Jewish commentators in general interpret it of PhinehasF26The Rabbins in Maimon. Moreh Nevochim par. 2. c. 42. ; and that a man is meant is given into by others because he is said to come from a certain place in Canaan and not from heaven and spoke in a public congregation and is not said to disappear; but neither a man nor a created angel is meant or otherwise he would have spoken in the name of the Lord and have said "thus saith the Lord" and not in his own name; ascribing to himself the bringing of the children of Israel out of Egypt and swearing to them and making a covenant with them and threatening what he would do to them because of their sin; wherefore the uncreated Angel the Angel of the covenant is meant who brought Israel out of Egypt was with them in the wilderness and introduced them into the land of Canaan and appeared to Joshua as the Captain of the Lord's host at or near Gilgal Joshua 5:13; and because he had not appeared since therefore he is said to come from thence to a place afterwards called Bochim from what happened at this time:

and said I made you to go out of Egypt; that is obliged Pharaoh king of Egypt to let them go by inflicting plagues upon him and his people which made them urgent upon them to depart:

and I have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; into the land of Canaan now for the most part conquered and divided among them and in which they were settled:

and I said I will never break my covenant with you; if the covenant between them was broken it should not begin with him it would be their own fault; all which is mentioned as so many instances of divine goodness to them and as so many aggravations of their sins against God.

 

Judges 2:2  2 And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this?

   YLT  2and saith `I cause you to come up out of Egypt and bring you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers and say I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye -- ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land -- their altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My voice -- what [is] this ye have done?

And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land .... This the Lord charged them not to do when he covenanted with them and assured them of bringing them into the land; and yet they had done it as some instances in the preceding chapter show which were the occasion of the angel's coming to them to rebuke them see Deuteronomy 7:2

you shall throw down their altars; this they aught to have done as soon as they were come into the land and possessed of the places where they were erected to show their detestation of idolatry and to prevent the use of them to idolatrous purposes see Deuteronomy 7:5

but ye have not obeyed my voice; the command of God but on the contrary had made leagues and covenants with several inhabitants of the land allowing them to dwell among them on paying a certain tax or tribute to them; and had suffered their altars to continue and them to sacrifice upon them to their idols according to their former customs:

why have ye done this? transgressed the commandment of God in the instances mentioned. It showed the wickedness of their hearts their ingratitude to God who had done such great things for them and their proneness to idolatry and liking of it.

 

Judges 2:3  3 Therefore I also said ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side [a] and their gods shall be a snare to you.’”

   YLT  3And I also have said I do not cast them out from your presence and they have been to you for adversaries and their gods are to you for a snare.'

Wherefore I also said .... Supposing or on condition of their being guilty of the above things which was foreseen they would:

I will not drive them out from before you; the seven nations of the Canaanites entirely and which accounts for the various instances related in the preceding chapter; where it is observed that they could not or did not drive the old inhabitants out of such and such places because they sinned against the Lord and he forsook them and would not assist them in their enterprises or them to their sloth and indolence:

but they shall be as thorns in your sides: very troublesome and afflicting see Numbers 33:55; or for straits as the Septuagint or be such as would bring them into tribulation and distress them as the Targum; so they often did:

and their gods shall be a snare unto you; which they suffered to continue and did not destroy them as they ought to have done; they would be as they proved ensnaring to them and whereby they were drawn to forsake the worship of the true God and bow down to them as we read in some following verses.

 

Judges 2:4  4 So it was when the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel that the people lifted up their voices and wept.

   YLT  4And it cometh to pass when the messenger of Jehovah speaketh these words unto all the sons of Israel that the people lift up their voice and weep

And it came to pass when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel .... This being either one of the three solemn feasts when all the males appeared at the tabernacle of the Lord; or else here was now a solemn convention of all the tribes to inquire of the Lord the reason why they were not able to drive out the Canaanites in some places and why they prevailed over them in many:

that the people lift up their voice and wept; being affected with what the angel said and convicted in their consciences of their sins and so fearing the bad consequences thereof they wept because of the sins they had been guilty of and because of the evils that were like to befall them on account of them.

 

Judges 2:5  5 Then they called the name of that place Bochim;[b] and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

   YLT  5and they call the name of that place Bochim and sacrifice there to Jehovah.

And they called the name of that place Bochim .... Which signifies "weepers" from the general lamentation of the people which before had another name; very probably it was Shiloh itself since all Israel was gathered together the tabernacle being now at Shiloh and also because sacrifices were offered up as follows:

and they sacrificed there unto the Lord; to atone for the sins they had committed; and if they did this in the faith of the great sacrifice of the Messiah they did well; however so far there was an acknowledgment of their guilt and a compliance with the appointments of God directed to in such cases.

 

Judges 2:6  6 And when Joshua had dismissed the people the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land.

   YLT  6And Joshua sendeth the people away and the sons of Israel go each to his inheritance to possess the land;

And when Joshua had let the people go .... This is not to be connected with what goes before as if that was done in Joshua's lifetime; for during that as is after testified the people of Israel served the Lord; whereas the angel in the speech to them before related charges them with disobeying the voice of the Lord making leagues with the inhabitants of the land and not demolishing their altars all which was after the death of Joshua; but this refers to a meeting of them with him before his death and his dismission of them which was either when he had divided the land by lot unto them or when he had given them his last charge before his death see Joshua 24:28; and this and what follows are repeated and introduced here to connect the history of Israel and to show them how they fell into idolatry and so under the divine displeasure which brought them into distress from which they were delivered at various times by judges of his own raising up which is the subject matter of this book:

the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land; as it was divided to the several tribes and their families; which seems to confirm the first sense given that this refers to the dismission of the people upon the division of the land among them.

 

Judges 2:7  7 So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.

   YLT  7and the people serve Jehovah all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who prolonged days after Joshua who saw all the great work of Jehovah which He did to Israel.

And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel. In Egypt at the Red sea in the wilderness at the river Jordan and in the land of Canaan; See Gill on Joshua 24:31. The JewsF1Schulchan Aruch par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2. say the elders died on the fifth of Shebet which answers to part of January and part of February on which account a fast was kept on that day.

 

Judges 2:8  8 Now Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord died when he was one hundred and ten years old.

   YLT  8And Joshua son of Nun servant of Jehovah dieth a son of a hundred and ten years

And Joshua the son of Nun the servant of the Lord died

being an hundred and ten years old. See Gill on Joshua 24:29.

 

Judges 2:9  9 And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount Gaash.

   YLT  9and they bury him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Heres in the hill-country of Ephraim on the north of mount Gaash;

And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres .... In Joshua 24:30; it is called Timnathserah the letters of "serah" being here inverted make "heres" which sometimes is used for the sun Job 9:7; and therefore some observe that the whole name signifies the figure of the sun which the Jews say was put on his monument in commemoration of the miracle of the sun standing still at his request and had this inscription on it "this is he that caused the sun to stand still;'but this is not very probable since it might have had a tendency to idolatry the sun being what was the first object of idolatrous worship among the Heathens and had the greatest show of reason for it:

in the mount of Ephraim on the north side of the hill Gaash; See Gill on Joshua 24:30.

 

Judges 2:10  10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.

   YLT  10and also all that generation have been gathered unto their fathers and another generation riseth after them who have not known Jehovah and even the work which He hath done to Israel.

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers .... Were dead and buried that is the greatest part of those that were contemporaries with the elders that outlived Joshua; for they might not be all dead at least not all that came out of Egypt and still less all that came into the land of Canaan; for according to the computation of Ben Gersom the time of Joshua and the elders were but twenty seven years; and there were no more than sixty seven years from their coming out of Egypt to this time; and no doubt there were men living of eighty years of age and more but these might be but few:

and there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord; so as to love fear serve and worship him; did not own him to be the one only living and true God otherwise they must know him nationally being educated in the true religion:

nor yet the works which he had done for Israel; some of them as before observed might have seen the works and wonders of the Lord for Israel at their first coming out of Egypt; though not being wise as the above writer observes it had no effect upon them to keep them from doing evil in the sight of God; and they all of them had been informed of them and many had seen and must have had personal knowledge of what was done for them at their coming into the land of Canaan; but not a practical knowledge or such as had any influence upon them to preserve them from idolatry.

 

Judges 2:11  11 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals;

   YLT  11And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah and serve the Baalim

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord .... Openly and publicly boldly and impudently in the very face of God and amidst all the good things they received from him which were aggravating circumstances of their sins; what the evil was they did is next observed:

and served Baalim; the idol Baal as the Arabic version of which there were many and therefore a plural word is used; to which the apostle refers 1 Corinthians 8:5; for the word signifies "lords" and there were Baalpeor Baalzebub Baalberith &c. and who seem to have their name from Bal Bel or Belus a king of Babylon after Nimrod and who was the first monarch that was deified the Jupiter of the Heathens. Theophilus of AntiochF16Ad Autolyc. l. 3. p. 138 139. Vid. Lactant. de fals. Relig. l. 1. c. 23. says that according to the history of Thallus Belus the king of the Assyrians whom they worshipped was older than the Trojan war three hundred twenty two years; and that some call Cronus or Saturn Bel and Bal; by the Assyrians called Bel and in the Punic or Phoenician language BalF17Servius in Virgil. Aeneid. 1. prope finem. .

 

Judges 2:12  12 and they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the Lord to anger.

   YLT  12and forsake Jehovah God of their fathers who bringeth them out from the land of Egypt and go after other gods (of the gods of the peoples who [are] round about them) and bow themselves to them and provoke Jehovah

And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers .... The covenant God of their fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob and of their more immediate ancestors; his worship they forsook neglected his tabernacle and the service of it:

which brought them out of the land of Egypt; out of wretched misery and bondage there with an high hand and outstretched arm; and led them through the wilderness and provided for them there and brought them into the land of Canaan a land flowing with milk and honey; but all these mercies were forgotten by them:

and followed other gods of the gods of the people that were round about them: the gods of the Canaanites and Phoenicians of the Egyptians and of the Moabites Amorites and Edomites that were round about them on the borders of them; instead of one God they worshipped many even all in or about the land of Canaan; so much given were they to idolatry:

and bowed themselves unto them; giving them all religious worship and honour they were capable of:

and provoked the Lord to anger; nothing is more provoking to him than idolatry; he being a jealous God and will not bear any rival in worship nor his glory to be given to another to a strange god.

 

Judges 2:13  13 They forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.[c]

   YLT  13yea they forsake Jehovah and do service to Baal and to Ashtaroth.

And they forsook the Lord .... The worship of the Lord as the Targum; this is repeated to observe the heinous sin they were guilty of and how displeasing it was to God:

and served Baal and Ashtaroth; two images as the Arabic version adds; Baal from whence Baalim may signify the he deities of the Gentiles as Jupiter Hercules &c. and Ashtaroth their female deities as Juno Venus Diana &c. the word is plural and used for flocks of sheep so called because they make the owners of them rich; and Kimchi and Ben Melech say these were images in the form of female sheep. Perhaps as Baal may signify the sun so Ashtaroth the moon and the stars like flocks of sheep about her. Ashtaroth was the goddess of the Zidonians 1 Kings 11:5; the same with Astarte the wife of Cronus or Ham said to be the Phoenician or Syrian Venus. So Lucian saysF18De Dea Syria. there was a temple in Phoenicia belonging to the Sidonians which they say is the temple of Astarte; and says he I think that Astarte is the moon; and Astarte is both by the PhoeniciansF19Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 38. and GreciansF20Suidas in voce ασταρτη. said to be Venus and was worshipped by the Syrians also as Minutius FelixF21In Octavio p. 6. and TertullianF23Apolog. c. 24. affirm; the same with Eostre or Aestar the Saxon goddess; hence to this day we call the passover EasterF24Vid. Owen. Theologoumen l. 3. c. 4. p. 192. being in Eoster-month; and with Andraste a goddess of the ancient BritainsF25lb. c. 11. p. 244. . There were four of them and therefore the Septuagint here uses the plural number Astartes; so called either from Asher being reckoned "blessed" ones or from Asheroth the groves they were worshipped in; or from עש "Ash" and תור "Tor" the constellation Taurus or the bull; so Astarte by Sanchoniatho is said to put upon her head the head of a bull as the token of her sovereignty; See Gill on Genesis 14:5.

 

Judges 2:14  14 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

   YLT  14And the anger of Jehovah burneth against Israel and He giveth them into the hand of spoilers and they spoil them and He selleth them into the hand of their enemies round about and they have not been able any more to stand before their enemies;

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel .... For the idolatries they were guilty of; it burned within him it broke forth and was poured out like fire on them and consumed them; see Nahum 1:6

and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them; that rifled their houses and plundered them of their goods and substance:

and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about; the is delivered them into their hands who carried them captive where they were as men sold for slaves; see Psalm 44:12; and this was in just retaliation that as they had said themselves to work wickedness the Lord sold them into the hands of their enemies for their wickedness; and as they had followed the gods of the people round about them so he delivered them up into the hands of their enemies round about them as the Mesopotamians Moabites Midianites Philistines and Ammonites:

so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies; but turned their backs on them and fled whenever engaged in war with them.

 

Judges 2:15  15 Wherever they went out the hand of the Lord was against them for calamity as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

   YLT  15in every [place] where they have gone out the hand of Jehovah hath been against them for evil as Jehovah hath spoken and as Jehovah hath sworn to them and they are distressed -- greatly.

Whithersoever they went out the hand of the Lord was against them for evil .... They prospered not in any business they undertook or put their hands unto; or in any expedition they went upon or when they went out to war as Kimchi Ben Melech and Abarbinel explain the phrase: the battle went against them because God was against them; his hand was against them and there was no resisting and turning that back; and this sense seems to agree with what goes before and follows after; though in some Jewish writingsF1Seder Olam Rabba c. 12. p. 34. it is explained of those that went out of the land to escape the calamities of it and particularly of Elimelech and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion 1:1

as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn unto them; having ratified and confirmed his threatening with an oath that if they served other gods he would surely bring upon them all the curses of the law; see Deuteronomy 29:12

and they were greatly distressed; by the Canaanites they suffered to dwell among them who were pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides as had been threatened them; and by the nations round about them who came in upon them and plundered them and carried them captive.

 

Judges 2:16  16 Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.

   YLT  16And Jehovah raiseth up judges and they save them from the hand of their spoilers;

Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges .... Who are particularly mentioned by name and their exploits recorded in some following chapters and from whom the book in general has its name: these were men that God raised up in an extraordinary manner and spirited and qualified for the work he had to do by them; which was to deliver the people of Israel out of the hands of their oppressors and restore them to their privileges and liberties and protect them in them and administer justice to them; which was a wonderful instance of the goodness of God to them notwithstanding their many provoking sins and transgressions:

which delivered them out of the hands of those that spoiled them; who took away their goods and cattle from them and carried their persons captive: these were the instruments of recovering both again just as Abraham brought again Lot and all his goods.

 

Judges 2:17  17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but they played the harlot with other gods and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do so.

   YLT  17and also unto their judges they have not hearkened but have gone a-whoring after other gods and bow themselves to them; they have turned aside [with] haste out of the way [in] which their fathers walked to obey the commands of Jehovah -- they have not done so.

And yet they would not hearken unto their judges .... Afterwards or not always; but when they admonished them of their sins and advised them to walk in the good ways of God and serve him only; they turned a deaf ear to them and went on in their own ways which is a sad aggravation of their iniquities:

but they went a whoring after their gods and bowed themselves unto them; committing spiritual adultery for such idolatry is and is often so represented in Scripture; for by it they broke the covenant God made with them which had the nature of a matrimonial contract and in which God was an husband to them; and therefore serving other gods was rejecting him as such and committing whoredom with others; than which nothing was more provoking to God jealous of his honour and glory:

they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in; as soon as ever Joshua and the elders were dead they departed from the God of their fathers and the way in which they worshipped him; and so likewise quickly after they had been delivered by the judges or however as soon as they were dead:

obeying the commandments of the Lord; serving him at his tabernacle according to the laws commands and ordinances he gave to Moses which is to be understood of their fathers:

but they did not so; did not walk in the same way nor serve the Lord and obey his commands as their fathers did; but all the reverse.

 

Judges 2:18  18 And when the Lord raised up judges for them the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them.

   YLT  18And when Jehovah raised up to them judges -- then was Jehovah with the judge and saved them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for it repenteth Jehovah because of their groaning from the presence of their oppressors and of those thrusting them away.

And when the Lord raised them up judges then the Lord was with the judge .... Every one of them that he raised up; as he stirred up their spirits for such service to judge his people and qualified them for it he assisted and strengthened them and abode by them and succeeded them in whatsoever they engaged for the welfare of the people; the Targum is "the Word of the Lord was for the help of the judge:"

and delivered them out of the hands of their enemies all the days of the judge; so long as a judge lived or continued to be their judge they were protected by him and preserved from falling into the hands of their enemies:

for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them; the Lord being merciful had compassion upon them when they groaned under their oppressions and cried unto him then he received their prayer as the Targum and sent them a deliverer; and so did what men do when they repent of a thing change their conduct; thus the Lord changed the outward dispensation of his providence towards them according to his unchangeable will; for otherwise repentance properly speaking does not belong unto God: the Targum is "he turned from the word he spake;'the threatening he had denounced.

 

Judges 2:19  19 And it came to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way.

   YLT  19And it hath come to pass at the death of the judge -- they turn back and have done corruptly above their fathers to go after other gods to serve them and to bow themselves to them; they have not fallen from their doings and from their stiff way.

And it came to pass when the judge was dead .... Any one of them the first and so all succeeding ones:

that they returned; to their evil ways and idolatrous practices from which they reformed and for which they showed outward repentance during the life of the judge; but he dying they returned again to them:

and corrupted themselves more than their fathers; in Egypt and in the wilderness; or rather than their fathers that lived in the generation after the death of Joshua; and so in every generation that lived before a judge was raised up to deliver them out of the evils brought upon them; the children of those in every age successively grew worse than their fathers:

in following other gods to serve them and to bow down unto them; not content with the idols their fathers served they sought after and found out others and were more constant and frequent in their worship and service of them and increased their sacrifices and acts of devotion to them:

they ceased not from their own doings; or "did not let them fall"F2לא הפילו "non Cadere faciebant" Pagninus Montanus Vatablus Drusius. ; but retained them and continued in the practice of them being what they were naturally inclined unto and delighted in:

nor from their stubborn way; which they were bent upon and determined to continue in: or "their hard way"F3מדרכם הקשה "de via sua dura" Pagninus Montanus Tigurine version Drusius. ; which their hard hearts had chosen and they obstinately persisted in being obdurate and stiffnecked; and which in the issue they would find hard troublesome and distressing to them though at present soft and agreeable and in which they went on smoothly; but in time would find it rough and rugged offensive stumbling and ruinous; or it may signify a hard beaten path a broad road which multitudes trod in as is the way of sin.

 

Judges 2:20  20 Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not heeded My voice

   YLT  20And the anger of Jehovah doth burn against Israel and He saith `Because that this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and have not hearkened to My voice –

And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel .... As at first so whenever they fell into idolatry; see Judges 2:14

and he said because this people have transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers; made at Sinai in which they were enjoined to have no other gods before him:

and have not hearkened to my voice; in his commands and particularly what related to his worship and against idolatry.

 

Judges 2:21  21 I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died

   YLT  21I also continue not to dispossess any from before them of the nations which Joshua hath left when he dieth

I also henceforth will not drive out and from before them .... At least not as yet not very soon nor hastily as in Judges 2:23

of the nations which Joshua left when he died; that is unsubdued; which was owing either to the infirmities of old age coming upon him which made him incapable of engaging further in war with the Canaanites; or to the sloth and indolence of the people being weary of war and not caring to prosecute it; or to want of men to cultivate any more land and people other cities than what they were possessed of; and chiefly this was owing to the providence of God who had an end to answer hereby as follows.

 

Judges 2:22  22 so that through them I may test Israel whether they will keep the ways of the Lord to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not.”

   YLT  22in order to try Israel by them whether they are keeping the way of Jehovah to go in it as their fathers kept [it] or not.'

That through them I may prove Israel .... Afflict them by them and so prove or try them their faith and patience which are tried by afflictions; and such were the Canaanites to them as afflictions and temptations are to the spiritual Israel of God; or rather whether they would keep in the ways of God or walk in those the Canaanites did as follows:

whether they will keep the way of the Lord as their fathers did keep it or not; whether they would worship the true God their fathers did or the gods of the Canaanites; not that the Lord was ignorant of what they would do and so made the experiment; but that the sincerity and faithfulness or insincerity and unfaithfulness of their hearts might appear to themselves and others.

 

Judges 2:23  23 Therefore the Lord left those nations without driving them out immediately; nor did He deliver them into the hand of Joshua.

   YLT  23And Jehovah leaveth these nations so as not to dispossess them hastily and did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Therefore the Lord left these nations without driving them out hastily .... Left them unsubdued or suffered them to continue among the Israelites and did not drive them out as he could have done; which was permitted either that it might be seen and known whether Israel would give into the idolatry of these nations or not Judges 2:22; of which there could have been no trial if they and their idols had been utterly destroyed; or because the children of Israel had transgressed the covenant of the Lord therefore he would drive no more of them out but leave them to afflict and distress them and thereby prove and try them Judges 2:20; both senses may very well stand but the former seems rather to agree with what follows:

neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua; having an end to be answered by them before suggested namely to prove and try Israel; and for a like reason the indwelling sin and corruptions of God's people are suffered to remain in them for the trial of their graces and that the power of God in the support and deliverance of them might appear the more manifest.

 

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

 

New King James Version (NKJV)

Footnotes:

  1. Judges 2:3 Septuagint Targum and Vulgate read enemies to you.
  2. Judges 2:5 Literally Weeping
  3. Judges 2:13 Canaanite goddesses