Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 2:2
And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
2. this land ] After ‘this land’ the LXX inserts ‘nor shall ye worship their gods, but their graven images ye shall break to pieces,’ an addition of no critical value.
break down their altars ] Exo 34:13; cf. Deu 7:5; Deu 12:3.
hearkened unto my voice ] Cf. Exo 23:21 f., where the ‘voice’ is that of the Angel who was to lead Israel into Canaan.
why have ye done this? ] what have you done, with emphasis on ‘what’; cf. Jdg 15:11, Gen 3:13 etc. The reproof is grounded upon Israel’s failure to exterminate the Canaanites. In the ancient narrative, ch. 1, Israel’s failure is due to inferiority in battle; here it is ascribed to neglect of religious duty. The command to refuse all alliances with the native inhabitants, and to drive them out, is found in the old legislation (Exo 23:31-33, part of the ‘Book of the Covenant,’ and Exo 34:12 J), and thence incorporated into the Deuteronomic Code (Deu 7:2-4; Deu 7:16; Deu 12:29-31; Deu 20:16-18). This law originated at a period, long after the original occupation of Canaan, when it could no longer be obeyed literally; it stood, therefore, for an ideal, and witnesses to an intense conviction of the distinctive character of Israel’s religion, and to the constant danger which threatened it from contact with the Canaanites. The Books of Kings and the prophets give ample evidence of the deteriorating effect of Canaanite influences; and it is to be noted that the Codes which deal with this topic belong to the period before the exile.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The two articles of the covenant here specified (compare margin references) are those which the Israelites had at this time broken. The other important prohibition Deu 7:3 is not specified by the Angel, and this is an indication that at the time the Angel spoke, intermarriages with the pagan spoken of Jdg 3:6 had not taken place; and this again is another evidence of the early date of this occurrence.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
i.e. Disobeyed these express commands of mine?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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 De 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 De 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(2) And ye shall make no league.This is the condition of the Covenant, quoted from Deu. 7:2; Deu. 12:2-3. Comp. Exo. 23:31-33; Exo. 34:12-13.
Why have ye done this?Comp. Gen. 3:13; Gen. 12:18.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Make no league This command was given through Moses. See Deu 7:2.
Throw down their altars Compare Deu 12:2-3.
Why have ye done this? This is an unanswerable question. To give a good reason for sin is to justify it. Sin is always unreasonable. Hence in the day of judgment every sinner will stand speechless.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 2:2 And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Ver. 2. Why have ye done this? ] Can you give any good reason? Nothing is more irrational than irreligion: and yet lust will so blear a man’s eyes, as that he shall believe he hath reason to be mad, and that there is some sense in sinning. Never did any yet come to hell, but they had some pretence for coming thither. The flesh never wanteth excuses, even when she is most inexcusable and self-condemned.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
ye shall make no league. Compare Exo 23:32. Deu 7:2, Deu 7:5, &c.
ye shall throw down. Compare Exo 34:12, Exo 34:13. Deu 12:3.
why. ? Figure of speech Erotesis (App-6). Or, “what [is] this [that] ye have done? “
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
And ye shall: Exo 23:32, Exo 23:33, Exo 34:12-16, Num 33:52, Num 33:53, Deu 7:2-4, Deu 7:16, Deu 7:25, Deu 7:26, Deu 12:2, Deu 12:3, Deu 20:16-18, 2Co 6:14-17
but ye have: Jdg 2:20, Ezr 9:1-3, Ezr 9:10-13, Psa 78:55-58, Psa 106:34-40, Jer 7:23-28, 2Th 1:8, 1Pe 4:17
why have: Gen 3:11, Gen 3:12, Gen 4:10, Exo 32:21, Jer 2:5, Jer 2:18, Jer 2:31-33, Jer 2:36
Reciprocal: Exo 34:13 – ye shall Lev 26:3 – General Deu 12:30 – that thou Jos 9:7 – how shall Jos 23:13 – will no Jdg 6:10 – ye have 1Sa 8:8 – General 2Ch 16:3 – a league 2Ch 25:15 – Why hast thou sought Ezr 9:14 – join in Psa 106:35 – But Jer 3:25 – and have not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 2:2-5. Ye shall make no league, &c. These express and frequently-repeated commands of God they had disobeyed. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out, &c. That is, I have now taken up this peremptory resolution. They shall be as thorns in your sides, &c. This signifies what they were assuredly to expect in breaking the covenant on their part; and the sentence here pronounced, or prediction uttered, soon began to take effect and be accomplished. The people lift up their voice and wept Some of them, it is probable, from a true sense of their sins; others from a just apprehension of their approaching misery. They sacrificed there For the expiation of their sins, by which they had provoked the Lord to this resolution, and in order to regain his compassion and favour.