Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 1:34
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:
34, 35. The fortunes of Dan
34 . Dan, we may infer, attempted to settle in the N.W. corner of Judah, on the rich land (‘the valley’) between the hills and the coast. But the native population forced them back into the hills; in chs. 13, 16, 18 we find Danite settlements at Zorah and Eshtaol in the Valley of Sorek (Wadi e-arr), in Jdg 1:34 the places which Dan tried to occupy are in the next valley to the N., that of Ayyln (W. Selmn Merj ibn ‘Umar); these quarters, however, proved too strait for them, and, probably not long after the present period, a part of the tribe was driven to seek a home in the north (18), where they are settled in the time of Deborah (Jdg 5:17). It is possible that the migration was due to pressure from the Philistines.
the Amorites ] Elsewhere in this chap., as always in J, the pre-Israelite inhabitants are called Canaanites, while Amorites is the name used by E and D; the text of Jdg 1:34-36 no doubt originally had ‘Canaanites.’ There is no sufficient reason to suppose that these verses come from a different document (cf. 34 with 19 ‘hill country valley,’ 35 with 27b, 23, 30, 33).
forced ] The same Hebr. word as in Jdg 4:3, Jdg 10:12 ‘oppress’; Amo 6:14 ‘afflict.’
After this verse it is probable that Jos 19:47 (corrected), a verse which is clearly an insertion in its present context, followed in the original narrative of J: ‘and the border of their inheritance was too strait for them (cf. 2Ki 6:1 in Hebr.), and the children of Dan went up and fought with Lesham (= Laish, Jdg 18:29) and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it and dwelt in it; and they called Lesham, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.’ Perhaps this verse was struck out here, because the episode is narrated at length in the Appendix, ch. 18. At the beginning of Jos 19:47 the LXX seem to have translated a text which commenced with ‘And the sons of Dan did not dispossess the Amorites ’ If this sentence stood originally in the present document, it would conform Jdg 1:34, which begins abruptly, with Jdg 1:21 ; Jdg 1:29 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The Amorites are usually found in the mountain Num 13:29; Jos 10:6. Here they dwell in the valley, of which the monuments of Rameses III show them to have been in possession when that monarch invaded Syria. It was their great strength in this district, and their forcible detention of the territory of Dan, which led to the expedition of the Danites Judg. 18. The house of Joseph lent their powerful aid in subduing them, probably in the times of the Judges.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jdg 1:34-36
The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain.
A neglect of duty injurious to others
So that we see that the negligence of the other tribes in suffering the forbidden nations to remain and wax strong caused these their brethren to be wronged, and to go without their due which God had allotted them. For if they had kept their enemies out they might have been able now to help this tribe of Dan: who, if the house of Joseph had not done more than the rest, they had been left almost without habitation. And by this way we may see that mens sins do not only redound to their own hurt, but also to the hurt of others. Whereas none are hurt, neither themselves, by those that fear to offend God, and be careful to do their duties, but they may receive great benefit thereby. But the other hurt many as well as themselves. As we see bad parents, what woe they hoard up for their unhappy children, as Ahab and the like. As also, how many souls doth an ignorant, idle, or scandalous minister destroy and cause to perish. (R. Rogers.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 34. The Amorites forced the children of Dan, c.] Just as the ancient Britons were driven into the mountains of Wales by the Romans and the native Indians driven back into the woods by the British settlers in America.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Into the plain country; which was the occasion of that expedition for the getting of new quarters; of which we read Jos 19; Jdg 18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain,…. Into the mountainous part of the tribe of Dan; the most noted mountains in it were Sear and Baalah, which lay on the border of Judah, Jos 15:10; Joppa in this tribe was built on an high rock, and so Gibbethon, as its name seems to import, perhaps was built on a hill or mountain, as were the cities after mentioned:
for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley; which lay between Joppa and Caesarea, the plain of Sharon, in which were Lydda, Jamnia, c. which belonged to their tribe, and they afterwards enjoyed
[See comments on Jos 19:48].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(34) The Amorites.They were the Highlanders of Palestine (Jos. 10:6; Num. 13:29; Deu. 1:44).
Forced.Literally squeezed or pressed.
Forced the children of Dan into the mountain.The condition of this tribe was, therefore, the worst of all. So far from reducing under tribute the Canaanites of its assigned possession, as the central tribes did, the Danites did not even succeed in establishing a tolerated neutrality among them, like the northern tribes, but were driven into a few mountain-strongholds. It was probably this failure, and the consequent pressure of space under which the tribe laboured, which induced them to undertake the successful northern expedition alluded to in Jos. 19:47 and described in Judges 18
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
34. Amorites Jos 2:10, note.
Forced the children of Dan into the mountain Dan’s portion was chiefly that part of the Shephelah, or maritime plain, which lay to the west of Benjamin and northwest of Judah. Hence he was forced out of the main part of his inheritance. The tribe made up for this by conquests in the north, near Mount Hermon. Chap. 18, and Jos 19:47.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.’
These Amorites were a strong group occupying, (but not solely), extensive land. Unfortunately for Dan they were in Dan’s territory around Aijalon and resisted all attempts by Dan to drive them out. Dan was able to occupy the hill country but not the fruitful plains. Seemingly there were few Canaanites or Amorites in those hills, which suggests living conditions there were difficult. The lands assigned to Dan were fruitful, but for that very reason they were well populated. As we know from elsewhere their faith in Yahweh was so weak that they were disobedient and many of them deserted the territory and made a new home for themselves with their own syncretistic religion (Judges 18). From there we learn of their bent towards idolatry.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 18:1, Jos 19:47
Reciprocal: Jos 13:4 – the Amorites Jdg 2:14 – could not
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 1:34-35. They would not suffer them to come down into the valley
That is, into the plain country; which was the occasion of that expedition for the obtaining of territory elsewhere, of which we read Jos 19:47, and Jdg 18:2. The hand of the house of Joseph prevailed That is, of the Ephraimites, who helped their brethren the Danites against the Amorites.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
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 [Jdg 1:34-35] accurately describes this region of valleys (Sorek and Aijalon) and nearby Hill Country (just east of the Aijalon-Eshtaol route)." [Note: James Monson, The Land Between, p. 183.]
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 (Jdg 1:36). Like the earlier reference to the Benjamites’ failure (Jdg 1:21), this mention of the Danites’ weakness anticipates that tribe’s tragic role in chapters 17 and 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, chapter 1 moves geographically from south to north . . . The series of judges, beginning in Jdg 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 . . ." [Note: McCann, pp. 29-30.]
"The lesson of Judges 1 is 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." [Note: Gary Inrig, Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay, p. 18.]
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. [Note: See Wood, pp. 24-27, 45.] The first part of this chapter describes that period.
"Its [the Book of Judges’] primary purpose is to let the readers know why Israel did not experience the blessings that were available." [Note: Ibid., p. 135.]