Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 3:6
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
6. they took their daughters ] Cf. Gen 34:9; Gen 34:16; Exo 34:16; Deu 7:3. According to the ideas of the ancient world, it was impossible for the Israelites to maintain any religious exclusiveness when they intermarried with the heathen nations (cf. Jdg 2:1 b 3); the connubium carried with it an alliance of religion and worship, as for instance in the case of Solomon, 1Ki 11:1 ff. The source of these two verses is disputed. If the connexion suggested above is correct, they may be assigned to E, though they shew no signs distinctive of that school.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See Jdg 2:2 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Jdg 3:6-7
Served their Gods . . . forgat the Lord, and served Baalim and the groves.
The downward course of sin
I. The form of their sin. One of omission (Jdg 2:2).
1. No sin of omission is ever small.
(1) It slights Gods authority.
(2) It implies alienation of heart from God.
(3) There is no fear of God before the eyes.
2. Sins of omission may become indefinitely great.
II. The tendency of sin to multiply itself.
1. No sin stands alone.
2. The root-sin here was failure to exterminate the Canaanites.
3. It led to their dwelling among the idolators.
4. Their intermarrying with the ungodly.
5. Their worship of false gods.
6. The facility with which they made the change.
III. The deplorable end to which their evil course led.
1. There was entire abandonment of God as their God. Sin is a great–
(1) Spoiler;
(2) madness.
2. There was sinking down to the level of heathen worship and heathen practices. (J. P. Millar.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. And they took their daughters] They formed matrimonial alliances with those proscribed nations, served their idols, and thus became one with them in politics and religion.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Were drawn to idolatry by the persuasions and examples of their yoke-fellows, through the just judgment of God, punishing their sinful marriages by giving them up to idolatry.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons,…. The Israelites intermarried with the inhabitants of the land, contrary to the express command of God, De 7:3; whereby they confounded their families, debased their blood, and were ensnared into idolatry, as follows: perhaps to these unlawful marriages, in their first settlement in the land of Canaan, reference is had in Eze 16:3, “thy father [was] an Amorite and thy mother an Hittite”; an Amorite marrying a daughter of Israel, and an Israelitish man an Hittite woman:
and served their gods; this was the natural consequence of their intermarriages, which the Lord foresaw, and therefore cautioned them against them, Ex 34:15.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) And they took their daughters.This beginning of intermarriages shows that we are now a generation removed from the days of Joshua. Such marriages had been forbidden in Deu. 7:3. but are not among the sins denounced by the Angel-messenger at Bochim (Jdg. 2:1).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. And they took their daughters So that marriages and mixing of blood threatened to render Israel homogeneous in blood and paganism with the doomed nations.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 3:6 And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
Ver. 6. And served their gods. ] See Neh 13:26 . See Trapp on “ Neh 13:26 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
took their daughters, contrary to Jehovah’s express command. Exo 34:16. Deu 7:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Exo 34:16, Deu 7:3, Deu 7:4, 1Ki 11:1-5, Ezr 9:11, Ezr 9:12, Neh 13:23-27, Eze 16:3
Reciprocal: Deu 7:16 – for that will Jdg 2:3 – their gods 1Ki 11:2 – surely Neh 9:26 – they were Eze 16:15 – and playedst Mal 2:11 – and hath
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Unfortunately, Israel at this time failed the test because the people took the daughters of the nations for their sons’ wives and gave their own daughters to the sons of the nations to have as wives. This led them to worship the idols of the nations living among them ( Jdg 3:6 ). God had foretold this exact pattern in his instructions to the people which he gave through Moses ( Exo 34:12-16 ; Deu 7:1-4 ). Is it any wonder Paul warns against believers being unequally yoked with unbelievers ( 2Co 6:14 )?
Because of the evil influences of idol worshiping mates, Israel forgot God and served Baal in the groves built by the nations. This caused God to be angry and allow the king of Mesopotamia, or land between two rivers, which would be the Tigris and Euphrates, to defeat them. When Israel cried out under the oppression of eight years, God raised up Othniel to deliver his people. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him so that he would be able to effectively lead God’s people. In a prophecy about the coming Christ, Isaiah describes the Spirit as one of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might and the knowledge and fear of the Lord ( Isa 11:2 ). Certainly, that Spirit could enable a man to lead God’s people. With the power of the Spirit, Othniel was able to defeat the king of Mesopotamia and rule Israel in peace for forty years ( Jdg 3:7-11 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Jdg 3:6-7. They took their daughters, and served their gods Were drawn to idolatry by the persuasions and examples of their yoke-fellows. And served Baalim and the groves Or, Baalim in groves; that is, false gods, or rather their images, set up under shady trees, contrary to the command given Exo 34:13. Some expositors, however, think the meaning is, Baalim and Ashtaroth; for by the addition of a single letter, the Hebrew word rendered groves, will be Ashtaroth, and the greater part of the versions so render it, understanding thereby goddesses, as distinguished from Baalim or lords. It must be acknowledged, however, that the trees themselves, which composed those shady retreats in which they placed their idols, and which were consecrated to their honour, were accounted sacred by the ancient pagans, and held in great veneration. They decorated them with ribands and lights, made vows to them, and hung the spoils of their enemies upon them: insomuch that it was customary for travellers to stop, when they were to pass by them, and approach them with veneration and religious awe, as if they had been the habitation of some god.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:6 And they took {c} their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
(c) Contrary to God’s commandment, De 7:3.