The Conquest of Canaan Proceeds
And it was after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel asked of the LORD, saying, “Who will go up for us first against the Canaanite, to fight against him?”
And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Look — I have given the land into his hand.”
And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Go up with me into my lot, and let us fight against the Canaanite; and I too will go with you into your lot.” And Simeon went with him.
And Judah went up, and the LORD gave the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand; and they struck them down at Bezek — ten thousand men.
And they found Adoni-bezek at Bezek, and fought against him; and they struck the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
And Adoni-bezek fled, and they pursued after him; and they seized him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.
And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings, with their thumbs and their big toes cut off, used to gather scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
The Capture of Jerusalem and Hebron
And the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it, and struck it with the edge of the sword; and the city they set on fire.
And afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanite living in the hill country, and the Negev, and the lowland.
And Judah went against the Canaanite who lived in Hebron — and the name of Hebron before was Kiriath-arba — and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
And he went from there against the inhabitants of Debir; and the name of Debir before was Kiriath-sepher.
And Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as a wife.”
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife.
And it was, when she came, that she urged him to ask the field from her father; and she got down from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”
And she said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
And the sons of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the city of palms with the sons of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the Negev of Arad; and they went and lived with the people.
And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanite living in Zephath, and devoted it to destruction; and the name of the city was called Hormah.
And Judah captured Gaza and its territory, and Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.
And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country — but they could not dispossess the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had spoken; and he dispossessed from there the three sons of Anak.
But the Jebusite living in Jerusalem the sons of Benjamin did not dispossess; and the Jebusite has lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
And the house of Joseph, they too went up against Bethel; and the LORD was with them.
And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel; and the name of the city before was Luz.
And the watchmen saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Show us, please, the way into the city, and we will do loyal love with you.”
And he showed them the way into the city; and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but the man and all his family they let go.
And the man went to the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz — that is its name to this day.
The Failure to Complete the Conquest
And Manasseh did not dispossess Beth-shean and its daughter towns, or Taanach and its daughter towns, or the inhabitants of Dor and its daughter towns, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its daughter towns, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its daughter towns; and the Canaanite persisted in living in this land.
And it was, when Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanite to forced labor; but they did not dispossess them at all.
And Ephraim did not dispossess the Canaanite living in Gezer; and the Canaanite lived in his midst, in Gezer.
Zebulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; and the Canaanite lived in his midst, and they became forced labor.
Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or Ahlab, or Achzib, or Helbah, or Aphik, or Rehob;
and the Asherite lived in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land — for he did not dispossess them.
Naphtali did not dispossess the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath; and he lived in the midst of the Canaanite, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor for them.
And the Amorite pressed the sons of Dan into the hill country — for he did not let them come down to the valley.
And the Amorite persisted in living in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; but the hand of the house of Joseph grew heavy, and they became forced labor.
And the border of the Amorite was from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.