Judges 1:21
But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse highlights a crucial failure: not just military defeat, but a lack of full commitment to obedience. The Benjamites allowed the Jebusites to remain within Jerusalem, demonstrating a subtle compromise that would have lasting consequences. This wasn't about failing to conquer a stronghold, but about allowing the "stranger" to dwell within their borders, a direct violation of God's command.
While the tribe of Judah was successfully conquering territory, the tribe of Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, allowing them to remain as neighbors. This settlement, or lack thereof, is significant because Jerusalem straddled the borders of both Judah and Benjamin, and its ultimate conquest by David only happened centuries later. The text implies that this failure to fully expel the original inhabitants was not unique to Benjamin, as a similar omission is noted for Judah earlier in the chapter.
The Israelites were given a land, but it wasn't fully theirs to keep. Why did they leave enemies living amongst them?
This verse highlights a critical failure of the tribes of Israel: they didn't fully drive out the inhabitants of the land God promised them. Specifically, the tribe of Benjamin failed to expel the Jebusites from Jerusalem.
Why is this a big deal?
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Jerusalem was a city with a complex identity, straddling two tribes. How did this affect its conquest?
Jerusalem, then known as Jebus, occupied a unique geographical position, lying on the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. This meant that neither tribe could conquer it alone, and even when they might have worked together, the conquest wasn't fully achieved.
A Shared Responsibility, a Shared Failure
The phrase 'unto this day' appears repeatedly in Scripture. What does it signify here?
The phrase 'unto this day' in Judges 1:21 is not just a simple time marker; it's a profound warning from God about the enduring consequences of disobedience and compromise.
What the phrase implies:
Understand the original words
yarash · Hebrew Verb
The act of dispossessing, removing, or expelling occupants from land, frequently commanded by God in the context of the conquest of Canaan to avoid the influence of idolatry.
Yebusi · Hebrew Noun
The inhabitants of Jerusalem prior to the Israelite conquest; a Canaanite people identified in the text as remaining in the city despite the divine mandate for total expulsion.
Yerushalayim · Hebrew Noun
The city of Jerusalem, which served as a Jebusite stronghold; in biblical theology, it later becomes the site of the Temple and the City of David.
This verse highlights how the failure to fully obey God's command to drive out the inhabitants of the land allowed Canaanite culture and influence to persist, setting the stage for future struggles and compromises for Israel.
c. 1400 BC
Israelites Enter Promised Land
Following their exodus from Egypt, the Israelites, under Joshua's leadership, begin the conquest of Canaan.
c. 1375 BC
Joshua's Death and the Conquest's Stalemate
After Joshua's death, the succeeding generation fails to complete the conquest, leaving many Canaanite peoples in possession of their lands.
c. 1375-1075 BC
The Period of the Judges
A time of tribal disunity and cycles of disobedience, oppression, and deliverance, with the Jebusites remaining in Jerusalem.
c. 1000 BC
David Captures Jerusalem
King David finally conquers the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem, making it the capital of his united kingdom.
This passage is nearly identical to Judges 1:21, showing the same failure to expel the Jebusites, but attributing it to the tribe of Judah instead of Benjamin, highlighting a repeated pattern of incomplete conquest.
2 Samuel 5:6-8This passage describes David's successful conquest of Jerusalem, specifically mentioning the Jebusites and David's declaration that 'the blind and the lame shall not come into the house.' This shows the eventual fulfillment of God's command after the failure recorded in Judges.
Judges 19:10-12This passage identifies Gibeah as a city of Benjamin, and notes that 'the Jebusites were on the north side of Jerusalem.' This reinforces the geographical overlap and continued presence of Jebusites within Benjamin's territory.
Romans 8:13Paul writes, 'for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.' This parallels the spiritual principle of needing to actively 'put to death' the lingering influences of sin and the world, just as Israel failed to fully drive out the Jebusites, leading to later trouble.
gillJudges 1:21: "And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day."
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem,.... That is, that part of it which belonged to them, for it lay between Judah and Benjamin; and neither of them separately, nor both conjunctly, could drive out the Jebusites from it, particularly the strong hold on the top of M…
barnesJudges 1:21: "And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day."
This verse is nearly identical with Joshua 15:63 , except in the substitution of Benjamin for Judah. Probably the original reading Judah was altered in later times to Benjamin, because Jebus was within the border of Benjamin, and neither had the Benjamites expelled the Jebusites.
This verse highlights a crucial failure: not just military defeat, but a lack of full commitment to obedience. The Benjamites allowed the Jebusites to remain within Jerusalem, demonstrating a subtle compromise that would have lasting consequences. This wasn't about failing to conquer a stronghold, but about allowing the "stranger" to dwell within their borders, a direct violation of God's command.
While the tribe of Judah was successfully conquering territory, the tribe of Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, allowing them to remain as neighbors. This settlement, or lack thereof, is significant because Jerusalem straddled the borders of both Judah and Benjamin, and its ultimate conquest by David only happened centuries later. The text implies that this failure to fully expel the original inhabitants was not unique to Benjamin, as a similar omission is noted for Judah earlier in the chapter.
While the tribe of Judah was successfully conquering territory, the tribe of Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, allowing them to remain as neighbors. This settlement, or lack thereof, is significant because Jerusalem straddled the borders of both Judah and Benjamin, and its ultimate conquest by David only happened centuries later. The text implies that this failure to fully expel the original inhabitants was not unique to Benjamin, as a similar omission is noted for Judah earlier in the chapter.
"But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day." — This verse highlights a crucial failure: not just military defeat, but a lack of full commitment to obedience. The Benjamites allowed the Jebusites to remain within Jerusalem, demonstrating a subtle…
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