Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 1 · Verses 20-21
20 And they gaue Hebron vntounto Chaleb, as Moyſes ſayd: and he expelled thence the three ſonnes of Enak.
21 And the children of Beniamin dyd not caſte oute the Iebuſites that inhabited Ieruſalem: Wherefore the Iebuſites dwelled with the children of Beniamin in Ieruſalem, vntounto thys day.
Thys ſentence is therefore repeated, bicauſe now the warres of the tribe of Iudah are declared, of which warres, Chaleb without doubt was the captayne. Wherefore here is declared what he obteyned. Namely thoſe thynges whiche God would hauehave done (as he had ſpoken by Moyſes) as it is written in ye fyrſte chap. of Deut. and .xiii. chap. of Num. and xiiii. and xxv. chap. of Ioſuah. But that which is written after it how that the children of Beniamin dyd not caſte out the Iebuſites that inhabited Ieruſalem, but dwelled together with them, perteyneth to thoſe things, which the other tribes had to do with the Chananites, and it beginneth with Beniamin for thys cauſe, bycauſe that tribe was next to Iudah, yea and that which is now written of Beniamin, The citie of Ieruſalem was cōmon to Beniamin & Iudahis declared of the tribe of Iudah in the booke of Ioſuah toward the ende of the xv. chap. And I thynke that that was therfore done, bicauſe the citye of Ieruſalem was in the limite of both the tribes, and was inhabited together both of them of Iudah, and alſo of the Beniamites. Yea and ſome affyrme that ye part of the citye where the temple ſtoode belonged to the tribe of Beniamin, and to that purpoſe do they wreſt that, which Iacob the Patriarch ſayd on his death bed, when he bleſſed hys ſonne Beniamin: Beniamin is a rauenyng wolfe, early taking hys pray, in the morning, and deuiding the ſpoyles at euen: thynkyng thys oracle to belong to the morning and euenyng ſacrifices of the Temple. But howe truly they ſo doe, I will not nowe reaſon. But yet they are not ſo farre oute of the waye, as Auguſtine, whiche drewe the ſaying of the Patriarche to Paule the Apoſtle, bycauſe he was of the tribe of Beniamin.
A fayned tale of the Hebrues.I am not ignoraunt, how the Hebrues write, that the Iebuſites were not caſt out for thys cauſe, bycauſe that Iudas and Beniamin would kepe the couenaunt, which (as it is written in the xxi. chapter of Gen.) was made betwene Abraham and Abimilech King of the Gerarites, where the moſte holy Patriarche ſware, that he woulde not moleſt neyther the ſame Abimilech, neyther hys children, nor yet hys childrens children, wherefore ſeing he and hys poſteritye inhabited Ieruſalem, and hys childrens children liued euen to thys tyme, they ſaye it was not lawfull for the Hebrues, for bycauſe of theyr othe geuen, to caſte them oute. But afterwarde vnderunder Dauid, the tyme of the couenaunte was oute, bycauſe then were the childrens children of Abimilech worne out. And for that cauſe Dauid dyd caſte out the Iebuſites oute of the citye of Ieruſalem, as it is written in the latter booke of Samuel the v. chapter. But theſe are but fables, yea if we looke in the foreſayde booke of Samuell we ſhall fynde, that the ſtrong fenced Caſtle of that citye was the cauſe that the Iebuſites were not caſte oute before.
For Dauid to ye end be would obtayne ye caſtle, promiſed a noble reward to him that coulde conquere it, namely that he woulde make hym Captayne of the whole hoſte of Iſrael: Two cauſes why the Iebuſites were not expelled oute of Ieruſalem.whiche office Ioab obtayned, bycauſe he fyrſte of all Conquered the Caſtle. There were two cauſes why they of Iudah and ye Beniamites dyd not caſte oute the Iebuſites out of the citye. One was bycauſe they obeyed not the worde of God as they ſhould hauehave done: wherfore they are muche to bee blamed. The other cauſe was, bycauſe by the prouidence of God, and hys moſte wyſe diſpenſation, the whole victorye of theſe nations was reſerued for Dauid and Salomon. For ſo God abuſeth the ſynnes of men, that they hynder not but ſet forwarde hys Counſelles, ſpecially for the aduauncyng of hys electe.
But to retourne to the Hebrues howe ſhoulde they knowe that the poſteritye of Abimilech dwelled in Ieruſalem. The Scripture teſtifyeth no ſuche thyng. Neyther can they tel whether Abimilech & his ſtocke belonged to the Iebuſites. Wherfore let vsus leaue their fayned opinion vntounto thēſelues,Ieruſalem was in the olde time called Iebus. & let vsus follow this ſentence nowe alledged, as the truer. But this is not to bee ouerſkipped, that Ieruſalem was ſometymes called Iebus. For as muche as the .xix. chapter of this boke teſtifyeth the ſame, & alſo the fyrſt booke of Paralipomenon in the xi. chap. The ſumme is, the Iebuſites poſſeſſed the caſtle, whiche being well fenſed, & for as much as God had iuſtly with drawen his helpe for the Hebrewes, they could not be dryuen out of it, but Beniamin and the tribe of Iudah obtayned the Citie in the meane time.Why Saul & Dauid triumphed in Ieruſalem. VntoUnto whiche citie Saul and Dauid went after they had gotten the victory againſt the Philiſtians, and Dauid himſelfe brought thether the hed of Goliah whom he had ſlayne. Peraduenture that citie ſemed mete for that triumphe, bicauſe it was cōmon to the tribe of Iudah and Beniamin, vntounto which tribes Dauid and Saul belonged. For as Dauid was of the tribe of Iudah, ſo was Saul a Beniamite.
And the Iebuſites dwelled in Ieruſalem, vntounto this day. That is euen to the time of Samuel who is thought to hauehave written this booke. For afterwarde came Dauid, when he ruled ouer all Iſrael and expelled the Iebuſites from thence, as it is ſayd.