Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 3 · Verses 1-2 – Verse 8
THeſe are the Nations, which the Lorde left, that he myghte proue Iſraell by them euen as many of Iſraell as had not knowen all the warres of Chanaan.
2 Only for the learning of the generation of the children of Iſraell that he alſo might teach them warre, in as much as they which wer before them knewe nothing thereof.
THis is a very common and receaued expoſition of this place, that God in leauing diuerſe Nations in the land which was promiſed to the Iſraelites, did it not only to trie the Iſraelites, but alſo bycauſe he woulde hauehave them exerciſed in warlike artes, leaſte they ſhould become ſlouthfull. For if the enemyes ſhould ſtraightway at the beginnyng hauehave bene expelled, that people would eaſely hauehave bene loſte with idleneſſe and ſlouth. Which interpretation if we allow, therby will plainly followe, that iuſte warres are altogether lawfull.War is a thing lawfull. For if GOD would teache the Iſraelites the arte of warrefare, then iudged he not that arte vnlawfull. And to thys purpoſe ſerueth that which Dauid ſayd: Bleſſed be god which teacheth my handes to warre, and my fyngers to battayle. But thys queſtion, whyther it be lawfull to make iuſte warres, is not nowe to be entreated of: for as muche as it is moſt euident, and that by the holy Scriptures, that it is lawfull. And we ſhall hauehave occaſion in an other place, to ſpeake at large of that matter. Wherfore I will declare what the Hebrewe expoſitours iudge of thys place. R. Salamon, R. Dauid Kimhi, and alſo R. Leui ben Gerſon write, that God, when he had tempted the Hebrewes and detected theyr vngodlineſſe and Idolatrye, withdrewe from them their ſtrength and ayde. Wherby when they attempted to make warres by their owne power and to fight by their owne ſtrength they learned what it was to make warre.When God fought for the Iſraelits, they knew not what it was to make warre. Whereas before when God himſelfe fought for them, they were ignoraunt of it. For he endued them with ſtrength, he draue a feare into their enemyes, diſſolued their ſtrength, and gaue the Hebrewes a proſperous ſucceſſe in theyr enterpriſes. One dyd then purſue a thouſand, and two ten thouſand. It is therfore aptlye ſayd that the Iſraelites, when he had not yet broken the league, and god fought for them, were ignoraunte of warlyke feates.How our fyrſte parentes after ſinne knew both good and euell. Euen as the fyrſt parentes of mankinde when they had eaten of the forbidden tree, beganne to know both good and euill. For before when they were nouriſhed with the grace of GOD, they were touched with the feeling of no euil. And we commonlye ſay of children, when their parentes are taken from them, that they ſhall nowe fele what it is to gette theyr own liuyng, which before they had not learned, when they had their parentes liuing. Chriſte alſo vſed the ſame kinde of ſpeche, when he ſayd vntounto the Apoſtles: When I ſent you without bagge or ſcrippe, vndoubtedly you wanted nothyng. But now bicauſe I ſhall be taken from you, let him which hath no ſweard, bye him one: for hereafter the times ſhall be harde and paynefull vntounto you, ſo that ye ſhall proue and hauehave experience of thoſe thinges which hitherto ye hauehave not felte. And this is the meaning at this preſent, that the Hebrewes were brought of neceſſitye now at the length to knowe and feele,God commaū ded nothing in the lawe for the learning of the art of warfare. what it was to make warre with enemyes ſtronger than themſelues. They had not experience of that, before GOD taught them it in taking awaye their ſtrength and ayde. Neither is it founde in the whole lawe that he ordained any thyng for the learning of the arte of warrefare. In Deutronomye the xx. Chapiter: he made certaine lawes for making of warre, but they pertayne nothing to the attayning of knowledge in the arte of warrefare. And I, in my iudgemente, doe allowe the interpretation of the Hebrewes, rather than that which was fyrſt aſſigned.
3 Of thoſe whom he left, there were fyue Lordes of the Philiſtians and all the Chananites, and Sidonites, and the Heuites that dwelled in Mount Libanon, euen from Mount Baal Hermon vntounto the entrance of Hamath.
4 Thoſe (I ſay) remayned to proue Iſraell by, and to wete whether they would obey the preceptes of the Lord, which he commaunded their fathers by the hand of Moyſes.
5 The children of Iſraell therefore dwelt among the Chananites, Hethites, Amorites, Pherezites, Heuites, and Iebuſites.
That which is in the Hebrewe Sirni, Ierome ſometimes tranſlateth rulers, and ſometimes Lordes. And we may call them Princes, or Preſidentes, or ells Gouernours.Satrapes. Thoſe woordes the Grecians call, foreign But yet they are deriued of the Perſians, yea & the Latines ſometimes vſed thē. Terence in his comedie Heautontim: Terence.writeth. If Satrapes (yt is a Lord) be a louer, he ſhal not be able to abide the charge.Dauid Kimhi. Dauid Kimhi thinketh theſe words in the text, Fyue lords of the Philiſtians, to be a figuratiue kinde of ſpeche, yt by the fyue Lords,The names of the Lordſhips of Paleſtine. we might vnderſtand thoſe fiue places, which they were lords ouer, that is fiue Lordſhips of the Philiſtians. And thoſe places be named in the booke of Ioſua the 13 chap. Gaza, Aſdod, Aſcalon, Ackron & Geth. Of eueryevery one of theſe cities they toke vntounto thē the name of the lordſhip. And vndoubtedly there is manifeſt mencion made of them in the fyrſt booke of Samuell, for of ech of thē there were gifts gathered wherwith the arke of the couenaunt was adorned to be ſent agayne to the Iſraelites.
Howbeit this may ſeme to be ſtrange how theſe cities ſhould now be ſayd not to be conquered by the Iſraelits. When as in this booke the firſt chap. Gaza, Aſcalon, & Aekron are declared to be wonne in that battaile, which was made by the tribes of Iuda and Simeon. Whereunto we aunſwere, yt in dede thoſe cities were taken at ye time, when as for all that they were not fully conquered by the leading and conduct of Ioſua, as it is written in his boke. Howbeit at this time. as the hiſtory now teſtifyeth, they were not in the power of the Iewes. For by reaſon of the ſinnes of the Hebrues, the ſtrength of the Philiſtians was confyrmed, & other nations of ye land of Chanaan waxed eueryevery day ſtrōger & ſtronger, but the Iſraelites on the contrary ſide were feabled. Wherfore it was an eaſye matter for theſe places to fall againe into the power of the Philiſtians. For they were very ſkilful in feates of warre, and they had yron and hooked Chariottes. Neither did God fight for the Iſraelites. Wherefore they might without any great trauaile (by reaſon of the ſinnes of the Iewes) recouer againe the places which they had loſte.
In that it is written And al the Chananites we muſt not vnderſtand it abſolutely and ſimplie, but only of thoſe which inhabited ye places here mencioned. Farther we muſt note, that in the boke of Ioſua there were alſo Chananites and Zidonites rehearſed which were not at that time deſtroyed. And as touching the Mount Libanon, The Mounte Libanon.ſome write, yt it was ſo called of frankencenſe which the Grecians call foreign. Yea and the Hebrues call frankencenſe Libona. And Mount Hermon (as the boke of Deut. teacheth) was called of the Amorrites, Naſchir, & of the Sirians Scherion. Wherof peraduēture the prouince of Siria had his name.
6 And they tooke the Daughters of them to be their wyues, and gaue their own daughters to their ſonnes: and ſerued their Gods.
7 Wherefore the children of Iſrael did wickedly in the ſight of the Lord, and forgot the Lorde their God, & ſerued Baalim, & groues.
The Iſraelites ſynned three times againſt God. Firſt, bicauſe (as it is already ſhewed) they dwelled peaceably and quietly among the Chananites, Thre ſynnes of the Hebrues.and contrary to the commaundement of God made thoſe nations tributaries vntounto them. Secondly bicauſe they contracted matrimonies with that people. And that had God prohibited to be done, as the law in many places witneſſeth. Yea and in the booke of Eſdras the laſt chap. we reade of a grieuous complaynt bycauſe the Iewes in their captiuſtye in Babilon had taken ſtraungers to wyues. And Eſdras there decreed that ſuch wiues ſhould be put away,God forbyddeth vnlyke maryages. & that thoſe matrimonies ſhould be counted voide, which wer contracted betwene perſons prohibited by God. And why God would not hauehave matrimonies ſo contracted, this reaſon is chiefly alledged, bicauſe by ſuch vnlike matrimonies the worſhipping of God is wonderfully empaired. For godly huſbandes or wiues are by the vngodly parties oftentimes alienated from the true god. Neither doth the Scripture onelyonly teache vsus this, but alſo experience both in the olde time, and alſo in our time teſtifieth it. For as much as Salomon (as it is written in the firſt boke of the kinges the .xi. chap.) was both corrupted, and alſo builded Temples for Idoles, by the entiſement of ſtraunge women, whom he moſt inordinatelye loued, and more than was cōuenient. Wherfore he miſerably incurred the wrath of god. The Iewes alſo (as our hiſtorye nowe declareth) had experience of the ſame. And we in our time ſee great hinderaunce to come vntounto the beleuers, bycauſe very many of them contract matrimony with Papiſtes. The third ſynne of the Hebrewes was, bicauſe they worſhipped Idoles: and that was moſt of all againſt the league which they had long before made with god, for they ſayd: we will ſerue the Lord our god.
Further it is added: And they woorſhipped trees or groues. Thys woorde Aſchera with the Hebrues is a tree, and being in the plural number Aſcheroth as it is in this place, it ſignifieth trees, and of ſome it is tranſlated groues. For it is a moſt common maner among the Idolatrers,Gods wer worſhipped in groues. to woorſhip their goddes in groues. In Oken groues they ſacrificed vntounto Iupiter, and the Oke of Dodome, was in the old time moſt famous, by reaſon of the anſwers which it gaue. In woods of bay trees was Apollo woorſhipped. Daphne alſo is notable wher the Temple of Apollo was built. Minerua alſo was wont to hauehave a temple among Oliue trees. And laſtly we may marke both in the Poetes, and alſo in hiſtories, that ſhadowy woods, moſt large riuers, & mountaines of exceding great height wer counted of the men in the old time places moſt apt for ſacrifices to be done vntounto Idoles. Bicauſe ſuch places driue into men no ſmal admiration. Wherefore they thought that ſuch notable places had the power of god preſent. Yea, and Abraham alſo, Iſaac and Iacob, and the old Fathers,From whence the maner of ſacrificing in hy… moūtains came offered ſacrifices vntounto the true god vponupon the high mountaines, which cuſtome was tyll ſuch time vſed as god by a law ordained that they ſhould not do ſacrifice euerye where, but in that place onelyonly which he himſelfe had choſen.
8 Therfore the Lord was angry with Iſrael, and ſold them into the handes of Chuſan Riſeathaim Kyng of Aram-Naharaim: & the children of Iſrael ſerued Chuſan Riſeathaim eyght yeares.
Now is particularly mencioned the puniſhment wherwith god being angry puniſhed the Hebrewes. For when they ſo fel from him, that they forgot hym, he deliuered them to Chuſan King of Meſopotamia. And this is the firſt bondage that the children of Iſrael were in. And that which the Grecians cal foreign,Meſopotamia. the Hebrues name Aram-naharaim. Nahar ſignifieth with them a Ryuer. It is therfore put in the dual number, bicauſe that part Siria, or Aram is encloſed with two riuers Euphrates (I ſay) and Tigris. Of ye ſurname of Chuſan.Wherfore as touching the ſignification of the woord the Grecians hauehave followed the Hebrues. But why Chuſan was called Riſeathaim, it is darke. Although D. Kimhi thinketh that ye ſurname was geuen him of ſome certain place, as we ſe to chaūce to Princes of our time, which receiue their ſurname of yt places, frō whēce their Elders had their beginning. But other ſome thinke that this king was therefore ſo called, bicauſe he was very wicked and vngodly. For with the Hebrues Reſehaha ſignifieth wickednes and vngodlines. Wherfore they wil hauehave it to be as much as if one ſhould ſay, Chuſan of vngodlines, or vngodly Chuſan. It is the dual number, to declare that he was corrupted not with any ſimple wickednes or vngodlines, but with a doubt, that is with a principal and abſolute wyckednes or vngodlines. And ther wer ſome of the Hebrues which went about to expreſſe the double vngodlines of the kings of Meſopotamia. For they ſay that Balaam was hired from thence to curſe the Iſraelites. Farther, and this (ſay they) was the other wickednes, wherwith this Chuſan oppreſſed the Iewes, which by no right pertained to his dominion or Lordſhip. But theſe ought rather to be called diuinations and coniectures, than iuſt interpretations.
They ſerued hym eyght yeares. Vndoubtedly a very long time, which I ſuppoſe was ſo much the painfuller vntounto them,Why the Chaldeans and Sirians went about to gouern the Iewes. bicauſe from their commyng out of Egipt hitherto, they had ſerued none. But vnderunder what pretence this Kyng ſubdued vntounto him the Hebrues it is not declared. Peraduenture he thought that the Iewes wer a part of his people ſent abroade to inhabite. For Abraham was called out of Chaldea, and came firſt into Meſopotamia. From whence by the commaundement of God he went into the land of Chanaan. Furthermore in that place Iacobs children were borne, which wer the Princes of the twelue Tribes. This peraduenture wer the titles, wherby the Chaldeans and Sirians endeuoured them ſelues often times to be Lords ouer the Hebrues, which thing yet they did vniuſtly. For ther wer no people ſent from the Chaldeans or from the Sirians by the common wyll and conſent of the Princes and Magiſtrates, whyche ſhould go and inhabite in ſome place of the land of Chanaan, Wherfore they did wrongfullye oppreſſe the Iewes and were ſtyrred vp thereunto by couetouſnes and ambition to enlarge their dominions. This is alſo vncertayn whether this Chuſan did together with the Iewes oppreſſe the Chananites. And it maye be, that he was not troubleſome to the Chananites as to his friendes, but onelyonly afflicted the Hebrues. Neither wer it abſurde to thinke, that this king was called by the Chananites to oppreſſe the Hebrues their common enemies.