With Hashem's help we now begin Sefer Shoftim. Sefer Shoftim comes immediately after the passing of Yehoshua, and was written by Shmuel the prophet, as Chazal said that Shmuel wrote his own book and Sefer Shoftim. The name of the book expresses the era: after the passing of Yehoshua and the passing of the elders there was as yet no king in Israel, but rather judges who led the nation. We first encounter the reality of a king only in Sefer Shmuel, where Shaul is the first king, and in Shmuel Bet the reign of David already begins.
The role of the shoftim was to be leaders of the nation. Often these were also spiritual leaders, men of great spiritual stature, and at times they were simple men who had leadership ability alone. Throughout the entire book the same pattern repeats itself: the people of Israel stray from the path, a tyrannical king comes and abuses and afflicts them, and then the Holy One, blessed be He, raises up for them a judge - Ehud ben Gera, Shimshon, or another judge - who exacts retribution from that nation oppressing Israel, fights against them and protects us, and afterward "and the land was quiet forty years," and the cycle repeats. In the book we will come to know many judges, the story of Shimshon, the concubine at Givah at the end of the book, the idol of Micha, and many other matters.
The first chapter expresses the state of lack of leadership that arose following the passing of Yehoshua. The nation had not yet completed the conquest in the days of Yehoshua, and now it seeks how to settle and establish its position in Eretz Yisrael without a leader directing it. The chapter is indeed less "story-like" than the chapters that follow, but it is the opening and introduction to the entire book. Our study, with Hashem's help, will follow the commentary of the Malbim.
וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי מוֹת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּיהֹוָה לֵאמֹר מִי יַעֲלֶה־לָּנוּ אֶל־הַכְּנַעֲנִי בַּתְּחִלָּה לְהִלָּחֶם בּוֹ׃ - And it was after the death of Yehoshua that the children of Israel inquired of Hashem, saying: Who shall go up for us against the Canaanite first to fight against him?
The Malbim explains: as long as Yehoshua was alive they did not need to inquire of the Urim VeTumim. Indeed the Urim VeTumim existed, but there was a leader who was directly guided by Hashem, and he led the nation throughout the entire way. Now, "after the death of Yehoshua," they already need to inquire of Hashem through the Urim VeTumim in order to know what to do.
And the first question is "who shall go up." As long as Yehoshua was alive it was clear who was the commander marching at the head. Now that Yehoshua is gone, the tribes become separate units. There is no general leadership based upon all the tribes, but rather each tribe has its own private leadership, and immediately when they want to do something they ask who will help us and who will go with us.
And why is it so important who goes up "first"? Because there is a war here with the Canaanites, and the beginning is decisive. If at the beginning there is a defeat, this will be a milestone for all that follows: the Canaanite will raise his head, will understand that it is possible to manage against them, and from this further collapses will come. Therefore it is important that at the beginning the firepower be strong and that there be a resounding victory, by which the Canaanites will lower their heads and it will be possible to conquer them more easily. We saw something similar with Yehoshua in the conquest of Ai: there was a defeat there, and Yehoshua was greatly anxious, for if at the start of the conquest there is a defeat, all the kings will raise their heads and say that this is not an unconquerable nation, and they will gain strength to go and fight against us again.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה יְהוּדָה יַעֲלֶה הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי אֶת־הָאָרֶץ בְּיָדוֹ׃ - And Hashem said: Yehuda shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.
There are two reasons for this: Yehuda is the man of ascendancy, he is the king; and further, that Yehuda's lot came up first in the lots that were cast for the division of the inheritances. Since his lot came out first, the conquest too shall begin with him.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה לְשִׁמְעוֹן אָחִיו עֲלֵה אִתִּי בְגֹרָלִי וְנִלָּחֲמָה בַּכְּנַעֲנִי וְהָלַכְתִּי גַם־אֲנִי אִתְּךָ בְּגוֹרָלֶךָ וַיֵּלֶךְ אִתּוֹ שִׁמְעוֹן׃ - And Yehuda said to Shimon his brother: Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanite, and I too will go with you into your lot; and Shimon went with him.
On the simple level, this is the tribe of Yehuda turning to the tribe of Shimon: help me conquer my portion, and I will go after you to conquer your portion. The Malbim notes the change in wording: about himself Yehuda says "come up with me," while about Shimon he says "and I will go," and not "and I will go up." It is quite possible that Shimon's portion was in the plain, so mere walking suffices, whereas Yehuda's portion (Yerushalayim and the mountains around it) requires going up to it.
Chazal, and likewise Rashi who cites them, expounded these words in a different way: "Yehuda shall go up," which the Urim veTumim said, is not the tribe of Yehuda but Otniel ben Kenaz. Otniel is Yavetz, and what is his name? Yehuda, brother of Shimon, is his name. He had three names: Otniel, Yavetz, and Yehuda. And he had a biological brother named Shimon, and that Yehuda Otniel Yavetz asked his brother Shimon to help him conquer his portion and his inheritance.
וַיַּעַל יְהוּדָה וַיִּתֵּן יְהֹוָה אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי בְּיָדָם וַיַּכּוּם בְּבֶזֶק עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים אִישׁ׃ - And Yehuda went up, and Hashem delivered the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand, and they struck them at Bezek, ten thousand men.
וַיִּמְצְאוּ אֶת־אֲדֹנִי בֶזֶק בְּבֶזֶק וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ בּוֹ וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְאֶת־הַפְּרִזִּי׃ - And they found Adoni Bezek at Bezek, and they fought against him, and struck the Canaanite and the Perizzite.
The Malbim addresses the difficulty: it already said that Hashem delivered the Canaanite and the Perizzite into their hand and that they struck ten thousand men, so why repeat again "and they struck the Canaanite and the Perizzite"? Rather, when it says "at such and such a place," it does not necessarily mean within the place itself but sometimes in its surroundings. So we find that Yehoshua met the angel at Yericho and said to him "are you for us or for our adversaries," yet Yericho had not yet been conquered, and Chazal said that he met him in the surroundings of Yericho, in the fields around it, what today is called the municipal boundary.
Therefore "and they struck them at Bezek, ten thousand men" refers to the surroundings of Bezek: a battle fought even before the city itself. And afterward "and they found Adoni Bezek at Bezek" means they entered the city itself and there found Adoni Bezek, who is the king of Bezek, from the term for lordship. Unlike the king of Ai who went out to fight, Adoni Bezek was afraid and stayed within the city. And there, inside the city, they fought against him and struck the Canaanite and the Perizzite within it, while the ten thousand were the men of the surroundings of the city.
וַיָּנׇס אֲדֹנִי בֶזֶק וַיִּרְדְּפוּ אַחֲרָיו וַיֹּאחֲזוּ אוֹתוֹ וַיְקַצְּצוּ אֶת־בְּהֹנוֹת יָדָיו וְרַגְלָיו׃ - And Adoni Bezek fled, and they pursued him and seized him, and cut off the thumbs of his hands and the big toes of his feet.
He saw that the city had been conquered, understood that disaster had befallen him, and fled, and they seized him and cut off the thumbs of his hands and the big toes of his feet. Says the Malbim: thus Hashem placed in their minds to do to him, which they did not do to any of their enemies. And why indeed did they not do so to others? Because the matter is somewhat against the laws of Israel: according to Torah law the seven nations are judged by the sword, by killing, but to torture them and afflict them we were not commanded. But here Hashem placed in their minds to do so as measure for measure, as is explained in the next verse.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲדֹנִי־בֶזֶק שִׁבְעִים מְלָכִים בְּהֹנוֹת יְדֵיהֶם וְרַגְלֵיהֶם מְקֻצָּצִים הָיוּ מְלַקְּטִים תַּחַת שֻׁלְחָנִי כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי כֵּן שִׁלַּם־לִי אֱלֹהִים וַיְבִיאֻהוּ יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וַיָּמׇת שָׁם׃ - And Adoni Bezek said: seventy kings with the thumbs of their hands and their big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I did, so God has repaid me. And they brought him to Yerushalayim, and he died there.
Adoni Bezek recognizes that this is measure for measure, and admits his crimes. And the Malbim says: since he admitted his crimes and recognized his error, he merited that they did not kill him nor afflict him, but rather he died in the natural way along the road, while they were going to fight over Yerushalayim.
And what was the matter of that wicked man with the seventy kings? One must know that the ancient kings, especially the cruel and tyrannical among them, were not content with victory in battle but wanted to win morally as well, by humiliating the defeated people to the dust. And the way to do this is to take their king, who represents everything for them. Whoever wants to understand this should look at what happens in totalitarian states, and he will see how enslaved the people are to the king and how the king in their eyes is the sun of the nations. And when they take him and afflict and torture and humiliate him, this is a terrible humiliation for the people that causes them to be submissive to the conquering king, and no one opens his mouth or chirps. So too they did to Shaul, who after they defeated him in battle they fastened his corpse to the wall of Beit Shean, in order to humiliate: here is your king hanging on the wall.
And why specifically cut off the thumbs and big toes? The thumb is what distinguishes man from beast. A person without a thumb cannot even button a button on his shirt, and if he can, it is exceedingly difficult work, and how would he write? Everything that sets us apart as human beings, the ability to hold things delicately and to work things with our hands, all rests on the power of the thumbs. And once they cut off his thumbs, what did they do to them? They threw them under the table and tossed them food, leftover scraps of poultry and the like, and they would pounce like dogs on every piece, grabbing with hands that had no thumbs, looking exactly like animals. There was a terrible and dreadful humiliation in this, and therefore, measure for measure, they did the same to him, as the Malbim says: this is what Hashem placed in their minds.
וַיִּלָּחֲמוּ בְנֵי־יְהוּדָה בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וַיִּלְכְּדוּ אוֹתָהּ וַיַּכּוּהָ לְפִי־חָרֶב וְאֶת־הָעִיר שִׁלְּחוּ בָאֵשׁ׃ - And the children of Yehudah fought against Yerushalayim and captured it, and they smote it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
The topic of the war over Yerushalayim recurs in several places, and the Malbim comes to sort it out. In Yehoshua chapter 15 verse 63 it says: "And the children of Yehudah could not drive out the Yevusi who dwelt in Yerushalayim, and the Yevusi dwelt with the children of Yehudah in Yerushalayim to this day." It is clear that they already fought in Yerushalayim and did not conquer it. And here, in verse 21, it says: "And the children of Binyamin did not drive out the Yevusi who dwelt in Yerushalayim." Yet here in verse 8 it says that the children of Yehudah captured it, smote it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire. And Yerushalayim is itself Yevus, which is its ancient name, so the accounts seem to contradict one another.
The Malbim explains: Adoni Tzedek was king of Yerushalayim, and he was the first of the five kings who gathered against Givon, and there he fell in battle. Everyone whose name was "Tzedek" was king of Yerushalayim, like Malki Tzedek king of Shalem, and Shalem is Yerushalayim, which was called the city of righteousness (tzedek). Yerushalayim itself was divided among the tribes: even regarding the Beit HaMikdash it is said that most of it was in the portion of Binyamin, and there was a place in it from the portion of Yehudah, and Binyamin is called "hovering over him all day long," for he always wanted to take back his portion, and the place of the altar was like an enclave belonging to Yehudah. Thus Yerushalayim belonged both to Binyamin and to Yehudah.
In the days of Yehoshua they could not conquer Yerushalayim, and that is the "to this day" mentioned in Yehoshua, meaning until the end of Yehoshua's days. Now, after the death of Yehoshua, there is an opportunity, and Yehudah conquers the city and even burns it with fire as punishment for their having fought against him in the past. However, the conquest was not complete, for the fortress, which is the fortress of Tzion, they did not conquer, and it was captured only in the days of David, and there we will see what great ingenuity was involved in its capture. And why did Yehudah not conquer the fortress? Because it was not in his portion but in the portion of Binyamin. And Binyamin had not yet gone out to fight at all, for "Yehudah shall go up" - Yehudah is the one who opens the battle. And when Binyamin went out at a later stage, they did not conquer the fortress and did not eliminate the Yevusi, and the Yevusim remained with the children of Binyamin, until David came and fought them and completely uprooted them.
And Chazal say that in Yerushalayim there was a district called Yevusi, and they were descendants of Avimelech. And why were they not driven out until the days of David? Because Avraham had sworn to Avimelech "if you deal falsely with me, and with my son, and with my grandson," meaning a peace agreement extending to the grandchildren, and a peace agreement means that you will not harm me. And at that time the grandchildren of Avimelech were still alive and the force of the oath had not lapsed, and therefore they had to wait until the days of David, when no one remained from that oath, and then David uprooted them. It turns out that not only did Binyamin refrain from fighting out of a lack of strength, or because they preferred to rest on their laurels, as we will see later with other tribes, but rather according to the oath they were forbidden from fighting them.
וְאַחַר יָרְדוּ בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה לְהִלָּחֵם בַּכְּנַעֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב הָהָר וְהַנֶּגֶב וְהַשְּׁפֵלָה׃ - And afterward the children of Yehudah went down to fight against the Kena'ani who dwelt in the hill country, the Negev, and the lowland.
Seemingly, if they fought against those dwelling in the hill country it should have said "they went up." But they are descending from Yerushalayim, and Yerushalayim is higher than they are. It turns out that even though those Kena'anim dwelt in a hill region, it was a low hill relative to Yerushalayim, and therefore it says "they went down."
וַיֵּלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֶל־הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַיּוֹשֵׁב בְּחֶבְרוֹן וְשֵׁם־חֶבְרוֹן לְפָנִים קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־שֵׁשַׁי וְאֶת־אֲחִימַן וְאֶת־תַּלְמָי׃ - And Yehudah went against the Kena'ani who dwelt in Chevron, and the name of Chevron was formerly Kiryat Arba, and they smote Sheshai and Achiman and Talmai.
We already learned in Yehoshua chapter 15 that Kalev drove out the giants, Sheshai, Achiman, and Talmai, and this took place during Yehoshua's lifetime. If so, what place is there to mention it here, seeing that they were already smitten and dead? The Malbim explains: "And Yehudah went against the Kena'ani" is not a description of the present, but rather the verse is recalling what had already happened back then. And Kalev was of the tribe of Yehudah, and therefore in Yehoshua the verse specified in detail who it was, Kalev, while here it says in general that it was the tribe of Yehudah. Therefore the matter is attributed to both of them.
וַיֵּלֶךְ מִשָּׁם אֶל־יוֹשְׁבֵי דְּבִיר וְשֵׁם־דְּבִיר לְפָנִים קִרְיַת־סֵפֶר׃ - And he went from there against the inhabitants of Devir, and the name of Devir formerly was Kiryat Sefer.
וַיֹּאמֶר כָּלֵב אֲשֶׁר־יַכֶּה אֶת־קִרְיַת־סֵפֶר וּלְכָדָהּ וְנָתַתִּי לוֹ אֶת־עַכְסָה בִתִּי לְאִשָּׁה׃ - And Kalev said: Whoever strikes Kiryat Sefer and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.
Whoever succeeds in striking Kiryat Sefer and capturing it will receive Achsah his daughter as a wife. Achsah was exceedingly beautiful, and Chazal said: Why was she called Achsah? Because whoever saw her would be angry (ko'es) at his own wife. To such an extent.
וַיִּלְכְּדָהּ עׇתְנִיאֵל בֶּן־קְנַז אֲחִי כָלֵב הַקָּטֹן מִמֶּנּוּ וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ אֶת־עַכְסָה בִתּוֹ לְאִשָּׁה׃ - And Otniel son of Kenaz, Kalev's younger brother, captured it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife.
וַיְהִי בְּבוֹאָהּ וַתְּסִיתֵהוּ לִשְׁאֹל מֵאֵת־אָבִיהָ הַשָּׂדֶה וַתִּצְנַח מֵעַל הַחֲמוֹר וַיֹּאמֶר־לָהּ כָּלֵב מַה־לָּךְ׃ - And it was, when she came, that she persuaded him to ask a field of her father, and she alighted from the donkey, and Kalev said to her: What do you want?
וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹ הָבָה־לִּי בְרָכָה כִּי אֶרֶץ הַנֶּגֶב נְתַתָּנִי וְנָתַתָּה לִי גֻּלֹּת מָיִם וַיִּתֶּן־לָהּ כָּלֵב אֵת גֻּלֹּת עִלִּית וְאֵת גֻּלֹּת תַּחְתִּית׃ - And she said to him: Give me a blessing, for you have given me a Negev land, so give me springs of water. And Kalev gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
According to the plain meaning of the text: Achsah persuaded her husband to ask her father for a field for their livelihood. Afterward she said to him: "You have given me a Negev land" - you gave me dry land, that is, parched land, and of what use is land to me if I have no way to irrigate it? Therefore "Give me a blessing," and following this he gave her springs of water. "Gulot" are springs, as in the expression "a locked spring, a sealed fountain," and a "gal" is a place where water flows forth, and he gave her upper springs and lower springs.
Up to this point is a story that already appears in full in Sefer Yehoshua. So why did the author of the book repeat these matters again? The Malbim says that this very fact is what led Chazal to expound the entire story by way of derash. Chazal say: Three thousand halachot were forgotten during the days of mourning for Moshe, and the one who restored them was Otniel son of Kenaz. "Whoever strikes Kiryat Sefer and captures it" - whoever is able to learn from the book and "capture," that is, to restore the three thousand halachot that were forgotten.
And if you ask from where they learned to expound the wording in this way, the Malbim shows: Devir is also called "Kiryat Sanah," and there is a hint in this that in this place they would sit and engage in the Torah they received at Sinai, "the favor of the One who dwells in the bush (sneh)." It emerges that Devir and Kiryat Sefer allude to the study of Torah, and the one who taught there was Otniel, who was a rosh yeshiva. And the term "striking" we find in the words of the Sages regarding disputation and pilpul, as in "the war of Torah," and as in "when you sit to contend (lilchom) with a ruler," which refers to the pilpul of Torah. The one who strikes is the one who prevailed in the battle, the one who delivered the final blow, and here the one who succeeded in reaching a conclusion in accordance with halacha was Otniel son of Kenaz, and it was he who, as it were, conquered Kiryat Sefer through his pilpul.
And following this he merits, and Kalev gives him Achsah his daughter. And the continuation of the passage is also expounded: Achsah saw that a man who was "a Negev land" had fallen to her lot. On one hand, a parched land thirsty for water, for the field he gave her had no water in it. On the other hand, "one who wishes to become wise should turn southward," and the south is the Negev, and she said: You have given me a man who seeks wisdom, a man from whom I will see no livelihood, he goes to the kollel, and what will become of me? Therefore he gave her the lower springs, which are springs to irrigate the Negev land. And what are the upper springs? He hinted to her: You have a man who draws living waters from the source of the supernal blessing, from the Divine wisdom, one to whom the secrets of the upper and lower worlds have been revealed. Would he ask anything of me? As it were, I have given you something far greater than a field with a little water, and to this you turn your heart? See what you have merited, a man to whom the upper springs and the fountains of wisdom have been revealed, and of what importance to you are the lower springs?
And all of this, says the Malbim, what compelled Chazal to expound, is the duplication of the story. And what is the connection between the forgetting of the halachot and the conquest of Devir? We have already explained, based on the holy books, that every portion of the land they conquered was dependent on the portion they had in Torah. And when they attained a portion in Torah, they attained another portion in the land. Once three thousand halachot were forgotten, they could not conquer Devir, which corresponds to those halachot. And when Otniel son of Kenaz came and restored them through his pilpul, by virtue of this they were then able to conquer it. Each is dependent upon the other.
וּבְנֵי קֵינִי חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה עָלוּ מֵעִיר הַתְּמָרִים אֶת־בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה אֲשֶׁר בְּנֶגֶב עֲרָד וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיֵּשֶׁב אֶת־הָעָם׃ - And the children of the Kenite, Moshe's father in law, went up from the city of palm trees with the children of Yehudah into the wilderness of Yehudah, which is in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelt among the people.
The Kenite, Moshe's father in law, is Yitro. He and his sons came here to the Land. Some say Yitro returned and some say he did not, but his sons were certainly here with us. They faced a problem: they do not receive a portion in the Land, for converts have no portion in the Land, and in order to receive a portion one must belong to one of the tribes. Therefore they were dwellers in tents who traveled from place to place, and they were at peace with Israel.
The Malbim explains: when Yehudah fought the Canaanite, the children of the Kenite went up from the city of palm trees, because the city of palm trees was at the site of the war, and we did not wish to harm them, for they are the children of the Kenite, Moshe's father in law, and we were at peace with them and they were like part of the people of Israel. Therefore they warned them to clear out of the area so they would not be harmed. We find something similar with Shaul: "And Shaul said to the Kenite, Depart, go down from among Amalek, lest I destroy you with them" - I do not wish to destroy you along with them, my war is with Amalek and I have no war with you. And therefore "and they went and dwelt among the people" - they went and dwelt among the people in order to distance themselves from the site of the war.
Our Sages say that the city of palm trees is Yericho, and they were given the fertile land of Yericho. And why were they given such a choice place? Yericho was designated for whoever would have the Beit HaMikdash built in his portion, so that he would take it. And why? So that all of Israel would have a share in the Chosen House: the one in whose portion the Beit HaMikdash would be built, as it were, gives his portion to everyone, and in exchange he would receive Yericho. But the Beit HaMikdash had not yet been built, and from Yehoshua's entry into the Land until the building of the House four hundred and forty years passed. Who would dwell there in the meantime? The children of the Kenite, Moshe's father in law. They were the ones who settled the fertile land of Yericho until the Beit HaMikdash would be built in the territory of whoever it would be built for, and he would ultimately receive Yericho.
And the students who were there left the place and went to Otniel ben Kenaz, who is Yaavetz, who was in the wilderness of Yehudah which is in the south of Arad, in order to learn Torah. And it is written in the words of our Sages that Yaavetz sat with them and asked the Holy One, blessed be He, to send him worthy students, as it says in Divrei HaYamim I chapter 4 verse 10: "And Yaavetz called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested" - the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him those very students who came to learn with him.
וַיֵּלֶךְ יְהוּדָה אֶת־שִׁמְעוֹן אָחִיו וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי יוֹשֵׁב צְפַת וַיַּחֲרִימוּ אוֹתָהּ וַיִּקְרָא אֶת־שֵׁם־הָעִיר חׇרְמָה׃ - And Yehudah went with Shimon his brother, and they smote the Canaanite who inhabited Tzefat, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Chormah.
וַיִּלְכֹּד יְהוּדָה אֶת־עַזָּה וְאֶת־גְּבוּלָהּ וְאֶת־אַשְׁקְלוֹן וְאֶת־גְּבוּלָהּ וְאֶת־עֶקְרוֹן וְאֶת־גְּבוּלָהּ׃ - And Yehudah captured Azzah and its border, and Ashkelon and its border, and Ekron and its border.
וַיְהִי יְהֹוָה אֶת־יְהוּדָה וַיֹּרֶשׁ אֶת־הָהָר כִּי לֹא לְהוֹרִישׁ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי הָעֵמֶק כִּי־רֶכֶב בַּרְזֶל לָהֶם׃ - And Hashem was with Yehudah, and he took possession of the mountain, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
Come and see, says the Malbim: Yehudah succeeded after the death of Yehoshua and prevailed in his war, and nevertheless he did not exploit the momentum and did not carry the success further. The inhabitants of the valley remained before him, and he did not continue to drive them out, and they did not act according to the command of Hashem who commanded to eradicate the enemies, warning that those who remained would be thorns in your eyes and pricks in your sides. He did not complete the task, and as Hashem said, so it was. This is also an introduction to the next chapter, in which we will see the angel of Hashem going up from Bochim and rebuking them for not eradicating and not clearing out the Canaanite, and therefore they would continue to suffer from them. The chapter before us describes how each and every tribe was party to the failure, and it begins with Yehudah.
And let us consider: which is easier to fight over, the mountain or the valley? Certainly, when I am up high I have a strategic advantage over one who is below. How much blood we shed until we conquered the Golan Heights. It is not simple to fight when you are at a disadvantage, and when you have the advantage of height it is much easier. If so, Yehudah is up high and before him are the inhabitants of the valley, and he has a great advantage, so why did he not conquer them? "Because they had chariots of iron" - it was enough that they had chariots of iron for him to slacken and fear to fight them.
וַיִּתְּנוּ לְכָלֵב אֶת־חֶבְרוֹן כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר מֹשֶׁה וַיּוֹרֶשׁ מִשָּׁם אֶת־שְׁלֹשָׁה בְּנֵי הָעֲנָק׃ - And they gave Chevron to Kalev, as Moshe had spoken, and he drove out from there the three sons of the giant.
But have we not already seen this above? Rather, here the verse comes to explain: do you know why they nonetheless fought over Chevron? Because it had to be given to Kalev, for he had a promise that he would receive Chevron. They had to help him because of the promise, but they did not intend to drive out the surroundings of Chevron and the rest of the land.
וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי יֹשֵׁב יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם לֹא הוֹרִישׁוּ בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן וַיֵּשֶׁב הַיְבוּסִי אֶת־בְּנֵי בִנְיָמִן בִּירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - And the Yevusi who dwelt in Yerushalayim, the sons of Binyamin did not drive out, and the Yevusi dwelt with the sons of Binyamin in Yerushalayim until this day.
The Yevusi is that district in Yerushalayim called Yevus, and as we explained: Yehudah drove out his portion, while Binyamin did not drive out their portion.
וַיַּעֲלוּ בֵית־יוֹסֵף גַּם־הֵם בֵּית־אֵל וַיהֹוָה עִמָּם׃ - And the house of Yosef, they too went up against Beit El, and Hashem was with them.
וַיָּתִירוּ בֵית־יוֹסֵף בְּבֵית־אֵל וְשֵׁם־הָעִיר לְפָנִים לוּז׃ - And the house of Yosef scouted out Beit El, and the name of the city was formerly Luz.
וַיִּרְאוּ הַשֹּׁמְרִים אִישׁ יוֹצֵא מִן־הָעִיר וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ הַרְאֵנוּ נָא אֶת־מְבוֹא הָעִיר וְעָשִׂינוּ עִמְּךָ חָסֶד׃ - And the watchmen saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him: Show us, please, the entrance to the city, and we will deal kindly with you.
The watchmen are those who were stationed around the camp, waiting to see if anyone came out of the city, either to kill him or to make sure they would not break the siege. And even though the watchmen were few men, since the camp was far off, they had the strength and courage to stop him and say to him, "Show us, please, the entrance to the city."
And why did they need the "entrance to the city" at all? Chazal say that this was the city of Luz, which was a secret city. From the outside one saw only a giant wall through which there was no possible way to penetrate, and you would search for where the opening was, and it had no opening. So how would people enter it? Through a cave, and at the mouth of the cave stood a luz tree, which is the almond tree, and apparently it itself had an opening, and through it they would enter the cave and from there into a tunnel that led into the city. No one could conquer it, for if you do not know where the entrance to the city is, from which direction would you conquer it?
וַיַּרְאֵם אֶת־מְבוֹא הָעִיר וַיַּכּוּ אֶת־הָעִיר לְפִי־חָרֶב וְאֶת־הָאִישׁ וְאֶת־כׇּל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ שִׁלֵּחוּ׃ - And he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city by the edge of the sword, but the man and all his family they let go.
Chazal say that he did not actually show them, for there was an oath among them not to reveal the entrance to the city, since if they revealed it they would be conquered easily, and they had made everyone swear. Therefore it does not say "and he told them" but rather "and he showed them." And what did he show? There are several opinions in Chazal: some say he showed them with his finger, some say he signaled to them with his nose, and some say he hinted to them with his eye. And as it were he did not transgress the oath, for he did not tell and did not say. And the sons of Yosef were faithful to their promise, and as they had promised him that he would be saved, they let him and all his family go.
וַיֵּלֶךְ הָאִישׁ אֶרֶץ הַחִתִּים וַיִּבֶן עִיר וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמָהּ לוּז הוּא שְׁמָהּ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - And the man went to the land of the Hittites, and he built a city and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
This place is the new Luz, the Luz in the land of the Hittites. They gave him a place to build a city of his own, and there he settled.
וְלֹא־הוֹרִישׁ מְנַשֶּׁה אֶת־בֵּית־שְׁאָן וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֶיהָ וְאֶת־תַּעְנַךְ וְאֶת־בְּנֹתֶיהָ וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵי דוֹר וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֶיהָ וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵי יִבְלְעָם וְאֶת־בְּנֹתֶיהָ וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵי מְגִדּוֹ וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֶיהָ וַיּוֹאֶל הַכְּנַעֲנִי לָשֶׁבֶת בָּאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת׃ - And Menashe did not dispossess Beit She'an and its towns, nor Ta'anach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Yivle'am and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; and the Canaanite was determined to dwell in this land.
All the tribes sinned in that they did not continue to dispossess the land. And "its towns" everywhere means the open, unwalled towns, the satellite towns around the city. Like "the daughters of Yehudah rejoice," where the meaning is not the daughters of Yehudah but the towns around, and likewise "there shall yet be heard in the cities of Yehudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim." Here too, Beit She'an and its towns means the villages surrounding it.
And why does Scripture emphasize this, when we already saw it in Yehoshua chapter seventeen? The Malbim says: so that you should see that Hashem was with them. Behold, the House of Yosef had already conquered Luz, and they had unusual divine assistance in that that man came out and revealed to them the entrance to the city. If so, matters were going well and succeeding, and nevertheless Menashe did not dispossess Beit She'an, and they did not continue to dispossess even though they were able. Indeed, in Yehoshua's lifetime it may have been difficult, but now they were already able, for they saw that it was working, and yet they did not continue.
וַיְהִי כִּי־חָזַק יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי לָמַס וְהוֹרֵשׁ לֹא הוֹרִישׁוֹ׃ - And it came to pass, when Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanite to tribute, but they did not utterly dispossess him.
Sin upon their sin. Behold, you have already grown very strong and you are able, and what did you do? You collected tribute from them. To dispossess them and drive them out? No. It was more comfortable for them that they remain here and pay tribute than to go and dispossess.
וְאֶפְרַיִם לֹא הוֹרִישׁ אֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַיּוֹשֵׁב בְּגָזֶר וַיֵּשֶׁב הַכְּנַעֲנִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ בְּגָזֶר׃ - And Efrayim did not dispossess the Canaanite who dwelt in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelt among them in Gezer.
The Malbim says: it was not enough that they did not dispossess him, and not enough that they did not even put him to tribute, that at least he would collect tribute from him and he would be lowly beneath him, but rather "and he dwelt among them," in a covenant of brotherhood. And this is against what Hashem commanded, "You shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land." It is forbidden to make a covenant with them; there is an obligation to root them out, and they not only did not root them out but even dwelt among them.
זְבוּלֻן לֹא הוֹרִישׁ אֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵי קִטְרוֹן וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵי נַהֲלֹל וַיֵּשֶׁב הַכְּנַעֲנִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ וַיִּהְיוּ לָמַס׃ - Zevulun did not dispossess the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, and the Canaanite dwelt among them and became subject to tribute.
אָשֵׁר לֹא הוֹרִישׁ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי עַכּוֹ וְאֶת־יוֹשְׁבֵי צִידוֹן וְאֶת־אַחְלָב וְאֶת־אַכְזִיב וְאֶת־חֶלְבָּה וְאֶת־אֲפִיק וְאֶת־רְחֹב׃ וַיֵּשֶׁב הָאָשֵׁרִי בְּקֶרֶב הַכְּנַעֲנִי יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ כִּי לֹא הוֹרִישׁוֹ׃ - Asher did not dispossess the inhabitants of Akko nor the inhabitants of Tzidon, nor Achlav, nor Achziv, nor Chelbah, nor Afik, nor Rechov. And the Asherite dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for he did not dispossess them.
It reached the point of: "and the tribe of Asher dwelt among the Canaanites." That is to say, at this stage we are already becoming the minority, dwelling as the few among the many. And understand that this is always a greater problem: when I am the majority and the gentile is the minority, there is a chance that I will influence him. But when the gentile is the majority and we are the few, a person always tends to fall in line with what is practiced around him and with what the majority of the public practices. And they did not fear this, and went and dwelt among the Canaanites who were more numerous than they.
נַפְתָּלִי לֹא־הוֹרִישׁ אֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי בֵית־שֶׁמֶשׁ וְאֶת־יֹשְׁבֵי בֵית־עֲנָת וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּקֶרֶב הַכְּנַעֲנִי יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ וְיֹשְׁבֵי בֵית־שֶׁמֶשׁ וּבֵית עֲנָת הָיוּ לָהֶם לָמַס׃ - Naftali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beit Shemesh nor the inhabitants of Beit Anat, and it dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, and the inhabitants of Beit Shemesh and Beit Anat became tributaries to them.
וַיִּלְחֲצוּ הָאֱמֹרִי אֶת־בְּנֵי־דָן הָהָרָה כִּי־לֹא נְתָנוֹ לָרֶדֶת לָעֵמֶק׃ - And the Emorites pressed the children of Dan into the hill country, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.
And that was not all. In the beginning the children of Dan pressed the Emorites into the hills, and in the end the Emorites press the children of Dan. See what happened: they had the possibility and they had the ability, and now the Emorites are already raising their heads and beginning to expel us. If until now we had settled and at most let them dwell with us, and if until now in certain situations we collected taxes, now a situation arrives in which they begin to push us out.
וַיּוֹאֶל הָאֱמֹרִי לָשֶׁבֶת בְּהַר־חֶרֶס בְּאַיָּלוֹן וּבְשַׁעַלְבִים וַתִּכְבַּד יַד בֵּית־יוֹסֵף וַיִּהְיוּ לָמַס׃ - And the Emorites were determined to dwell in Har Cheres, in Ayalon and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Yosef prevailed, and they became tributaries.
The Emorites began to come up from the valley into the hills, and settled in Har Cheres near Ayalon and Shaalbim. And the children of Dan alone could no longer fight against them, until the house of Yosef came to their aid, "but the hand of the house of Yosef prevailed," and through this "they became tributaries." Now here there was room to learn a lesson: did you see what happens when you are weak? They push you and expel you. Now that the children of Yosef have come and there is strength, let us clear out the Emorites. But no. The children of Yosef only help them overcome the Emorites so that they will become tributaries, that they will pay taxes, whereas to root them out they did not consider at all.
וּגְבוּל הָאֱמֹרִי מִמַּעֲלֵה עַקְרַבִּים מֵהַסֶּלַע וָמָעְלָה׃ - And the border of the Emorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
They added further sin to their sin, in that they made a border for them: from now on there is a border, we are here and you are there. And this is like forging a covenant and a practical agreement that they may dwell there. And for this the Holy One, blessed be He, sends an angel, as we will see with God's help in the next chapter.
We mentioned the city of Luz, and we will deal a bit with its matter. Luz was a city in which people did not die. And the first occasion on which it is mentioned is in Bereshit chapter 28 verse 18: "And Yaakov rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had placed at his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top, and he called the name of that place Beit El, but Luz was the name of the city at first." That is to say, Jerusalem, which is Beit El, the place where Yaakov Avinu saw those divine visions, which is the Temple Mount, its first name was Luz. We thus learn that Luz is the city that one day would become Jerusalem. And luz is also the name of an almond tree, as it is written in Bereshit chapter 30 verse 37: "And Yaakov took for himself a rod of fresh poplar and of luz and of plane tree."
In Midrash Rabbah, Bereshit portion 69 section 8 it says: "But Luz was the name of the city - it is Luz where they dye the techeilet, it is Luz upon which Sancheriv came and did not disturb it, Nevuchadnetzar and did not destroy it, it is Luz over which the angel of death never held sway." And its elders, when they were very old and no longer had any desire to live, would be taken outside the wall and there they would die. It is as though there was a collection point there for the angel of death, and his route passed outside of Luz: whoever they wished to be taken, they placed at the station and the angel of death would pass by and take him, but inside the city he would not enter.
And so too in the Gemara in Tractate Sotah page 46b: "It is Luz where they dye techeilet, it is Luz to which Sancheriv came and did not disturb it, Nevuchadnetzar and did not destroy it, and even the angel of death has no permission to pass through it, but rather its elders, when their minds have become weary of them, go outside the wall and die." And why is it called Luz? Rabbi Yochanan said: because they cultivate many luzim there, that is, almonds. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar says: a luz, an almond tree, stood at the entrance of a cave, and the luz was hollow, and they would enter through the luz into the cave and through the cave into the city. And the Gemara says: see the reward of that man who showed them the entrance. He did not speak, he only pointed with his finger, and what was his reward? That he and all his family were saved, and he went and built a city whose name is Luz where no one dies. And if a man who did not go with his feet and did not speak with his mouth but only pointed with his finger was saved, he and his descendants, from death, one who performs a mitzvah with his feet and with his whole body, how much more so.
The Gemara in Tractate Sanhedrin, page 108b, states: The generation of the flood has no share in the world to come, as it says "and He blotted out all existence that was upon the face of the earth" - blotted out in this world, and blotted out from the earth in the world to come. And what is meant by "and He blotted out all existence"? Rabbi Elazar said: even the luz bone of the spine was blotted out. There is a bone in a person called the luz, an imperishable bone that does not decay and remains forever, and from it the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future revive a person at the resurrection of the dead. And the generation of the flood, upon whom it was decreed that they would not rise at the resurrection of the dead, even this bone was blotted out, for were it to remain, they would rise to life.
And how do we know that this bone is not blotted out? In Midrash Rabbah, Bereishit, portion 28, section 3: Hadrian, may his bones be ground to dust, asked Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, from where does the Holy One, blessed be He, cause a person to sprout in the future to come, from where does He revive him? He said to him: from the luz of the spine. He said to him: how do you know? He said to him: bring me one and I will show you. They brought him one luz of the spine. He put it in water and it was not dissolved, in fire and it was not burned, in a mill and it was not ground; he placed it on the anvil and struck it with a hammer, the anvil split and the hammer broke and it accomplished nothing. The bone is as hard as the luz, like a nut that is hard to crack, and so it is difficult to destroy and exceedingly strong, and from the luz a person will rise at the resurrection of the dead.
And the Ben Ish Chai writes in the laws of the second year, Parashat Vayetzei, that this bone has additional names: niskoi, the name of the bone found in the nape of a person's neck, and betuel. And there is a hint in the matter: luz, betuel, niskoi are the initial letters of Lavan. And this corresponds to the three names of Yaakov: Yisrael, Yaakov, Yeshurun, whose final letters are lamed, bet, nun - Lavan. This hints that the entire matter of the resurrection of the dead and eternal existence belongs only to those who are of the root of Yisrael, Yaakov, Yeshurun, and not to those of the root of Avraham or Yitzchak, for from Avraham came Yishmael and from Yitzchak came Esav. Rather only those in whom there is lamed, bet, nun, of them it is said "and you who cleave to Hashem your God are all alive today," and they are the ones who will rise to life.
And where is the bone located? The Rama of Fano writes in Ma'amar Shabbatot Hashem, part 4, that the place of the luz in a man is in the nape, at the spot of the knot of the tefillin. And therefore it is written that one who is contemptuous of tefillin does not rise at the resurrection of the dead, because that portion of the life force comes from the influence of the tefillin. And in a woman it is in the spine, at the end of the upper spine, whereas in a man it is a little above this, at the place of the tefillin knot.
And what is the root of this bone? In the book Sha'arei Tzedek, first gate, by Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, he writes that its main root is from "the very substance of the heavens for purity," and from there it receives strength and might and existence and endurance for the entire body of a person. Rabbi Tzadok further writes that this bone receives pleasure and delights after the death of the righteous person, and of it is said "and He will strengthen your bones." And it is also the bone that in the wicked receives the punishment, as it is written "and their iniquities shall be upon their bones."
And why in truth does this bone exist forever? It is written in the book Me'or VaShemesh, Parashat Vayechi: this bone did not derive benefit from the Tree of Knowledge. Upon everyone who benefited from the Tree of Knowledge death and destruction were decreed, and one who did not sin and did not benefit, it was not decreed upon him. And which part of the human body did not benefit from the Tree of Knowledge? The luz bone, because it has no benefit from any food or drink except from the fourth meal of Motzaei Shabbat alone. It turns out that the meal of Adam HaRishon, which was on Friday, eating from the Tree of Knowledge, the luz bone did not benefit from it, and therefore it exists forever.
The Mahari Chaim Vital writes in Likkutei HaShas, Tractate Rosh Hashanah, that it does not benefit from eating and drinking, and it is like Yom Kippur. And ostensibly this is puzzling, for it seems from him that it does not benefit from eating and drinking at all, whereas according to what we explained it does benefit from the meal of Motzaei Shabbat. And according to his words the Mahari Chaim Vital explains why the angel of death has no dominion over it: just as on Yom Kippur the Satan has no dominion, and since it is like Yom Kippur without eating and drinking, the Satan, who is the angel of death, has no dominion over it.
And what is the connection between the luz bone and Beit El, which is Yerushalayim, and how does the matter connect to the almond? The Mahari Chaim Vital writes in the book Etz HaDa'at Tov: the future resurrection of the dead will be in the Valley of Yehoshafat adjacent to the walls of Yerushalayim, for there the dead will rise for judgment, and therefore it is called Yehoshafat. And therefore the city of Yerushalayim will in the future to come be called Luz, for in it the resurrection of the dead will take place, and the resurrection of the dead has its place from the luz, from which the body begins to sprout and blossom. And regarding the almond: the prophet Yirmiyahu, when he prophesied about Yerushalayim, and there it was specifically about its destruction, said "I see a staff of almond," to hint at the destruction and at Yerushalayim, which is Luz that is destined to be destroyed.
And the luz bone is connected also to the Western Wall. The Ramchal of blessed memory writes: in a person there remains one bone in the grave called luz, upon which the body will be built at the resurrection of the dead. And why specifically there? Because in a person who is destined to live there remains a part, which the Zohar calls "kista dechiyuta," a small amount of life force, and this is a spiritual portion that remains in him, and its additional name is "havla degarmei," the vapor of the bones. This is something of the nefesh, which is the lowest spiritual level of the three spiritual levels of a person - nefesh, ruach and neshamah. That portion of nefesh that remains, when the time comes, will draw and bring down here below the rest of the portions, the nefesh, the ruach and the neshamah, and from this the life force will return to the person. And where does it remain? In the luz bone.
And so too in the Beit HaMikdash, says the Ramchal. The Beit HaMikdash is destroyed, but its destruction is temporary and it is destined to live, and the Shechinah that remained is a diminished Shechinah, and it is destined to be a Shechinah and indwelling as it was in the First Temple. And through what will this return? Through the luz bone. And what is the luz bone of the Beit HaMikdash? The Western Wall. There the kista dechiyuta, the havla degarmei, remained, and the Shechinah never departed from the place of the Mikdash and from the Western Wall, "behold, this one stands behind our wall." That Shechinah which did not depart is that vapor of the bones, that small luz bone in which a little life force remained, like a kind of eternal flame awaiting the opportunity when the spark will blossom and become a great and mighty flame, as in the human body. For a person is compared to the Mishkan and there are many parallels between them, as brought in Rabbeinu Bachya and other places: just as in a person there is havla degarmei and kista dechiyuta in the luz bone, so in the Beit HaMikdash a diminished Shechinah remained in that place which still endures, and from there everything is destined to blossom.
And even David HaMelech is connected to the luz bone. For the luz bone benefits only from the fourth meal, and the fourth meal is "this is the meal of David the King Messiah." David king of Israel lives and endures, and so too the luz bone lives and endures and is never nullified.
The bone is also called niskoi. The Rama of Fano writes in the source we mentioned that niskoi is from the expression "pour out a libation of strong drink," and from the expression "she has mixed her wine" - the blending of the wine in the sense in which Chazal spoke of it, which is the mingling of the wine. That is, the niskoi is destined to mingle the elements and restore them together. For at the passing of a person the elements are separated: the soul returns to God who gave it, and the body itself, its elements are separated. And who pours the libation and again mixes its wine and mingles everything together? This is the niskoi.
The Rama of Fano further explains that the fourth meal draws forth the holiness of the manna, for it is known that the Shabbat meals correspond to the manna, and this is why we place a covering above and a covering below and take two loaves, all corresponding to the manna. And we draw the holiness of the Shabbat meals into the weekdays as well, and this is accomplished through the luz bone, that is, through the fourth meal. The fourth meal has the quality of "binding the festival": just as the festival is about to pass and we say "Bind the festival offering with cords, up to the horns of the altar," to tie it with thick ropes so that it will not leave us, so that the elevation, the holiness, and the spiritual experiences will remain with us, so too in the fourth meal we draw the holiness of Shabbat and the abundance of the manna into the rest of the days of the week. This is the pouring, this is "whose wine she has poured out." And the manna is food for the ministering angels, and therefore the angels live forever, and therefore only from it does the luz bone derive sustenance, only from the fourth meal.
We asked: but we saw that the luz bone derives no benefit from anything, as the Maharchu states, and how does this fit with deriving benefit from the fourth meal? In the sefer Kometz HaMincha, part two, letter 60, he writes words in which one can find a resolution to the question. He writes: why specifically does it derive benefit from the meal of Melaveh Malkah? Because the meal of Melaveh Malkah is a meal in which there is generally no pleasure. What person eats Melaveh Malkah for his enjoyment? A person is full from all the Shabbat meals, and it is very difficult for him practically to eat a fourth meal, and he easily forgoes it. And this is a great pity, for the Gra once heard that his wife was about to undertake a taanit hafsakah, which is six consecutive days from after Shabbat until Friday night, and he immediately asked her to eat the fourth meal, and said to her: know this, all the taanit hafsakah fasts you will undertake will not atone for and will not make up for the lack of the fourth meal that you are omitting. Thus the importance of the fourth meal is very great, and its nature is that it is not eaten out of appetite. And this is the resolution: the luz bone eats, but does not derive pleasure from the food, as the Maharchu states that it derives no pleasure at all from eating, for the fourth meal is the only meal that is not eaten out of appetite.
The first chapter of Shoftim opens in the era after Yehoshua: there is no overall leader, the tribes inquire through the Urim veTumim "who shall go up first," and Yehudah, the man of distinction and holder of the first lot, is chosen to begin the conquest. Yehudah triumphs at Bezek, and Adoni Bezek receives measure for measure for the seventy kings he humiliated, and he acknowledges his crime and merits to die as befits him. Yehudah conquers his portion in Yerushalayim, but the fortress remains in the hands of the Yevusi because of Avraham's oath to Avimelech, until the days of David. The account of Otniel ben Kenaz and Kiryat Sefer is repeated here to teach that the conquest of the land depends on the conquest of Torah: once the three thousand halachot that had been forgotten were restored, Devir was conquered. But from here on the chapter goes on to enumerate the failure of the tribes: Yehudah shrinks back from the iron chariots, and Menashe, Ephraim, Zevulun, Asher, Naftali, and Dan do not dispossess, but content themselves with tribute, dwell among the Canaanite, and even set a border with him. The great success was not exploited, the task was not completed, and those inhabitants who remained will become thorns in the eyes and pricks in the sides, a prelude to the rebuke of the angel of Hashem from Bochim in the next chapter.