Doctrines Covered		Doctrines Alluded To
Baalim	List of the Technological Accomplishments of the Hamitic People Following the Flood	Testing	Racial Intermarriage
		Baal	Moab and Ammon

I ntroduction: Judges 3 will move away from summary and into narrative. In fact, we will study three judges in this chapter alone: Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar, the latter judge being given very little air time. I should also point out that these various judges were not kings who ruled over all Israel, but they had territories or tribes over which they likely ruled or judged, although the book of Judges rarely gives us enough information to place them in a particular period of time or any particular territory. In fact, even the exact nature of their political rulership is left unknown.

This chapter begins with a list of the various nations and peoples who still live within Israel and tells of the intermarriage which took place. The proper understanding of this is not the fact that various Israel men marry foreign women (or, vice versa), but that they are influenced enough to walk away from Jehovah God Who placed them in the Land of Promise to begin with. They turn away from God and toward the gods of the heathen. At the first instance of this, God allows the king of Mesopotamia to place Israel into servitude. The one who delivers them was the nephew of Caleb, Othniel, also the son of Kenaz, who was the brother of Caleb. This is one of the most successful deliverances, although we are told very little about it. Israel was subjected to the king of Mesopotamia for eight years and Othniel ben Kenaz delivers Israel into a time of peace for forty years.

Israel again falls under the religious influence of those around them, and God places them under the control of Eglon the king of Moab. This time they are delivered by a man named Ehud, about whom we know very little apart from this narrative. It appears that he did rule over Israel for a time, something which is stated outright in the Greek Septuagint, but only implied by the connectives of v. 31 in the Hebrew.

Unlike the judges who bookend him, what Ehud does is given in great detail. Israel is paying tribute to Moab, and God raises up Ehud, who accompanies the tribute on one occasion. After Ehud gives the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab, he tells him that he has a message from God. They go to Egon’s private residence within his castle and Ehud assassinates Eglon there. Ehud escapes, and then comes back against Moab with Israeli soldiers, and soundly defeats Moab.

After Ehud, Shamgar ben Anath rules (or, judges), who also was a military man.

Also, for the first time in this book, we can make a reasonable guess as to who one of the authors is. We will note that the deliverance described by Ehud is given in some detail and that the vocabulary and sentence structure becomes slightly more difficult during that narrative. We can therefore reasonably conclude that this report was by Ehud himself (certain events which took place were known only to Ehud and to the king that he will kill in this chapter). In my opinion, Samuel, hundreds of years later, gathers these documents from the period of the judges and edits them together, making very few changes (except as moved by God the Holy Spirit).

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I like to present at least one additional outline by another author. What is important about this outline is, it reveals that this chapter is really broken down into two sections; and the latter section is properly subdivided.

Matthew Henry Outlines Judges 3

I. A general account of Israel's enemies is premised, and of the evil they did then. Judges 3:1–7

II. A particular account of the brave exploits done by the first three of the judges. Judges 3:8–31

1. Othniel, whom God raised up to fight Israel's battles, and plead their cause against the king of Mesopotamia (Judges 3:8–11).

2. Ehud, who was employed in rescuing Israel out of the hands of the Moabites, and did it by stabbing the king of Moab (Judges 3:12-30).

a. Israel falls into apostasy again (Judges 3:12–14).

b. Ehud, Israel’s deliverer, assassinates Eglon, king of Moab (Judges 3:15–25).

c. Ehud gathers up Israel’s military and defeats the military of Moab (Judges 3:26–30).

3. Shamgar, who signalized himself in an encounter with the Philistines (Judges 3:31).

Taken from Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; from e-Sword, Judges 3 introduction. I further subdivided the section on Ehud.

Finally, as we exegete this chapter, we will come to observe, with J. Vernon McGee, that all of the judges had some defect, some odd characteristic, or handicap which God used. The Judges reveal that God can use any man who is willing to be used. McGee later writes: All of the judges are “little men.” There is not a big one in the lot. These men were used of God because they were—and I have to say it—odd characters. Their very oddness caused God to use them.

Like many chapters of the Bible, this was a poor chapter division. These first several verses really belong with Judges 2. In Judges 2, God rebukes Israel; and then, from v. 6 on, we are told why. In fact, we are given a history lesson, beginning with the death of Joshua in Judges 2:6. The problem, according to the latter half of Judges 2, is that God sends judges to Israel, yet Israel continually goes astray, chasing after the gods of the heathen. The final few verses of Judges 2 read: And so the anger of Y^ehowah burned against Israel; therefore, He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers; and [because] they did not listen to [and obey] My voice; I will not continue to expel anyone from them—from the nations which Joshua left when he died—to test Israel by them, whether they keep the way of Y^ehowah, to walk in them, as their fathers kept [them], or not.” And Y^ehowah caused to rest those nations that he did not dispossess quickly nor give into the hand of Joshua (Judges 2:20–23). This takes us directly to the first few verse of Judges 3: And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanite, the Sidonian, and the Hivite, who is living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath. They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses. Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives and their own daughters they gave to their sons; therefore, they served their gods. (Judges 3:1–6). As you can see by simply reading these verses, that Judges 3:1–6 should have closed out Judges 2. By the way, just in case you did not know, the chapter and verse divisions were added hundreds and thousands of years after these books were written, and there is nothing inspired about either.

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The Nations Which Remained to Test Israel

Because the first several verses form one complete thought, it may be helpful to take them in as a whole to begin with. An individual and separate rendering of these 4 verses does not really hold together well.
Judges 3:1–4 Taken as a Whole
Translation	Judges 3:1–4
The Emphasized Bible	Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, that he might by them put Israel to the proof,—all who had not known any of the wars of Canaan; that the generations of the sons of Israel might certainly get to know by being taught to make war,—such, at least, as aforetime knew nothing thereof;—five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites dwelling in Mount Lebanon,—from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entering in of Hamath. So then [these] were [left] that, by them, he might put Israel to the proof,—to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of Yahweh which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
ESV	Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
NASB	Now these are the nations which the Lord left, to test Israel by them (that is, all who had not experienced [lit., known] any of the wars of Canaan; only in order that the generations of the sons of Israel might be taught war, those who had not experienced it formerly). These nations are: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. And they were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he had commanded their fathers through Moses.
Young's Literal Translation	And these are the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan; (only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel’s knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them)—five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath; and they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

The first 6 verses form a general summary of Israel during the time of the judges, essentially completing the second half of Judges 2. After Judges 2:6, we will examine specific judges and specific historical events in Israel’s history. In fact, had those who divided these chapters up been on the ball, there would have been a new chapter at Judges 2:7.

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Slavishly literal:

Moderately literal:

And these the nations which left Y^ehowah to test by them Israel—all of whom did not know all of wars [of] Canaan.

Judges

3:1

And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan...

The following is a list of all of the nations which Jehovah allowed to remain in the land of Canaan to test Israel (which generations had not fought in any of the wars of Canaan;...

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And these the nations which left Y^ehowah to test by them Israel—all of whom did not know all of wars [of] Canaan.

Septuagint Now these [are] the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan.

Significant differences: No significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV And the LORD had another reason for letting these enemies stay. The Israelites needed to learn how to fight in war, just as their ancestors had done. Each new generation would have to learn by fighting... [vv. 1–2].

The Message These are the nations that GOD left there, using them to test the Israelites who had no experience in the Canaanite wars.

NAB The following are the nations which the Lord allowed to remain, so that through them he might try all those Israelites who had no experience of the battles with Canaan...

NLT The Lord left certain nations in the land to test those Israelites who had not participated in the wars of Canaan.

REB As a means of testing all the Israelites who had not taken part in the battles for Canaan, the Lord left these nations,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ These are the nations the LORD left behind to test all the Israelites who had not experienced any war in Canaan.

HCSB These are the nations the LORD left in order to test Israel, since none of these Israelites had fought in any of the wars with Canaan.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan.

Young's Updated LT And these are the nations which Jehovah left, to try Israel by them, all who have not known all the wars of Canaan...

What is the gist of this verse? God will leave specific nations and groups of people in the land to test Israel—those who had not fought in any wars previously.

We begin this verse with a few difficult words and some difficult sentence structure. Again, it is a situation where the information is simple, but the vocabulary and grammar is not. This does not mean that the writer is particularly complex in his thinking—in fact, this could even indicate that the author is weak in his Hebrew, and the difficulty is that the Hebrew is substandard. Another option is, the author is from an area where they simply speak in this fashion.

Judges 3:1a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
êlleh (ה ∵ ֵא) [pronounced ALE-leh]	these, these things	demonstrative plural adjective	Strong's #428 BDB #41
gôwyîm (ם̣י) [pronounced goh-YEEM]	Gentiles, [Gentile] nation, people, peoples, nations	masculine plural noun with the definite article	Strong’s #1471 BDB #156
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
nûwach (ַחנ) [pronounced NOO-ahkh]	to deposit, to set down, to cause to rest	3^rd person masculine singular, Hiphil perfect	Strong’s #5117 (and #3240) BDB #628
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan]... In the first 6 verses, the specific peoples which God left in and about the land will be named, and the reason that God left them in the land will be explained to us.

Application: At the time that I write this (July-August 2006), Israel has been in a shooting war with Hizbollah which resides in Lebanon. Now Lebanon, at this point in time, is one of the nations which we might see as being a model of how things should be done in the middle east—they are a generally non-violent, democratic nation with a diverse population, which includes a sizable Christian population (which, to the Arab world, essentially means people from the United States who are not Muslim). Hizbollah, one of the many violent, anti-Semitic groups of the middle east, have taken to bombing Israel and have kidnaped a few of Israel’s soldiers. Israel has responded with a great military effort. This is going to be Israel’s life in the middle east. Even though they occupy this postage-stamp sized territory (which is about 0.2% of the Middle East), they are going to find themselves the target of Islamic-fascism and Islamic hatred. Israel has left the God Who bought them, and has pursued other gods (which might be Judaism or humanism); so God has left a number of hostile nations around them. Even before I was a believer, I heard the words peace in the Middle East uttered again and again and 40–50 years later, there is no peace in the Middle East.

Application: At this point in time, because transportation is much less of an issue than it was before, the Middle East is actively exporting its instability, hatred and religious intolerance throughout the world. We have, in the past two dozen years, experienced several attacks specifically aimed against the United States by radical Muslim groups. However, at even greater risk is Europe where once there were nations with a great Christian population (the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany), and now these nations are threatened by the very Muslim populations which they welcomed into their country. Let me caveat that by saying, not all Muslims carry deep and abiding hatred in their souls; however, it is clear that a significant percentage of them do.

Application: God has left hostile populations throughout the world, threatening the very existence of nations who have forsaken Him, just as He has done here in Judges 3 to Israel.

Judges 3:1b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
nâçâh (ה ָסָנ) [pronounced naw-SAWH]	to test, to try, to attempt, to try to do a thing; to practice doing a thing	Piel infinitive construct	Strong’s #5254 BDB #650
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, upon, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #none BDB #88
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...to test by them Israel... This actually picks up the thought of Judges 2:23, which essentially explains why God left these nations within the borders of Israel. In the beginning of this chapter, the reason is given almost incidentally; but we will be given the specific nations. Judges 2:20–3:6: So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did, or not." And Y^ehowah caused to rest those nations that he did not dispossess quickly nor give into the hand of Joshua And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanite, the Sidonian, and the Hivite, who is living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath. They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses. Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Consequently, they [the Israelites] took their daughters to themselves for wives and their own daughters they gave to their sons; therefore, they served their gods.

When we put all of these verses together, it is clear that God does not want Israel to experience war for war’s sake; the problem is, Israel goes astray, chasing after the gods of those around them; Israel deserts the God Who bought them. Therefore, God puts them in situations where they must call upon their True God.

We will discuss testing a little later in this exegesis, but perhaps we should look at a few verses which deal with the testing of our faith:

Testing as Found in Scripture

Deut. 8:2: Remember that the LORD your God led you on the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. Since God knows the heart, His testing reveals to angels and to ourselves what is in our heart.

Deut. 8:16–18: He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper. You may say to yourself, 'My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,' but remember that the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today. God makes it clear to us, through testing, that what we receive from Him is grace and undeserved.

Prov. 17:3: A crucible is for silver and a smelter for gold, but the LORD tests the heart. These metals are heated to melting to remove their impurities; God tests the heart of man in much the same way. Zech. 13:9 is a parallel passage.

Jer. 17:9–10: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." God tests mankind in their actions, to properly reward them for their deeds. God does not reward or punish us for what He knows we will do but for what we actually do.

1Peter 1:6–9: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. The genuineness of our faith is tested, and that testing is more precious than gold—and the result is praise, glory and honor at the revealing of Jesus Christ, which would be the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1Peter 4:12–13: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. Testing should not surprise us, but it should cause us to rejoice.

By no means do these few Scriptures cover the doctrine of testing; however, they give us a brief background and explanation for testing in our lives.

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Application: Did you ever think, if I could just solve this or that problem, my life would be a whole lot better? You can’t seem to make your bills month after month, so you think the solution is more money. You have a couple of people at work who do not like you, so they talk behind your back and even sabotage you once and awhile; if only they could mellow out or find another job. Your neighbor never mows his lawn, and he is single-handedly lowering the value of your property. For all I know, you might even pray to God to remove these problems. Or maybe you have real problems—you’re suffering from a painful and debilitating disease; you’ve been removed from the profession in which you have always wanted to work, Hizbollah is lobbing bombs into your general neighborhood. You believe that, if only these things could be resolved, that your life would be significantly better and you would be happier. During the time that I live in, teenagers have more freedom and greater access to money and hedonistic pleasures that at any time in previous history, and they aren’t happy; they aren’t satisfied; and they have not turned toward the God Who bought them. There are going to be problems in your life simply because that is the nature of this world; furthermore, God is going to send some problems your way either to test you, to improve you, or to turn you more towards Him. It is not always man’s nature to turn toward God while in great prosperity; however, man is much more likely to turn toward God during times a great distress. There is that old maxim, there are no atheists in foxholes; you put the most hardened atheist or agnostic in a life or death situation—particularly day after day after day—and many of them will crack, so to speak. Great revivals are more likely to break out in countries where there has been wars and hardship, more than in nations where there is great prosperity. Sometimes, God has to kick us in the hiney to get us to go in the right direction. That is what we have in this chapter of Judges.

Judges 3:1c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all, the entirety, every	masculine singular noun	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
Together, kôl ăsher mean all whom, all that [which]; whomever, all whose, all where, wherever.
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see	3^rd person plural, Qal perfect	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	with a plural noun, it is rendered all of, all; any of	masculine singular construct with a masculine plural noun	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
mil^echâmâh (הָמָח׃ל ̣מ) [pronounced mil-khaw-MAW]	battle, war	feminine plural noun construct?	Strong’s #4421 BDB #536
K^ena׳an (ן -ע-נ) [pronounced k^eNAH-ģahn]	which possibly means merchant and is transliterated Canaan	masculine proper noun; territory	Strong’s #3667 BDB #488

Translation:...(all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan... The people alluded to here are Israelites who were either too young to fight when Israel first took Canaan; or were born after that time.

As Wesley said, [This generation of Israel] had no experience of those wars, nor of God's extraordinary power and providence manifested in them. Judges 2:10 reads: And that previous generation was gathered to their fathers, and another generation arose after them who had not known Jehovah, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel.

We stop in mid-sentence and move to the next verse, which completes the parenthetical or secondary thought begun in v. 1c. The chapter and verse divisions in the book of Judges are less than inspired.

...only to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them war; only which, before [their] faces, they have not known them.

Judges

3:2

...in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who formerly have not known [war]):...

...so that this generation of the sons of Israel might know war and that He might teach them war, as they had not faced the Canaanites in war previously):...

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text ...only to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them war; only which, before [their] faces [or simply, before], they have not known them.

Septuagint Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before they had not known them:... [I changed a portion of Brenton’s English translation from the Greek in order to better match the Greek].

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV The Israelites needed to learn how to fight in war, just as their ancestors had done. Each new generation would have to learn by fighting...

The Message He did it to train the descendants of Israel, the ones who had no battle experience, in the art of war.

NAB ...[just to instruct, by training them in battle, those generations only of the Israelites who would not have had that previous experience]:...

NLT He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.

REB ...his purpose being to train succeeding generations of Israel in the art of warfare, or those at least who had not learnt it in former times.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ The LORD left them to teach Israel's descendants about war, at least those who had known nothing about it in the past.

HCSB This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.

JPS (Tanakh) ...so that succeeding generations of Israelites might be made to experience war—but only those who had not known the former wars:... [former wars is literally them formerly].

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.

Keil and Delitzsch ...only (for no other purpose than) that the succeeding generations (the generations which followed Joshua and his contemporaries) of the children of Israel, that He (Jehovah) might teach them war, only those who had not known them (the wars of Canaan).

LTHB ...only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, only those who did not before know them:...

Young’s Updated LT ...(only for the sake of the generations of the sons of Israel’s knowing, to teach them war, only those who formerly have not known them) —.

What is the gist of this verse? God left heathen in the land that Israel would war with, for the sake of those in Israel who did not know war.

Judges 3:2a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
raq (קַר) [pronounced rahk]	only, provided, altogether, surely—this adverb carries with it restrictive force	adverb	Strong’s #7534 & #7535 BDB #956
l^ema׳an (ן ַע ַמ ׃ל) [pronounced l^e-MAH-ģahn]	for the sake of, on account of, to the intent of, to the intent that, to the purpose that, in order that, in view of, to the end that	compound preposition and substantive which acts like a preposition	Strong’s #4616 BDB #775
This is the substantive ma׳an (ן ַע ַמ) [pronounced MAH-ģahn], which means purpose, intent, combined with the lâmed preposition (which is the only way that it is found in Scripture).
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see; to learn	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393
dôwr (ר) [pronounced dohr]	generation, age, period, time period [of a generation], a time slice	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1755 BDB #189
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: ...in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war],... A more literal rendering would be ...only in order to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them... God left many groups of heathen within the Land of Promise for the reason given in this verse. These heathen, with whom Israel would war, are there in order for the sons of Israel to learn something. In the previous verse, we are told these are Israelites who have not known war—the heathen in the land would be those whom they would have to war against, so the idea here is, so that these generations of Israelites would learn war. Let me explain why: we are dealing with a generation of Israelites who grew up without having to conquer the land, without having to trek through the desert in order to get to the Land of Promise; they are born, and they find themselves within a land flowing with milk and honey. They did not come out of slavery; they did not have to fight to take this land; they did not have to cross a desert in order to get to this land—they are born and their God-given land is all around them. The end result is, this generation of Israelites (which may have been the first generation to rise up after the Judæan advance to take their own cities) had no appreciation for why they were there. When a generation grows up amid prosperity, they have no concept of how this all happened. Even when they are told, it is ancient history to them, even though that ancient history might have occurred less than 20 years prior to their birth. In our lifetime, we have been blessed with a movie like Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan where we have some concept of appreciation for the generation of men who sacrificed so much for us; however, the Jews of this generation had nothing nearly as graphic to view and understand.

Because this generation of Israelites has no appreciation for what God has given them, they go astray from the Lord of Glory; they chase after other gods; their focus is misdirected.

Application: We have several generations of Americans who have no concept of our spiritual and military history; we have no concept of the real sacrifices which have been made throughout our history in order to obtain and then maintain our precious freedoms. We do not realize how important religious freedom was to those who settled this land; we have distorted religious freedom to mean freedom from religion. So many people today simply ape phrases like separation of church and state, having no real appreciation as to what that actually means. In fact, many do not realize that this phrase does not even occur in our constitution. We have a generation of men who have no concept of personal responsibility, who idolize pimps and rappers; or who have been given so many material things that they have no concept of where these things have come from. What does this passage tell us? It tells us that, if we continue to stray from our spiritual heritage, that we may face increasing violence and war, coming closer and closer to our country. We may even face attacks within our own country.

Application: One of the things which we learn from the Old Testament are historical trends; we observe the actions of the Israelites, their motivations; and we observe what God does and why He does what He does. There are few books which parallel our current condition as closely as the book of Judges does.

Judges 3:2b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
lâmad (ד ַמָל) [pronounced law-FAHD	to train, to accustom, to teach	Piel infinitive construct; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #3925 BDB #540
mil^echâmâh (הָמָח׃ל ̣מ) [pronounced mil-khaw-MAW]	battle, war	feminine singular noun	Strong’s #4421 BDB #536

Translation: ...[God would] teach them war;... What is being taught it the feminine noun for battle or war. These generations must be given the opportunity to know and to be taught war. Do not become confused by this. God is not bloodthirsty; God does not delight in the prospect that war will continue within the borders of Israel; God does not delight in the idea that men must face the horror of war. However, when a nation goes so far astray as does Israel, it is war which brings them back to God. I’ve already mentioned the axiom there are no atheists in foxholes. Israel had to learn war in order to appreciate their unique relationship to Jehovah Elohim.

Application: I am certain you have heard that, you can learn the easy way or the hard way. The easy way for us to learn is in Bible class; the hard way for us to learn is to get beat on the head for going astray. Had Israel continued with doctrine; had Israel continued with the observation of the Feast Days and the teaching of the Mosaic Law, the time period of the Judges would have been a cakewalk for them. However, we are given a taste of their day-to-day life and the sorts of decisions which they made in Judges 17–21 (which, arguably, might be the first chapters that we should study). With the sort of thinking they we find in these chapters, it is easier to understand why God had to teach them the hard way, which involved them being in subjection to the heathen around them, and then going to war against these heathen.

The Jews were brought into the Land of Promise by Jehovah Elohim; they owe all of their prosperity to Him. God defeated the heathen who lived in this beautiful land and, during the time of the Judges, we will have generation after generation of Israelites who will pursue the false gods of the very people their fathers warred against. Therefore, Jehovah Elohim will set them at war with the heathen whose gods they worship.

Application: We have several generations of African-Americans who, despite their rich spiritual heritage, have picked up the Koran and have begun to worship a false god; many have even changed their names to reflect this commitment to heathenism. Is it any wonder that today we find ourselves at war with the radical adherents to this same faith? Do you see the parallel between Israel’s history under the judges and our lives today? Don’t think that we can worship heathen gods and that nothing bad will happen as a result.

Application: Do not become confused; religious freedom is a basic tenet of our society; and no one can be forced to worship the God Who bought us. That is, we cannot persecute or prosecute those among us whose faith rests in the idolatry of Islam, Buddhism, or material wealth. We cannot legislate against it; nor can we take vigilante action against it. What we can do is to learn God’s Word; we can apply the doctrine that we learn; and we can evangelize those around us.

Judges 3:2c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
raq (קַר) [pronounced rahk]	only, provided, altogether, surely—this adverb carries with it restrictive force	adverb	Strong’s #7534 & #7535 BDB #956
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
pânîym (םי̣נָ) [pronounced paw-NEEM]	face, faces, countenance; presence	masculine plural noun (plural acts like English singular)	Strong’s #6440 BDB #815
Together, they mean upon the face of, before, before the face of, in the presence of, in the sight of, in front of. When used with God, it can take on the more figurative meaning in the judgment of. This can also mean forwards; the front part [or, the edge of a sword]. L^epânîym (םי.נָפל) can take on a temporal sense as well: before, of old, formerly, in the past, in past times.
lô (אֹל or אל) [pronounced low]	not, no	negates the word or action that follows; the absolute negation	Strong’s #3808 BDB #518
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal perfect; with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393

Translation: ...specifically to those who formerly have not known [war]):... This is followed by the restrictive use of raq again, the relative pronoun, which tell us exactly whom God would teach.

This is followed by the negative and the 3^rd person plural, Qal perfect of to know, with a masculine plural suffix. I would have expected a feminine singular suffix to refer back to war; however, this refers back to faces or forward to the heathen who will be named.

Keil and Delitzsch write: the suffix attached...refers to “the wars of Canaan,” although this is a feminine noun, the suffix in the masculine plural being frequently used in connection with a feminine noun. What they had not known were the wars of Canaan, but we are still dealing with a masculine plural being matched to a feminine plural. Another option is that they did not known them refers back to Israel not knowing the Canaanites intimately—that is, in war.

To be honest, I am not thrilled with my first explanation nor with Keil and Delitzsch’s here. However, the third alternative which I have presented I think is the most reasonable. My thinking is that this was a play on words; down in vv. 5–6, we will see that the Israelites knew the Canaanites in marriage (which is what God specifically warned against), but they did not know the Canaanites in war. Although this is not the normal use of the word know, it would seem to be reasonable for this passage.

Let’s summarize this, as it is a difficult passage.

Explanation of the 3^rd Person Masculine Plural Suffix of Judges 3:2

We first need to recognize that most Bibles ignore this suffix:

NKJV ...(this was only so that the generations of the children of Israel might be taught to know war, at least those who had not formerly known it),...

The NKJV is one of the best, if not the best, of the English translations to come out of the 20^th century; we find the neuter singular suffix also in the ESV, MKJV, NASB, WEB and completely ignored by God’s Word™, HCSB, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible.

Only two English Bibles that I am aware of, translate this accurately: Young and LTHB, which reads: ...only that the generations of the sons of Israel might know, to teach them war, only those who did not before know them:... Interestingly enough, the Greek translation agrees with the Hebrew as well. Keil and Delitzsch provide a reasonable rendering in their commentary as well.

There are 3 possible explanations:

1. This 3^rd person masculine plural suffix refers back to faces. The problem with this explanation is, the meaning of to the faces probably means formerly in this verse.

2. Keil and Delitzsch tell us that the masculine plural suffix is frequently used in connection with a feminine noun (in this case war).

3. This suffix refers to the heathen who will be enumerated in the next verse. There is a clever play on words here; they have known these heathen in marriage; now they will know them in war. This, I think, is the correct understanding here.

I realize that this is probably way more information than you wanted on this little suffix; however, I feel that I must deal with these details in full, whether you are interested in them or not.

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Clarke’s interpretation of this passage: This was another reason why the Canaanites were left in the land, that the Israelites might not forget military discipline, but habituate themselves to the use of arms, that they might always be able to defend themselves against their foes. Had they been faithful to God, they would have had no need of learning the art of war; but now arms became a sort of necessary substitute for that spiritual strength which had departed from them. Thus Gods in his judgments leaves one iniquitous nation to harass and torment another. Were all to turn to God, men need learn war no more.

Keil and Delitzsch tell us much the same thing: In the wars of Canaan under Joshua, therefore, Israel had experienced and learned, that the power to conquer its foes did not consist in the multitude and bravery of its own fighting men, but solely in the might of its God, which it could only possess so long as it continued faithful to the Lord. This lesson the generations that followed Joshua had forgotten, and consequently they did not understand how to make war. To impress this truth upon them–the great truth, upon which the very existence as well as the prosperity of Israel, and its attainment of the object of its divine calling, depended; in other words, to teach it by experience, that the people of Jehovah could only fight and conquer in the power of its God–the Lord had left the Canaanites in the land. Necessity teaches a man to pray [and to depend upon God]. The distress into which the Israelites were brought by the remaining Canaanites was a chastisement from God, through which the Lord desired to lead back the rebellious to himself, to keep them obedient to His commandments, and to train them to the fulfilment of their covenant duties. In this respect, learning war, i.e., learning how the congregation of the Lord was to fight against the enemies of God and of His kingdom, was one of the means appointed by God to test Israel, or prove whether it would listen to the commandments of God (Judges 2:22 3:4), or would walk in the ways of the Lord. If Israel should so learn to war, it would learn at the same time to keep the commandments of God. But both of these were necessary for the people of God. For just as the realization of the blessings promised to the nation in the covenant depended upon its listening to and obeying the voice of the Lord, so the conflicts appointed for it were also necessary, just as much for the purification of the sinful nation, as for the perpetuation and growth of the kingdom of God upon the earth.

Application: This generation of Israelites only knew war from God’s Word and through the stories from their ancestors, but they do not know war with the Canaanites face to face; they have not experienced war directly. Although the Hebrew is difficult at this point, let’s see if you can grasp this point of interpretation and application: when a generation turns from God, one of the things which God wants that generation to face is war. It is in war where some people first begin to grasp how horrible this world really is. It is in war where some people turn to God; or, often, promise to turn to God. It is in war where we lose a great deal of our youthful optimism and it rids us of a lot of false ideas as to what the world is like. Being involved with high school, I am familiar with many of the kids thinking that they will graduate and then somehow, through their efforts, through college and through their job, somehow make this world a better place to live in. Most of us as adults, realize that this is futile, if not absolutely foolish; and that this world as a whole is not going to get any better. Technological advance is not the same as an advance in human morality. Some of our technological advances, particularly many which have to do with computers, are partially a result of a lack of business ethics. What this passage teachers us for today is that a generation which moves so far away from God will not only face the rude awakening that the world isn’t going to get any better, but God often places the young ones into war so that there is no confusion on this issue. For some people, the only way God can gain their attention is to put their lives at risk or to place them in a helpless and hopeless situation.

Although the thought of this verse ends at v. 4, I can tell that what we will have to do at the end of v. 3 is to put these three verses together, so that we can complete the punctuation and so that they flow together.

Five warlords of Philistines and all the Canaanite and the Sidonian and the Hivite dwelling [in] mountain of the Lebanon from mountain of Baal-hermon as far as to an entrance of Hamath.

Judges

3:3

...the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites, who are living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon [to] as far as the entrance of Hamath.

...the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who live in the region of Mount Lebanon, between Mount Baal-Hermon and the entrance to Hamath.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text Five warlords of Philistines and all the Canaanite and the Sidonian and the Hivite dwelling [in] mountain of the Lebanon from mountain of Baal-hermon as far as to an entrance of Hamath.

Septuagint Namely, five lords of the other nations, and all the Canaanite, and the Sidonian, and the Hivite that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

Significant differences: Although we have other nations in the Greek, rather than Philistines; this could be the gist of αλλοφυλων, the word that we find here. It reads Philistines in the Syriac and Latin, as well as the Hebrew. Apart from this, there are no significant differences.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV ...the Philistines and their five rulers, as well as the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in the Lebanon Mountains from Mount Baal-Hermon to Hamath Pass.

The Message He left the five Philistine tyrants, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to Hamath's Pass.

NLT These were the nations: the Philistines (those living under the five Philistine rulers); all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the hill country of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ He left the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the border of Hamath.

HCSB These nations included: the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.

JPS (Tanakh) These served as a means of testing Israel, to learn whether they would obey the commandments which the Lord had enjoined upon their fathers through Moses.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

Young's Updated LT ...five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanite, and the Zidonian, and the Hivite inhabiting mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

What is the gist of this verse? The nations which God left in Israel are herein named: the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians and Hivites.

These verses give a list of enemy nations which roughly describe an ark along the western and northern boundaries of the area which Israel occupied at the time of Joshua. The landmarks named here are pretty much the same as we find in Joshua 13:5–6, which is somewhat more detailed.

Judges 3:3a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
chămishshâh (הָ ̣מֲח) [pronounced khuh-mish-SHAW]	five	feminine numeral construct	Strong’s #2568 BDB #331
ç^erânîym (ן∵ר∵ס) [pronounced s^e-RAW-neem]	warlords, lords, princes, czars, generals, officers; officials, VIP’s	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #5633 BDB #710
P^elish^etîy (י. ש ̣ל) [pronounced p^e-lish-TEE]	transliterated Philistines	masculine plural gentilic adjective (acts like a proper noun)	Strong’s #6430 BDB #814

Translation: ...the five warlords of the Philistines,... This verse goes back to complete the thought of v. 1—vv. 1c–2 was parenthetical. Judges 3:3 is a list of the more important enemy forces which are still resident in Israel. The author uses the term çeren (ן ∵ר ∵ס) [pronounced SEH-ren], which means warlord, tyrant, lord, potentate, czar, despot. Çeren is only used of heathen rulers. Barnes suggests that this word is Phœnician in origin, and for that reason, we might ought to transliterate it. However, I think that warlord is the best English rendering.

The Philistines are primarily found in the book of the Judges and 1Samuel; see Joshua 13:3 Judges 10–16 1Sam. 4:1–2 6:18 13:5, 19–23 29:2.

Three of the five Philistine cities are shown above; as is Sidon, which will be mentioned later in this verse.

Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/wae/ht04wae.htm

The five major cities of the Philistines were between Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. The five rulers are not enumerated here; this refers to the five rulers of the five major cities of the Philistines named in Joshua 13:3 (i.e., Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron). Judah, at one time, conquered three of these cities (Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—Judges 1:18), but apparently control was taken back by the Philistines. I should stop and explain this. The first couple of chapters are introductory chapters, which cover a long period of time. Judah, early on, conquered this three Philistine cities; however, the Philistines were never driven completely out of the valley (Judges 1:19). Therefore, sometime during the three+ centuries which follow, the Philistines took their cities back. We will find this to be the case throughout the history of Israel and Philistia—every few decades, one country will encroach upon the other; some border cities will belong to Israel; and, a few decades later, these cities will be under the control of the Philistines. In the book of Samuel, the Philistines will come into the center of Israel and capture several cities, dividing Israel in half.

Judges 3:3b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
K^ena׳ănîy (י.נֲע-נ) [pronounced k^e-nah-ģuh-NEE]	merchant, trader; and is transliterated Canaanite, Canaanites	adjective/nominative gentilic; with the definite article	Strong’s #3669 BDB #489

Translation: ...the Canaanites,... The Canaanites were strewn throughout the land—in fact, the Canaanite name is often used to name all of the inhabitants of the land; however, here, it refers to those in the low-lying areas. Gill, on the other hand, sees these as a particular group of people (in this context) who live along the sea and along the coast of the Jordan River (which would be the low-lying areas). Num. 13:29 gives the spies’ report: Amalek is dwelling in the land of the south, and the Hittite, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite is dwelling in the hill country, and the Canaanite is dwelling by the sea, and by the side of the Jordan.

Judges 3:3c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
Tsîydônîy (י.נֹדי.צ) [pronounced tsee-doh-NEE]	hunting, fishing, catching fish; translated inhabitants of Sidon; transliterated Sidonians	proper noun/gentilic; singular adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #6722 BDB #851

Translation: ...the Sidonians,... The Sidonians are the Phœnicians; Sidon is one of their cities, along the northern coast of the Mediterranean, shown in the map above. This people and city take their name from Canaan’s firstborn (Gen. 10:15). We find the Sidonians mentioned in the following passages: Joshua 11:8–13 19:28 Judges 10:12 18:7.

Judges 3:3d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
kôl (לֹ) [pronounced kohl]	the whole, all of, the entirety of, all; can also be rendered any of	masculine singular construct followed by a definite article	Strong’s #3605 BDB #481
Chivvîy (י..ח) [pronounced khihv-VEE]	villagers, transliterated Hivite	masculine singular, gentilic adjective	Strong’s #2340 BDB #295

Translation: ...and the Hivites,... The Hivites were scattered in several places. To remind you, some Hivites lived in Gibeon made a pact with Israel back in Joshua 9:1–27 11:19. The Hivites spoken of here occupied northern Canaan on up to the entrance to Hamath (this was as far north as the original Israelite spies went—Num. 13:21). Now Joshua had conquered that far north (Joshua 11:17 12:7), but he had not gone any further (Joshua 13:5). The Hivites are one of the most ancient families or races of people, dating back to Gen. 10:17 where we find that they are sons of the Canaanites.

Judges 3:3e
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
yâshab (בַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAH^BV]	inhabiting, staying, remaining, dwelling, sitting	Qal active participle	Strong's #3427 BDB #442
har (ר ַה) [pronounced har]	hill; mountain, mount; hill-country	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #2042 (and #2022) BDB #249
L^ebânôwn (ןנָבל) [pronounced l^eb-vaw-NOHN]	white; and is transliterated Lebanon	proper noun/location; with the definite article	Strong’s #3844 BDB #526

Translation: ...who are living in Mount Lebanon,... You may know the location Lebanon from the contemporary events of Hizbollah occupying portions of that country today, and lobbing missiles down into Israel. Lebanon is also shown on the map above as well. We will examine Mount Lebanon in greater detail below:

Judges 3:3f
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
min (ן ̣מ) [pronounced min]	from, off, out from, out of, away from, on account of, since, than, more than	preposition of separation	Strong's #4480 BDB #577
har (ר ַה) [pronounced har]	hill; mountain, mount; hill-country	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #2042 (and #2022) BDB #249
Ba׳al (ל ַע ַ) [pronounced BAH-ģahl]	owner, lord, husband; transliterated Baal when referencing the heathen god	masculine singular noun	Strong's #1167 BDB #127
Cher^emôwn (ןמ ר∵ח) [pronounced Hermon]	sanctuary; sacred [mountain]; and is transliterated Hermon	proper noun mountain	Strong’s #2768 BDB #356
Together, these are transliterated Baal Hermon; Baal-hermon and are given Strong’s #1179 BDB #128.

Translation: ...from Mount Baal-hermon... The NIV Study Bible speculates that Mount Baal-Hermon is probably Mount Hermon, but they are distinguished in 1Chron. 5:23. Gill says that Mount Baal-Hermon is the same as Baalgad.

Barnes suggests that Baal-Hermon is probably the same as Baal-gad. Barnes: Hammath is always spoken of as the extreme northern boundary of the land of Canaan. It was the gate of approach to Canaan from Babylon, and all the north (Zech. ix. 2; Jer. xxxix. 5). It formed part of the dominions of Solomon (2 Chr. viii. 4) and of the future inheritance of Israel, as described in vision by Ezekiel (xlvii. 16).

The problem can be better understood if we place Joshua 13:5 side-by-side Judges 3:3:
Judges 3:3 Compared to Joshua 13:5
Joshua 13:5	Judges 3:3
...and the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entering to Hamath;...	...five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that lived in Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to the entering of Hamath.
A problem here is expecting that these passages should read exactly the same, because we find Mount...Hermon and the entrance to Hamath in both of them.

Let’s examine two opinions on this matter:

Easton and the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Mount Baal-Hermon
Easton	International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
(1.) Baal-hermon is a city near Mount Hermon inhabited by the Ephraimites (1Chron. 5:23). It is probably identical with Baal-gad (Joshua 11:17). (2.) Baal-hermon is a mountain east of Lebanon (Judges 3:3). Probably it may be the same as Mount Hermon, or one of its three peaks.	Baalgad under Mount Hermon is described as “toward the sunrising” in Joshua 13:5. If Mount Lebanon proper is here intended the reading may be taken as correct. But in Judges 3:3 Baal–gad is replaced by Baal-hermon. One or the other must be due to a scribal error. The Baal-hermon of 1Chron. 5:23 lay somewhere East of the Jordan, near to Mount Hermon. It may possibly be identical with Bâniâs.
The key may be that Mount Hermon actually has 3 peaks. Therefore, we should examine Mount Hermon:

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Since this is a topic which I have not studied extensively, let me pass along some information from www.ancientsandals.com:

Mount Hermon

Location and Setting:

• At 9,200 feet above sea level, Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, Lebanon, and Syria.

• The mountain is actually a cluster of mountains with three distinct summits, each about the same height. This cluster, the Anti-Lebanon Range, extends for approximately twenty miles in a northeast to southwest direction, running parallel to the Lebanon range on the west.

• Runoff from the snow-covered mountain’s western and southern bases feeds several streams and rivers. These merge to become the Jordan River. Additionally, the runoff facilitates fertile plant life below the snow line, where vineyards and pine, oak, and poplar trees are abundant.

• Mount Hermon is called the "gray-haired mountain," or the "mountain of snow," because of the covering of snow, which is present on it most of the year.

Historical and Biblical Significance:

• Mount Hermon was also called Senir by the Amorites and Sirion by the Sidonians (Deut. 3:9 Psalm 29:6 1Chron. 5:23 SOS 4:8 Ezek. 27:5).

• The mountain served as the northern boundary of the Land promised by God to Israel (Deut 3:8) and also was the northern limit of the Conquest (Joshua 11:17 12:1 13:5).

• The high places of Mount Hermon were apparently used by the Canaanites for their pagan religious rituals. They referred to the mountain as Mount Baal-hermon (Judges 3:3).

• Jesus and His disciples journeyed north from Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee to the city of Caesarea Philippi at the southern base of Mount Hermon (Matt. 16:13 Mark 8:27). There, Jesus revealed to them His purpose to build His Church and to go to Jerusalem to die and be resurrected (Matt. 16:18-21).

• Mount Hermon was a possible site of the Transfiguration, where Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John, up on a high mountain for prayer. Before their eyes, Jesus was transfigured. He became radiantly white and conversed with Moses and Elijah, who had appeared beside Him. The disciples’ amazement and fear were further increased, when a voice from heaven exclaimed, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!" (Matt. 17:1-8 Mark 9:2-8 Luke 9:29-36).

The Encyclopedia Britannica gives us a little more information about Mount Hermon:

Mount Hermon is a snowcapped mountain on the Lebanese-Syrian border. It is located west of Damascus and rising to 9,232 ft (2,814 m), the highest point on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and is sometimes considered the southernmost extension of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. A sacred landmark in Hittite, Palestinian, and Roman times, it represented the northwestern limit of Israelite conquest under Moses and Joshua. Since the Six-Day War (1967), about 40 sq mi (100 sq km) of its southern and western slopes have been part of the Israeli-administered Golan Heights.

Possibly the key to the confusion here is, there are 3 distinct summits; it is possible that Mount Baal-Hermon could be one summit where sacrifices were offered to Baal; and that Mount Hermon could refer to all 3 summits, or, on occasion, to one particular summit. That Baal-hermon could refer to both a mountain and to a city might also help to relieve some of the confusion in comparing these passages.

The first two sections are quoted from http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/mount_hermon.htm and the final one comes from http://www.answers.com/topic/hermon-1. I did a small amount of editing for the Encyclopedia Britannica. The picture of Mount Hermon is from Wikipedia, taken from the page: http://www.answers.com/topic/hermonsnow-jpg.

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And just so we can put this all together:

The Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

The Lebanon Mountains is a mountain range which runs north-south for about 100 miles (161 km) parallel to the Mediterranean Sea. It rises to about 10,130 ft (3090 m). On its western slopes are the remaining groves of the famous cedars of Lebanon. The snowy peaks may have given Lebanon its name in antiquity; laban is Aramaic for “white.”

The Anti-Lebanon Mountain Range runs along the border of Syrian and Lebanon parallel to the Lebanon Mountain Range, but in a northeast to southwest direction, with an average height of 6,500 ft (2,000 m).

Now, I realize that I have beat you to death with information; however, essentially, what we are looking at is those who are on Israel’s northern border (which is strangely prophetic of Israel’s struggles with Hizbollah in Lebanon which is occurring as I write this August 2, 2006).

This information was culled from The American Heritage Dictionary and Encyclopedia Britannica online at http://www.answers.com/topic/lebanon-mountains and http://www.answers.com/topic/anti-lebanon-mountains.

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V. 5 will list the population of degenerate heathen who lived in the land which Israel occupied (Israel did not really possess much of the land adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea).

Judges 3:3g
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
׳ad (דַע) [pronounced ģahd]	as far as, even to, up to, until	preposition	Strong’s #5704 BDB #723
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
bôw (א) [pronounced boh]	to come in, to come, to go in, to go, to enter	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #935 BDB #97
Hămâth (תָמֲח) [pronounced khuhm-AWTH]	fortress; sacred enclosure; transliterated Hamath	proper singular noun/location	Strong’s #2574 BDB #332

This is taken from a larger map: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/wae/ht04wae.htm .

Translation: ...[to] as far as the entrance of Hamath. Now that we know a little more about the geography, the entrance to Hamath is the valley which runs between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. We could be referring to the entire valley here or just to the entrance to the valley. If you examine the relief map to the right, you can see the two sets of mountains in Lebanon, as will as the valley; and beneath this valley is the Jordan River. That general area, the southern valley between the mountain ranges, would be the entrance of Hamath.

McGee: the five lords of the Philistines and the other tribes mentioned in this passage were enemies of the Israelites. As we proceed through the Old Testament, these enemies will appear time and time again. They were indeed a thorn in the flesh of the nation Israel. And may I add, to this day, their ancestors are thorns in the flesh of Israel.

It might be better to take these three verses together:

My Translation of Judges 3:1–3

And these the nations which left Y^ehowah to test by them Israel (all of whom did not know all of wars [of] Canaan; only to know, generations of sons of Israel, to teach them war; only which, before [their] faces, they have not known them): five warlords of Philistines and all the Canaanite and the Sidonian and the Hivite dwelling [in] mountain of the Lebanon from mountain of Baal-hermon as far as to an entrance of Hamath.

Judges

3:1–3

And these [are] the nations which Y^ehowah left [in the land of Canaan] to test by them Israel (all of whom had not experienced [lit., known] the [previous] wars of Canaan in order that [these] generations of the sons of Israel would learn [war], [God would] teach them war; specifically to those who have not known [war]): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanite, the Sidonian, and the Hivite, who is living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon to as far as the entrance of Hamath.

The following is a list of all of the nations which Jehovah allowed to remain in the land of Canaan to test Israel (which generations had not fought in any of the wars of Canaan; because this generation of the sons of Israel might know war and that He might teach them war, as they had not faces the Canaanites in war previously): the five warlords of the Philistines, the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who live in the region of Mount Lebanon, between Mount Baal-Hermon and the entrance to Hamath.

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This thought continues in v. 4:

And so they were to test by them Israel to know if they would listen [and obey] commandments of Y^ehowah which He commanded their fathers in a hand of Moses.

Judges

3:4

They were to test Israel to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah, which He commanded their fathers by Moses.

These people were there to test Israel, to determine whether or not they would listen to the commandments which Jehovah delivered to their fathers by Moses.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And so they were to test by them Israel to know if they would listen [and obey] commandments of Yehowah which He commanded their fathers in a hand of Moses.

Septuagint And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

Significant differences: None.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV Moses had told the Israelites what the LORD had commanded them to do, and now the LORD was using these nations to find out if Israel would obey.

The Message They were there to test Israel and see whether they would obey GOD's commands that were given to their parents through Moses.

NLT These people were left to test the Israelites—to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out if they would obey the commands the LORD had given their ancestors through Moses.

HCSB The LORD left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the LORD's commands He had given their fathers through Moses.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

LTHB And they existed to test Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the commands of Jehovah, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

Young's Updated LT And they are to prove Israel by them, to know whether they obey the commands of Jehovah that He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

What is the gist of this verse? God left these nations in and around Israel in order to test Israel, to observe whether or not they would obey the commandments of Jehovah given them by Moses.

Judges 3:4a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
wa (or va) (ַו) [pronounced wah]	and so, and then, then, and; so, that, yet, therefore	wâw consecutive	No Strong’s # BDB #253
It is typical in the Hebrew for each sentence—in fact, each thought—to begin with a wâw consecutive in the Hebrew. However, it is not necessary in an English translation to include a connective at every such juncture, as our language does not necessarily require that for successive thoughts or actions.
hâyâh (ה ָי ָה) [pronounced haw-YAW]	to be, is, was, are; to become, to come into being; to come to pass	3^rd person masculine plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #1961 BDB #224
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
nâçâh (ה ָסָנ) [pronounced naw-SAWH]	to test, to try, to attempt, to try to do a thing; to practice doing a thing	Piel infinitive construct	Strong’s #5254 BDB #650
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, upon, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #none BDB #88
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975

Translation: They were to test Israel... The second verb is the Qal imperfect of nâçâh (ה ָס ָנ) [pronounced naw-SAWH], a word which means to test, to try. They refers back to the nations and peoples who also occupied the Land of Promise with Israel; they would be the ones used by God to test Israel. They would offer up religions which Israel may find to be more appealing; and they would attack and exploit Israel, to take from Israel all that they could. Israel had to resist their heathen religion and, at times, go to war against these people.

Judges 3:4b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
lâmed (ל) (pronounced l^e)	to, for, towards, in regards to	directional/relational preposition	No Strong’s # BDB #510
yâda׳ (עַדָי) [pronounced yaw-DAHĢ]	to know, to perceive, to acquire knowledge, to become acquainted with, to know by experience, to have a knowledge of something; to see	Qal infinitive construct	Strong’s #3045 BDB #393
hă ( ֲה) [pronounced heh]	interrogative particle which acts almost like a piece of punctuation, like the upside-down question mark which begins a Spanish sentence. The verb to be may be implied.		Strong’s #none BDB #209
shâma׳ (ע ַמ ָש) [pronounced shaw-MAHĢ]	to listen [intently], to hear, to listen and obey, [or, and act upon, give heed to, take note of], to hearken to, to be attentive to, to listen and be cognizant of	3^rd person plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #8085 BDB #1033
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
mits^evâh (ה-וצ ̣מ) [pronounced mits^e-VAH]	prohibition, commandment, precept, that which is forbidden, constraint, proscription, countermand	feminine plural construct	Strong’s #4687 BDB #846
YHWH (הוהי) [pronunciation is possibly yhoh-WAH]	transliterated variously as Jehovah, Yahweh, Y^ehowah	proper noun	Strong’s #3068 BDB #217

Translation: ...to determine if they would listen to [and obey] the commandments of Y^ehowah,... We have the verb to know for the fourth time in as many verses. God has given Israel an whole host of commandments, one of which is to exterminate the Canaanites.

God had given to Israel the perfect Law for their time, their nation and their culture. God’s Law defined what was right or wrong; it taught the gospel through its ceremonies; and it provided diet and other restrictions which were designed to keep Israel healthy. The more that they obeyed God’s laws, the more likely God would shower them with prosperity; and the more likely that God would use Israel in His plan.

Application: Let me clarify what I said about God using Israel in His plan: believers are used to varying degrees in the plan of God. For instance, Abraham was greatly used, to the point where His offering up of Isaac was a fantastic parallel to the offering up of Jesus Christ for our sins. God was not testing Abraham’s faith, but providing us with a clear picture as to what He would do on our behalf. On the other hand, in this chapter, we will briefly examine Shamgar, who was a believer, who was faithful; and he struck down 600 Philistines with an ox goad. On the other hand, Shamgar was not used as Abraham was to prophesy what God would do for us. We, as believers, will be used of God in varying degrees; the more mature that we are, the more He will use us.

Application: Just in case you thought of this, don’t try to fly under the radar with God. Don’t be just a mediocre Christian in order to get out of serving God. Service to God is not painful; it is not difficult; you will not hate it. God has, in eternity past, designed for you a spiritual gift which is commensurate with your personality, your likes and dislikes, and your environment. Functioning with that spiritual gift is not going to be some great burden. God is not going to take someone who has no interest and no business in being a missionary and send them off to some obscure, 3^rd world country to suffer. God’s plan is not for you to live a thoroughly crappy life and then die.

Judges 3:4c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
ăsher (ר ∵ש ֲא) [pronounced ash-ER]	that, which, when, who, whom	relative pronoun	Strong's #834 BDB #81
tsâvâh (ה ָו ָצ) [pronounced tsaw-VAW]	to commission, to mandate, to lay charge upon, to give charge to, charge, command, order	3^rd person masculine singular, Piel perfect	Strong's #6680 BDB #845
êth (ת ֵא) [pronounced ayth]	generally untranslated; occasionally to, toward	indicates that the following substantive is a direct object	Strong's #853 BDB #84
âb (ב ָא) [pronounced aw^bv]	father, both as the head of a household, clan or tribe	masculine plural noun with the 3^rd person masculine plural suffix	Strong’s #1 BDB #3
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	No Strong’s # BDB #88
yâd (דָי) [pronounced yawd]	generally translated hand	feminine singular construct	Strong's #3027 BDB #388
This combination of the bêyth preposition and hand literally means in [the] hand of; and can be rendered in the power of; by the power of; with; through, by, by means of; before, in the sight of.
Mosheh (ה∵שֹמ) [pronounced moh-SHEH]	to draw out [of the water] and is transliterated Moses	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #4872 BDB #602

Translation: ...which He commanded their fathers by Moses. The people which were left in the land were there for several reasons, one of which included the testing of Israel. God had delivered commandments and rituals and laws for them to obey. God used the people of the land to deal with Israel when these things were not obeyed. In fact, this is much of what the book of Judges is all about. Israel will turn from God and this is tested and revealed by the other peoples in the land. You will recall Deut. 8:2: And you will remember all the way which Jehovah your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

We discussed the Doctrine of Testing in detail back in Deut. 8:2. However, we often misunderstand the reasons for testing because we are so egocentric. We always want to related everything back directly to ourselves. When I taught, I would have students put problems on the board and then I would go over their work in class and grade them on it. Most students focused in on how they were graded and there were only a few who actually knew what it was that I was doing. The problems on the board were 99% for the rest of the class—so that they could see, step-by-step, how a problem was done. In school, you have to grade everything, so the person who did it got a grade—however, that was never the focus or the reason for having students put their work on the board. However, the students invariably thought that the board problem pertained primarily to the person who did it. Furthermore, they were confused when I would take off points if they left out steps or if their reasoning was faulty. They would tell me over and over again—I got the right answer; but this was of absolutely no help to the person in their seat wondering how that problem was done in the first place. So it is with testing. We always want to throw the focus back on ourselves and we always think that testing is done for us or that God is sitting up there in heaven with a grade book taking notes and that this is the focus of our testing. This is only a part of it and, I dare say, the smaller part. Immediately after the chapter on faith and great heroes of faith, we have the verse: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Heb. 12:1). All of the angels around us is the focus of the testing. God has placed us where they can observe our every move. By the way, the setting aside of every encumbrance and sin is rebound: naming your sins to God.

We all suffer in this life and we all are tested in this life. It may be instructive to look at this from the perspective of R. B. Thieme Jr.
Testing as Taught by R. B. Thieme Jr.
Category	Points
Suffering for being out of fellowship.	1. All believers sin. All believers put themselves out of fellowship by sinning. 2. Many believers never get back into fellowship or get back into fellowship infrequently; almost accidentally. We regain fellowship with God by naming our sins to Him. 3. For those who sin, there is punishment; for those who remain out of fellowship for a long time, this discipline intensifies. 4. The pertinent passage here is Heb. 12:5–13: And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. The author of Hebrews is quoting Prov. 3:11–12 in his exposition. 5. In other words, because we are sons of God, we are disciplined of God. Obviously, we are disciplined for sinning, as the analogy here is to an earthly father who disciplines us for our benefit. 6. Unfortunately, I would suspect that 90% of Christendom falls into this category; they think they are facing test after test, but they are being disciplined by God.
Momentum Testing; general points	1. Part of spiritual growth includes momentum testing; that is, being tested as we grow spiritually. 2. We do not grow spiritually based upon our suffering, but upon our application of the doctrine which is in our souls to each situation we find ourselves in. 3. Christianity is not a religion of suffering, or a religion which glorifies suffering; but, as we grow spiritually, we learn to equate prosperity with adversity; and life with death. That is, we can enjoy equal contentment under all circumstances in spiritual maturity. Since we live in the devil’s world among 6 billion other sinners, it is inevitable that we will have some undeserved personal suffering. Any church which promises you continual material and/or personal blessings apart from suffering is a cult. Two great misapplications of human suffering by believers and those who associate themselves with Christianity are: a. Spiritual growth, giving, praying, singing, and/or some other activity or group of activities in the Christian life will eliminate suffering from your life. We will all face adversity from birth to death. b. The approach of the ascetic: Christianity is all about the suffering; the believer should practice self-denial and, in some cultic practices, self-mutilation, self-induced suffering or even self-imposed martyrdom. c. These are both great distortions of the Christian life. 4. In general, believers will enjoy periods of blessing and periods of human suffering in their lives. 5. In some cases, believers will be persecuted for their faith, and caused to suffer for their faith in Jesus Christ. 6. Momentum testing often is the acceleration which propels us to spiritual maturity. Again, bear in mind, that maturity is the result of applying the doctrine from our souls to what we experience; and maturity is not simply a result of suffering.
Momentum Testing; people testing	1. People testing is a result of both approbation is disapprobation. 2. We like certain people so much that we are willing to compromise doctrine on their behalf or because of them. a. When a person falls in love, they are often willing to compromise their doctrinal standards in order to please that other person. b. When you have great admiration for this or that person, you sometimes allow their norms and standards to supplant the norms and standards of Bible doctrine. 3. Just as there are people in this life for whom we have great fondness or respect, there will also be those that we dislike, look down upon or flat out hate. They either rub us the wrong way, they have some unidentifiable characteristic which irritates us, or they do things which we find completely reprehensible. 4. What we are not allowed in this life is to have mental attitude sins toward this person or that, which sins include hatred, jealousy, bitterness, vindictiveness, and implacability. When we allow ourselves to become irritated by or antagonistic towards any person, we are surrendering the control of our life to this person, if only temporarily. These sins put us out of fellowship, and our concentration is upon this person of disapprobation. 5. Quite obviously, we are not allowed to extrapolate from those sins, and to gossip or malign these people that we dislike; and we certainly are not allowed to act upon our hatred (or other mental attitude sins) in any other way. 6. We need to recognize that the people we love and the people that we hate, and all people in between are those for whom Christ died. In His eyes, we are all equal; we have all sinned; we all have old sin natures; and we all have Adam’s imputed sin. 7. The basic principle is, we cannot emphasize people and our relationship to people (either good or bad) over God and our relationship to Him. Even legitimate, sinless activity must take a backseat to Bible doctrine.
Momentum Testing; thought testing	1. The idea is, you must think divine viewpoint instead of human viewpoint. 2. One of man’s great problems is thinking with arrogance; thinking of himself as greater than he ought to think. 3. Our thinking should be true humility, rather than arrogance. 4. Humility excludes rationalization, anger, defense mechanisms, denail and sublimation from our thinking.
System Testing	1. We all have some involvement with a variety of organizations or institutions; such as, our family, the company we work for, the school we go to, the team we belong to, the country that we live in, etc. 2. We might even think of this as organizational testing. 3. Within any organization of one or more people, there are negative aspects. 4. Companies can have a variety of motivations, including motivations to produce, to oppress, to shift power or wealth, etc. 5. Our life’s work is not necessarily to fix the devil’s world. Our association with an organization might improve that organization (ideally, it should); however, it is not necessarily our life’s work to transform the organizations that we are in to some human viewpoint maxim, like the greatest good for the greatest number. 6. Most of the time, we remain within these organizations and exhibit personal integrity; there are times when we must separate from such organizations. 7. When you choose to separate from an organization, is should not be a decision made lightly. For instance, a public school is a breeding ground for an incredible amount of institutionalized human viewpoint; where almost all truth is suppressed; however, this does not mean that, if you are a public school teacher, that you must therefore leave the public school system. On the other hand, if you belong to some sort of criminal organization, like a gang; which requires you to break the law on occasion (or regularly), then you have good reason to leave that organization. 8. You will be tested in the organizations to which you belong; even if you have a company of one. Will you demonstrate personal integrity? Will you demonstrate impersonal love toward all mankind (including the jerks that you work with)? Will you not allow your thinking to be swayed by the human viewpoint aspects of these organizations? These are tests which we all face. 9. It should be clear that not all testing involves some sort of physical pain.
Disaster Testing; national	1. At any point in time, we can face a disaster which is bigger than us and bigger than the organizations to which we belong. This is known as natural, national or historical disaster. 2. This can be a natural disaster, including flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis. 3. This can be a man-made disaster, which includes war, terrorist acts, governmental encroachment on personal freedom (which can be subtle or severe); economic depression. 4. Lev. 26 covers the five cycles of discipline which the Jews would face, which included economic depression (in an agrarian society, this would be a lack of rain which would lead to famine) and war.
Disaster Testing; personal	1. At any point in time, we can face a personal disaster which changes our lives; this would be a change which others would view as the ruination of our lives. 2. Examples of this would be a severe injury, a severe illness, severe financial setbacks (the loss of one’s business, a considerable loss of one’s assets); the loss of loved ones, etc. 3. Even a physical handicap or genetic disorder qualifies as a personal disaster, which puts us in disaster testing.
Evidence Testing	1. For the bulk of this doctrine, I have concentrated on you and I; however, we are not the sum total of God’s creation; God also created angelic beings. 2. Although some want to confine our souls to simply a chemical reaction and an electrical reaction of various neutrons and processes of our bodies, we have an unseen reality to each one of us. Various forms of neuroimaging may give us limited information about the physical functions of the brain, none of the various types of brain scans actually show us the soul of the person whose brain is being scanned. Given that there is certainly a great unseen reality when it comes to our own souls, this also suggests that there may be more in the unseen world than just our souls. The Bible reveals to us that God created angels before He created us, and that what occurs in this life is related to the angelic conflict. 3. Scripture tells us the Satan was created as the greatest angel, and that by pride, he rebelled against God and took a third of the angels with him. God sentenced Satan to the Lake of Fire, however, it is clear that Satan is still a part of human history today. What this suggests is, there is an appeal and that Satan is going through an appeal process. 4. Satan would be objecting to the character of God; that God cannot be love, justice and righteousness; and yet, condemn His created creatures to the Lake of Fire. There are, no doubt, other appeals as well. How can we be blamed for our actions, as we have been created by God. Does this not imply that God did a substandard job in creating us? Is God’s character consistent? Aren’t there times and circumstances where God shows no love; or is unjust; or lacks the ability to see what may happen? We observe the courtroom of God and the objections of Satan in Job 1. 5. The creation of man and our lives throughout human history, along with the actions and choices of Satan and his minions throughout history, will answer all of Satan’s objections. 6. Part of the appeal process is, we, as believers, are observed by angels; our actions are observed; God’s involvement in our lives is observed; the function of God’s Word in our lives is observed; and God’s character is observed. 7. Part of the testing process involves angelic observation; both the observation of elect and fallen angels. Heb. 12:1–3: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 8. Our actions and decisions throughout this process of life when we are faced with various tests are often evidence tests, by which God’s character and plan are vindicated.
The Solution:	1. As it is for all problems, the first thing a believer needs to do is to make certain that he is in fellowship. This means, you name your sins to God. 2. Secondly, you continue to grow spiritually by any means necessary, which may include Bible class, tapes, mp3 files, internet access to spiritual material, rereading your notes, reading your Bible; whatever God has provided for you. 3. There are times when you go into a full application mode where conventional means of growth are not available and you must apply what you know. 4. In a disaster, application of doctrine is going to be the application of the various rationales: a. Doctrinal rationale. b. The plan of God rationale. c. The integrity of God rationale.
Biblical passages	1. The Bible is filled with passages which deal with believers who are being tested, many of which we have already named in Testing as Found in Scripture. Other passages follow: 2. 1Peter 1:6–9: In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials [or tests], so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revealing of Jesus Christ [in this case, the Judgment Seat of Christ]. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 3. 2Chron. 20:9: ”If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house [the Temple of God at this time]and before You––for Your name is in this house––and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save [us].” 4. Job 5:20: In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 5. Rom. 8:35–37: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Apart from the first category (suffering for being out of fellowship), this doctrine comes from R. B. Thieme, Jr., Christian Suffering; ©1987 by R. B. Thieme, Jr.; pp. 97–112. That book, available through R. B. Thieme, Jr. Ministries, contains essentially the same material in much greater detail. This book also gives several examples of the categories of tests above. My intention here was to simply scratch the surface of this doctrine, and not to replicate the book.

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Israel’s faithfulness or lack of it is revealed in their actions and decisions when faced with the gods of the heathen who surround them; and when faced with the persecution and exploitation by these heathen. God had given Israel a myriad of commandments to follow, which included ceremonial law, moral law, civil law, and religious observances; and now the ball is in their court—will they obey the commandments handed down to them by Moses?

This passage parallels the passage which immediately precedes it: So the anger of Jehovah was inflamed against Israel, and He said, "Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed My voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of Jehovah as their fathers did, or not." (Judges 2:20–22). In our passage, which is a continuation of this passage, these nations are named and God’s reason for leaving them is repeated. What God is looking for is obedience to His mandates.

And sons of Israel lived among the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Judges

3:5

Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

Therefore, the sons of Israel continued to live among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text And sons of Israel lived among the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.

Septuagint And the children of Israel dwelt among to the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

Significant differences: None (I had to fix Brenton’s text to agree with the LXX).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV But they refused. And it was because of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who lived all around them.

The Message But the People of Israel made themselves at home among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™ So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

HCSB But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

ESV So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Young's Updated LT And the sons of Israel have dwelt in the midst of the Canaanite, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite,...

What is the gist of this verse? Israel then lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and the Jebusites.

You will notice in a precursory reading of this passage that there is some overlap between the people named in Judges 3:3 and those named here; and there are some additions and some exclusions. Let me suggest that, throughout the time period of the Judges, these are the people with whom Israel rubbed shoulders with; those listed here are people who might share a city with Israel; they might live in the city next to an Israelite city; and their relationship was one of tolerance and interaction. That is, the Jews sometimes married women (and men) from these groups; and these are people with whom Israel did not necessarily have a continued antagonistic relationship. On the other hand, those named in v. 3 were those with whom Israel warred more frequently. We find Canaanites on both lists, as there were a great many descendants from Canaan; and I assume the Hivites mentioned in v. 3 would not be those with whom Israel allied themselves.

Judges 3:5a
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
bânîym (םי.נָ) [pronounced baw-NEEM]	sons, descendants; sometimes rendered men	masculine plural construct	Strong’s #1121 BDB #119
Yis^erâêl (לֵאָר ׃̣י) [pronounced yis-raw-ALE]	transliterated Israel	masculine proper noun	Strong’s #3478 BDB #975
yâshab (בַשָי) [pronounced yaw-SHAH^BV]	to remain, to stay; to dwell, to live, to inhabit; to sit	3^rd person plural, Qal imperfect	Strong's #3427 BDB #442
b^e (׃) [pronounced b^eh]	in, into, at, by, near, on, with, before, upon, against, by means of, among, within	a preposition of proximity	Strong’s #none BDB #88
qereb (ב∵ר∵ק) [pronounced KEH-re^bv]	midst, inward part	masculine singular construct	Strong’s #7130 BDB #899
With the bêyth preposition, it means in the midst of, among, into the midst of (after a verb of motion).
K^ena׳ănîy (י.נֲע-נ) [pronounced k^e-nah-ģuh-NEE]	merchant, trader; and is transliterated Canaanite, Canaanites	adjective/nominative gentilic; with the definite article	Strong’s #3669 BDB #489

Translation: Therefore, the sons of Israel continued living among the Canaanites,... Notice the difference here in the vocabulary as compared to v. 3. Here, Israel is living among the Canaanites; in vv. 1–3, the author named the nations which God left in the Land of Promise. Here, the author will name people who are left within the present borders of Israel, with whom Israel had close contact. Canaanites are a large group of people, who are scattered throughout the land.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comments: The two peoples [the Israelites and the Canaanites] by degrees came to be on habits of intercourse. Reciprocal alliances were formed by marriage till the Israelites, relaxing the austerity of their principles, showed a growing conformity to the manners and worship of their idolatrous neighbors. Instead, their instructions were: "When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces” (Ex. 23:23–24).

Judges 3:5b
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
Chittîy (י. ̣ח) [pronounced khiht-TEE]	transliterated Hittite	gentilic adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #2850 BDB #366

Translation: ...the Hittites,... The Hittites are the sons of Heth, once thought to be some made-up group of peoples from the Bible.

It might be helpful to include what the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia and Easton have to say about the Hittites:

Introduction to the Hittites from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The “sons of Heth” are noticed 12 times and the Hittites 48 times in the Old Testament. In 21 cases the name Occurs in the enumeration of races, in Syria and Canaan, which are said (Gen. 10:6 f) to have been akin to the early inhabitants of Chaldea and Babylon. From at least 2000 b.c. this population is known, from monumental records, to have been partly Semitic and partly Mongolic; and the same mixed race is represented by the Hittite records recently discovered in Cappadocia and Pontus. Thus, while the Canaanites (“lowlanders”), Amorites (probably “highlanders”), Hivites (“tribesmen”) and Perizzites (“rustics”) bear Semitic titles, the Hittites, Jebusites and Girgashites appear to have non–Sem names. Ezekiel (Ezek. 16:3, 15) speaks of the Jebusites as a mixed Hittite–Amorite people.

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More Information about the Hittites from M. G. Easton

Palestine and Syria appear to have been originally inhabited by three different tribes.

(1.) The Semites, living on the east of the isthmus of Suez. They were nomadic and pastoral tribes.

(2.) The Phoenicians, who were merchants and traders; and

(3.) the Hittites, who were the warlike element of this confederation of tribes. They inhabited the whole region between the Euphrates and Damascus, their chief cities being Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Kadesh, now Tell Neby Mendeh, in the Orontes valley, about six miles south of the Lake of Homs. These Hittites seem to have risen to great power as a nation, as for a long time they were formidable rivals of the Egyptian and Assyrian empires. In the book of Joshua they always appear as the dominant race to the north of Galilee.

Somewhere about the twenty–third century b.c. the Syrian confederation, led probably by the Hittites, arched against Lower Egypt, which they took possession of, making Zoan their capital. Their rulers were the Hyksos, or shepherd kings. They were at length finally driven out of Egypt. Rameses II. sought vengeance against the “vile Kheta,” as he called them, and encountered and defeated them in the great battle of Kadesh, four centuries after Abraham.

They are first referred to in Scripture in the history of Abraham, who bought from Ephron the Hittite the field and the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 15:20 :23:3–18). They were then settled at Kirjath–arba. From this tribe Esau took his first two wives (Gen. 26:34; Gen. 36:2).

They are afterwards mentioned in the usual way among the inhabitants of the Promised Land (Ex. 23:28). They were closely allied to the Amorites, and are frequently mentioned along with them as inhabiting the mountains of Palestine. When the spies entered the land they seem to have occupied with the Amorites the mountain region of Judah (Num. 13:29). They took part with the other Canaanites against the Israelites (Joshua 9:1; Joshua 11:3).

After this there are few references to them in Scripture. Mention is made of “Ahimelech the Hittite” (1Sam. 26:6), and of “Uriah the Hittite,” one of David's chief officers (2Sam. 23:39; 1Chron. 11:41). In the days of Solomon they were a powerful confederation in the north of Syria, and were ruled by “kings.” They are met with after the Exile still a distinct people (Ezra 9:1; compare Neh. 13:23–28).

The Hebrew merchants exported horses from Egypt not only for the kings of Israel, but also for the Hittites (1Kings 10:28, 1Kings 10:29). From the Egyptian monuments we learn that “the Hittites were a people with yellow skins and 'Mongoloid' features, whose receding foreheads, oblique eyes, and protruding upper jaws are represented as faithfully on their own monuments as they are on those of Egypt, so that we cannot accuse the Egyptian artists of caricaturing their enemies. The Amorites, on the contrary, were a tall and handsome people. They are depicted with white skins, blue eyes, and reddish hair, all the characteristics, in fact, of the white race” (Sayce's The Hittites). The original seat of the Hittite tribes was the mountain ranges of Taurus. They belonged to Asia. Minor, and not to Syria.

I am sure that is way more than you wanted to know about the Hittites. For a century or so, their actual historicity was doubted. You must bear in mind that, simply because we do not have corroborating extra-Biblical evidence about this or that person, people or event found in Scripture, that does not indicate that Scripture has simply been made up at that point.

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Judges 3:5c
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
Ĕmôrîy (י .רֹמ ֲא) [pronounced eh-moh-REE]	mountaineer (possibly); and is transliterated Amorite	gentilic adjective; with the definite article	Strong’s #567 BDB #57

Translation: ...the Amorites,...

It would not hurt to know a little about the Amorites.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on the Amorites

The word Amorite is always in the singular like the Babylonian Amurrû from which it is taken

The Varying Use of the Name Amorite: The name Amorite is used in the Old Testament to denote (1) The inhabitants of Palestine generally, (2) The population of the hills as opposed to the plain, and (3) a specific people under a king of their own. Thus (1) we hear of them on the west shore of the Dead Sea (Gen. 14:7), at Hebron (Gen. 14:13), and Shechem (Gen. 48:22), in Gilead and Bashan (Deut. 3:10) and under Hermon (Deut. 3:8; Deut. 4:48). They are named instead of the Canaanites as the inhabitants of Palestine whom the Israelites were required to exterminate (Gen. 15:16; Deut. 20:17; Judges 6:10; 1Sam. 7:14; 1Kings 21:26; 2Kings 21:11); the older population of Judah is called Amorite in Joshua 10:5, Joshua 10:6, in conformity with which Ezek (Joshua 16:3) states that Jerusalem had an Amorite father; and the Gibeonites are said to have been “of the remnant of the Amorites” (2Sam. 21:2). On the other hand (2), in Num. 13:29 the Amorites are described as dwelling in the mountains like the Hittites and Jebusites of Jerusalem, while the Amalekites or Bedouins lived in the south and the Canaanites on the seacoast and in the valley of the Jordan. Lastly (3) we hear of Sihon, “king of the Amorites,” who had conquered the northern half of Moab (Num. 21:21–31; Deut. 2:26–35).

Varying Use of the Name Explained: Assyriological discovery has explained the varying use of the name. The Hebrew form of it is a transliteration of the Babylonian Amurrû, which was both sing. and plural. In the age of Abraham the Amurru were the dominant people in western Asia; hence Syria and Palestine were called by the Babylonians “the land of the Amorites.” In the Assyrian period this was replaced by “land of the Hittites,” the Hittites in the Mosaic age having made themselves masters of Syria and Canaan. The use of the name “Amorite” in its general sense belongs to the Babylonian period of oriental history.

The Amorite Kingdom: The Amorite kingdom was of great antiquity. About 2500 b.c. it embraced the larger part of Mesopotamia and Syria, with its capital probably at Harran, and a few centuries later northern Babylonia was occupied by an “Amorite” dynasty of kings who traced theft descent from Samu or Sumu (the Biblical Shem), and made Babylon their capital. To this dynasty belonged Khammu-rabi, the Amraphel of Gen_14:1. In the astrological documents of the period frequent reference is made to “the king of the Amorites.” This king of the Amorites was subject to Babylonia in the age of the dynasty of Ur, two or three centuries before the birth of Abraham He claimed suzerainty over a number of “Amorite” kinglets, among whom those of Khana on the Euphrates, near the mouth of the Khabur, may be named, since in the Abrahamic age one of them was called Khammu-rapikh and another Isarlim or Israel. A payment of a cadastral survey made at this time by a Babylonian governor with the Canaanite name of Urimelech is now in the Louvre. Numerous Amorites were settled in Ur and other Babylonian cities, chiefly for the purpose of trade. They seem to have enjoyed the same rights and privileges as the native Babylonians. Some of them were commercial travelers, but we hear also of the heads of the great firms making journeys to the Mediterranean coast.

The Amorite kingdom continued to exist down to the time of the Israelite invasion of Palestine, and mention is made of it in the Egyptian records as well as in the cuneiform Tell el-Amarna Letters, and the Hittite archives recently discovered at Boghaz-keui, the site of the Hittite capital in Cappadocia. The Egyptian conquest of Canaan by the kings of the 18th Dynasty had put an end to the effective government of that country by the Amorite princes, but their rule still extended eastward to the borders of Babylonia, while its southern limits coincided approximately with what was afterward the northern frontier of Naphtali. The Amorite kings, however, became, at all events in name, the vassals of the Egyptian Pharaoh. When the Egyptian empire began to break up, under the “heretic king” Amenhotep IV, at the end of the 18th Dynasty (1400 bc), the Amorite princes naturally turned to their more powerful neighbors in the north. One of the letters in the Tell el-Amarna correspondence is from the Pharaoh to his Amorite vassal Aziru the son of Ebed-Asherah, accusing him of rebellion and threatening him with punishment. Eventually Aziru found it advisable to go over openly to the Hittites, and pay the Hittite government an annual tribute of 300 shekels of gold. From that time forward the Amorite kingdom was a dependency of the Hittite empire, which, on the strength of this, claimed dominion over Palestine as far as the Egyptian frontier.

The second successor of Aziru was Abi-Amurru (or Abi-Hadad), whose successor bore, in addition to a Semitic name, the Mitannian name of Bentesinas. Bente-sinas was dethroned by the Hittite King Muttallis and imprisoned in Cappadocia, where he seems to have met the Hittite prince Khattu-sil, who on the death of his brother Muttallis seized the crown and restored Bente-sinas to his kingdom. Bente-sinas married the daughter of Khattu-sil, while his own daughter was wedded to the son of his Hittite suzerain, and an agreement was made that the succession to the Amorite throne should be confined to her descendants. Two or three generations later the Hittite empire was destroyed by an invasion of “northern barbarians,” the Phrygians, probably, of Greek history, who marched southward, through Palestine, against Egypt, carrying with them “the king of the Amorites.” The invaders, however, were defeated and practically exterminated by Ramses III of the 20^th Egyptian Dynasty (1200 b.c.). The Amorite king, captured on this occasion by the Egyptians, was probably the immediate predecessor of the Sihon of the Old Testament.

Sihon's Conquest: Egyptian influence in Canaan had finally ceased with the invasion of Egypt by the Libyans and peoples of the Aegean in the fifth year of Meneptah, the successor of Ramses II, at the time of the Israelite Exodus. Though the invaders were repulsed, the Egyptian garrisons had to be withdrawn from the cities of southern Palestine, where their place was taken by the Philistines who thus blocked the way from Egypt to the north. The Amorites, in the name of their distant Hittite suzerains, were accordingly able to overrun the old Egyptian provinces on the east side of the Jordan; the Amorite chieftain Og possessed himself of Bashan (Deut. 3:8), and Sihon, “king of the Amorites,” conquered the northern part of Moab.

The conquest must have been recent at the time of the Israelite invasion, as the Amorite song of triumph is quoted in Num. 21:27–29, and adapted to the overthrow of Sihon himself by the Israelites. “Woe unto you,” it reads, “O Moab; you are undone, O people of Chemosh! (Chemosh) has given your sons who escaped (the battle) and your daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.” The flame that had thus consumed Heshbon, it is further declared, shall spread southward through Moab, while Heshbon itself is rebuilt and made the capital of the conqueror: “Come to Heshbon, that the city of Sihon (like the city of David, 2Sam. 5:9) may be rebuilt and restored. For the fire has spread from Heshbon, the flame from the capital of Sihon, devouring as far as Moab, and swallowing up the high places of Arnon.” The Israelite invasion, however, prevented the expected conquest of southern Moab from taking place.

Disappearance of the Amorite Kingdom: After the fall of Sihon the Amorite kingdom disappears. The Syrians of Zobah, of Hamath and of Damascus take its place, while with the rise of Assyria the “Amorites” cease to be the representatives in contemporary literature of the inhabitants of western Asia. At one time their power had extended to the Babylonian frontier, and Bente-sinas was summoned to Cappadocia by his Hittite overlord to answer a charge made by the Babylonian ambassadors of his having raided northern Babylonia. The Amorite king urged, however, that the raid was merely an attempt to recover a debt of 30 talents of silver.

Physical Characteristics of the Amorites: In Num. 13:29 the Amorites are described as mountaineers, and in harmony with thins, according to Professor Petrie's notes, the Egyptian artists represent them with fair complexions, blue eyes and light hair. It would, therefore, seem that they belonged to the Libyan race of northern Africa rather than to the Semitic stock. In western Asia, however, they were mixed with other racial elements derived from the subject populations, and as they spoke a Semitic language one of the most important of these elements would have been the Semites. In its general sense, moreover, the name “Amorite” included in the Babylonian period all the settled and civilized peoples west of the Euphrates to whatever race they might belong.

The use of Amorite here was probably to those who lived in the hill country of Palestine, as opposed to the plains.

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Judges 3:5d
Hebrew/Pronunciation	Common English Meanings	Notes/Morphology	BDB and Strong’s Numbers
w^e (or v^e) (ו) [pronounced weh]	and, even, then; namely; when; since, that, so that; though	simple wâw conjunction	No Strong’s # BDB #251
P^erizzîy (י. ̣ר) [pronounced p^er-ihz-ZEE]	which possibly means rural population, rustics; and is transliterated Perizzite	gentilic adjective with the definite article	Strong’s #6522 BDB #827

Translation: ...the Perizzites,...

There are certainly differing opinions on these ancient peoples.
Opinions as to Who the Perizzites Are
Scripture	Incident