Judah and the Hill Country Campaign

Wars of the Bible

In the last installment, we left off with Joshua's death and the people of Israel entering a new era. After years of unified leadership under Moses and Joshua, the tribes were left to carry forward the conquest of Canaan. 

In Facing Ten Thousand at Bezek, we saw how the tribe of Judah stepped up first at the Lord’s command, striking down ten thousand warriors of the united Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek and capturing the local ruler Adoni‑Bezek. Now in the Book of Judges, the narrative picks up where Joshua left off and follows Judah’s campaign deeper into Canaan.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah.[a] 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 

Judges 1:8-20

Geography and the Key Places of Judah’s Campaigns

The first city mentioned in this passage is Jerusalem, a Jebusite stronghold at the time of these events. Although Jebus is equated to Jerusalem, scholars dispute the name itself. While the passage calls it Jerusalem, the city was probably known by the Canaanites by another name, which translates differently depending on its form. Beth-Shalem is mentioned on clay tablets, which means “House of Shalem.” The Sumerian-Akkadian name is uru-salim, which means "foundation of/or by the god Shalim," the  Canaanite god of the setting sun and the netherworld, as well as of health and perfection.

Archaeological surveys in the City of David confirm continuous habitation from the Middle Bronze Age through the Iron Age, though scholars note no clear destruction layer attributable to Judah’s conquest at this time. It’s likely that the text preserves an early memory of conflict rather than a detailed historical report, especially since Jerusalem remains under Jebusite control until the reign of David (2 Samuel 5:6–10).

From Jerusalem, Judah’s campaign extends into the hill country, the Negev, and the lowland plains (Shephelah). The central highlands were home to scattered villages and small settlements, and archaeological evidence indicates a population surge in the early Iron Age. In contrast, the lowlands were dominated by fortified Canaanite and later Philistine city-states, making them harder for Judah to control. This explains the biblical note that Judah could not drive out all the inhabitants of the plains because they had chariots fitted with iron.

Judah’s victories in Hebron (formerly Kiriath‑Arba) and Debir (formerly Kiriath‑Sepher) highlight key centers of Canaanite power in the southern highlands. Hebron was a major urban center and ancestral city of the patriarchs, continuously inhabited from the Middle Bronze Age onward. Debir, “City of Books,” may have had administrative significance given its name.

Judah’s collaboration with Simeon in attacking Zephath, which is renamed Hormah (“devoted to destruction”). This is the same city that I covered in the First and Second Battles of Hormah earlier in this series. That’s confusing, but it highlights how difficult it was for the Israelites to exert control over these lands. 

Finally, Judah’s campaign touches the Philistine coastal cities, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, the former still in the news even to this day. Archaeological work in these cities reveals continuous occupation into the Iron Age, with fortified centers and distinctive Philistine material culture.

The Bible’s Historical Reliability

The lack of direct extra‑biblical evidence for specific battles (including those in Judges 1) isn’t a valid reason to reject the biblical narrative; they emphasize that archaeological silence isn’t proof of falsehood. As one apologetic review explains, critics often assume “archaeology can tell us more than is warranted,” but finding nothing simply means we haven’t found evidence yet, not that the events didn’t happen.

Many modern biblical scholars see Judges 1 as portraying a fragmented and partial occupation of Canaan, in which tribes like Judah succeed in some areas but not in others. This isn’t contradictory to the Bible; rather, it reinforces the theological point that Israel’s obedience (or disobedience) shaped their success in possessing the land, a theme that recurs throughout Judges.

Apologists thus claim that critics misinterpret Judges 1 as a contradiction of Joshua’s conquest narrative when it is actually consistent with a protracted, uneven settlement process that Scripture describes elsewhere (e.g., Joshua 13:1).

Part of the reason why I cover what we know about these events, particularly from an archaeological perspective, is to supplement the biblical texts and ground them in real places, many of which still exist today. It’s not an effort to expose the shortfalls of evidence or override Scripture. Quite the contrary. Archaeology can confirm general patterns of settlement, destruction, and cultural change in Canaan, even if it cannot verify every specific account of conquest. The Bible helps us make sense of these events from a spiritual perspective, something that history and archaeology cannot and will never do. 

My Spiritual Takeaways 

When we look at this particular period in the conquest, we receive a mixed bag of results. On the one hand, the Israelites are very successful in driving certain groups of Canaanites, but at the same time, they do not drive them all out, leaving them to intermingle with their corrupt culture. I think, as modern readers living in a mainstream secular world, we can take two things away from these passages. 

There Are Consequences for Disobedience 

Obeying God is the hardest thing to do, for we are a fickle and broken people. That’s why God sent Jesus, for we saw time and time again the failure of the Israelites across multiple generations. Clearly, mankind could not do this on its own. So God gave up his only son so He could come and do what we could not do for ourselves. 

But many people today try to take both in hand: the salvation of Jesus while pursuing and upholding the idols of this world. God only wants us to worship him. That means when the world tells us to go one way, we must go the way of Jesus. And if we don’t, there will inevitably be consequences.

We Must Be Mindful of Our Surroundings

The reason why God commanded the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites was so that those peoples would not intermingle and ultimately corrupt them. By not completing the conquest, the Israelites not only disobey God’s command, but the consequences of that failure lead them away from God. 

In today’s world, everything is trying to lead us astray. We must always be mindful of our surroundings. That could be as simple as what we watch or consume, but, most importantly, who we choose to make court with. I am not saying you can only have Christian friends or relationships. But I am saying, tread with care and keep God close to your heart at all times. 

In the next blog, we’ll pick up with the other tribes and their failures to conquer Canaan, the gods they turned to in their disobedience, and preview the Judges. 

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Sources

1. Alexander, P. S. (1998). Judges (Vol. 2, Word Biblical Commentary). Word Books.

2. Bible Gateway. (n.d.). Judges 1 (ESV). English Standard Version. Retrieved April 2026, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges+1&version=ESV

3. Dever, W. G. (2003). Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? Eerdmans.

4. Finkelstein, I., & Silberman, N. A. (2001). The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts. Free Press.

5. Koehler, L., Baumgartner, W., & Stamm, J. J. (2001). The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Brill.

6. Kitchen, K. A. (2003). On the Reliability of the Old Testament. Eerdmans.

7. Maeir, A. M. (2019). The Archaeology of Philistia. Annual Review of Archaeology.

8. Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Jerusalem. In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 7, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem 

Images

1. Bible.ca. (n.d.). Bible maps: Borders of the twelve tribes of Israel (Joshua 13–22 conquest, 1400 BC). https://www.bible.ca/maps/bible-maps-master-index-borders-twelve-12-tribes-israel-promised-land-joshua13-22-conquest-1400BC.htm

2. Kugler, G. (2021, April 14). Joshua’s conquest: A cultural and pedagogical dilemma in modern Israel. TheTorah.com. https://www.thetorah.com/article/joshuas-conquest-a-cultural-and-pedagogical-dilemma-in-modern-israel