The Skeptics Annotated Bible (225 page)

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

27
Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

(1.27)
“Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.”

28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

29
Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites
that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

(1.29)
“Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites.”

30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, nor the inhabitants of Beth-anath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became tributaries unto them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.

36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

(2.1-4)
“An angel of the LORD … said…”
An angel drops by to rebuke the Israelites for being too tolerant of the religious beliefs of the people they have been massacring. He tells them that since they didn’t complete their job (of killing everyone), God will not completely drive them out (like he promised to do). Instead he’ll keep some of them around so that the Israelites will be ensnared by their false gods. When the Israelites heard the angel’s words, they “lifted up their voices, and wept.”

2
And
an angel of the LORD
came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and
said
, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

2 And
ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice
: why have ye done this?

(2.1-2)
“An angel of the LORD … said … ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice.”

3
Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

(2.3)
“Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.”

4 And it came to pass,
when the angel of the LORD spake these words
unto all the children of Israel, that
the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

(2.4)
“When the angel of the LORD spake these words … the people lifted up their voice, and wept.”

5 And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.

6 And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

9 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

(2.11-12) After the angel’s visit, the people had a good cry and then got back to what they do best: doing evil in the sight of the Lord. They reject him and follow other gods, “provoking the Lord to anger.”

11 And
the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:

(2.11)
“The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim.”

12 And
they forsook the LORD God of their fathers
, which brought them out of the land of Egypt,
and followed other gods
, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them,
and provoked the LORD to anger.

(2.12)
“They forsook the LORD God of their fathers … and followed other gods … and provoked the LORD to anger.”

13 And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

14 And
the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel
, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them,
and he sold them into the hands of their enemies
round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

(2.14) “The anger of the LORD was hot against Israel … and he sold them into the hands of their enemies.” God’s anger “was hot against Israel, and he sold them.” Well, I hope he got a good price. (See Jg 3.8, 4.2, 6.1, and 10.7 where he sells them again.)

15 Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

16 Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

17 And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but
they went a whoring after other gods
, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.

(2.17) “They went a whoring after other gods.”