List of surviving and destroyed Canaanite cities
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The list of destroyed and surviving Canaanite cities at Judges
1:17-36 is an account of the failures and successes of the military campaigns of the Israelites in their attempt to conquer Canaan
. While the Book of Joshua
portrays complete victory, Judges presents the tribes which were to become the western half of the Kingdom of Israel as having several failures. In each of these cases, the book of Judges says that the tribes later subjugated the Canaanites into forced labour.
According to the Bible, God inflicted the later tribulations in Judges upon the Israelites partially because they failed to completely extinguish the Canaanite race despite his somewhat genocidal
command elsewhere to the contrary. According to modern textual criticism
the discrepancy with the picture of victory that Joshua portrays is down to the use of different sources. The less pious and more realistic presence of failures leading to the text being considered more historically reliable, and from a potentially earlier, less censured, source.
The list does not consider the tribes who became the eastern half of the Kingdom of Israel, but the western part of the Kingdom of Israel are only described as failing, and the only successes are by those tribes which became the Kingdom of Judah
. In particular, even where Judah fails, an excuse is given - the occupants had chariots. Hence, many biblical critics see the list as biased, and partly deliberate propaganda, by an author hailing from the Kingdom of Judah.
One curious feature of the list is that Jerusalem is described as having not been conquered and containing Jebusites to this day. This is somewhat in contrast to the slightly earlier Judges 1:8, which says that everyone there was killed and the city burnt to the ground. Another unusual feature is that it lists every single tribe whose lands are west of the Jordan, except Levi, the holy tribe, and Issachar
, who apparently had no failures, but also no successes worthy of mention.
take:
The Tribe of Simeon
together with that of Judah destroy:
, the Tribe of Judah
fails to take:
The Tribe of Benjamin
fails to drive out the occupants of:
The Tribe of Manasseh
fails to drive out the Canaanites from:
The Tribe of Ephraim
is unable to drive out the Canaanites from:
The Tribe of Zebulun
is unable to drive out the Canaanites from:
The Tribe of Asher
is unable to drive out the Canaanites from:
The Tribe of Naphtali
is unable to drive out the Canaanites living in:
The Tribe of Dan
was confined to the hill country by the Amorites and could not capture:
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
1:17-36 is an account of the failures and successes of the military campaigns of the Israelites in their attempt to conquer Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...
. While the Book of Joshua
Book of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
portrays complete victory, Judges presents the tribes which were to become the western half of the Kingdom of Israel as having several failures. In each of these cases, the book of Judges says that the tribes later subjugated the Canaanites into forced labour.
According to the Bible, God inflicted the later tribulations in Judges upon the Israelites partially because they failed to completely extinguish the Canaanite race despite his somewhat genocidal
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
command elsewhere to the contrary. According to modern textual criticism
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
the discrepancy with the picture of victory that Joshua portrays is down to the use of different sources. The less pious and more realistic presence of failures leading to the text being considered more historically reliable, and from a potentially earlier, less censured, source.
The list does not consider the tribes who became the eastern half of the Kingdom of Israel, but the western part of the Kingdom of Israel are only described as failing, and the only successes are by those tribes which became the Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
. In particular, even where Judah fails, an excuse is given - the occupants had chariots. Hence, many biblical critics see the list as biased, and partly deliberate propaganda, by an author hailing from the Kingdom of Judah.
One curious feature of the list is that Jerusalem is described as having not been conquered and containing Jebusites to this day. This is somewhat in contrast to the slightly earlier Judges 1:8, which says that everyone there was killed and the city burnt to the ground. Another unusual feature is that it lists every single tribe whose lands are west of the Jordan, except Levi, the holy tribe, and Issachar
Tribe of Issachar
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
, who apparently had no failures, but also no successes worthy of mention.
Successes
The Tribe of JudahTribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Judah was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....
take:
- The southern hill country
- HebronHebronHebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
, where CalebCalebCaleb is a male given name. A character called Caleb is named in both the Bible and Quran.-Caleb:When the Hebrews came to the outskirts of Canaan, the land that had been promised to them by God, after having fled slavery in Egypt, Moses sent twelve spies into Canaan to report on what was...
drives out the three sons of AnakAnakAccording to the Book of Numbers, during the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, Anak was a well known figure, and a forefather of the Anakites who have been considered "strong and tall," they were also said to have been a mixed race of giant people, descendants of the Nephilim...
The Tribe of Simeon
Tribe of Simeon
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Simeon was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BC, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
together with that of Judah destroy:
- Zepath, which they rename HormahHormahHormah , also known by its Canaanite name Zephath in an unidentified city in the Hebrew Bible, mentioned as one of the cities captured by Joshua...
(which translates as destruction)
Failures
Owing to the occupants having iron chariotsIron chariots
The Hebrew Bible mentions iron chariots in the following contexts:The perceived incongruity of these passages inspired the 1921 expedition by archaeologist and University of Pennsylvania museum curator Clarence Stanley Fisher , in which he traveled to the Holy Land seeking physical evidence of...
, the Tribe of Judah
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Judah was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....
fails to take:
- GazaGazaGaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
- AshkelonAshkelonAshkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
- EkronEkronThe city of Ekron , was one of the five cities of the famed Philistine pentapolis, located in southwestern Canaan. Ekron lies 35 kilometers west of Jerusalem, and 18 kilometers north of ancient Gath, on the eastern edge of Israel's coastal plain.-History:...
The Tribe of Benjamin
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
fails to drive out the occupants of:
- Jerusalem (also known as JebusJebusiteAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe who inhabited and built Jerusalem prior to its conquest by King David; the Books of Kings state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus prior to this event...
)
The Tribe of Manasseh
Tribe of Manasseh
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Manasseh was one of the Tribes of Israel. Together with the Tribe of Ephraim, Manasseh also formed the House of Joseph....
fails to drive out the Canaanites from:
- Beit She'an
- TaanachTaanachTa'anakh or Taanach is a small village in Israel in Ta'anakh region.Just to the east is a 40 metre high moun which was the site of the biblical city Taanach. 12 Akkadian cuneiform tablets were found here. The main remain visible today is a 11th Century Abbasid palace....
- DorDorTel Dor , is an archeological site located on Israel's Mediterranean coast, about 30 km south of Haifa. Lying on a small headland at the north side of a protected inlet, it is identified with D-jr of Egyptian sources, Biblical Dor, and with Dor/Dora of Greek and Roman sources...
- Ibleam
- MegiddoMegiddo (place)Megiddo is a tell in modern Israel near Megiddo Kibbutz, known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance especially under its Greek name Armageddon. In ancient times Megiddo was an important city-state. Excavations have unearthed 26 layers of ruins, indicated a long period of...
The Tribe of Ephraim
Tribe of Ephraim
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim also formed the House of Joseph....
is unable to drive out the Canaanites from:
- GezerGezerGezer was a Canaanite city-state and biblical town in ancient Israel. Tel Gezer , an archaeological site midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, is now an Israeli national park....
The Tribe of Zebulun
Tribe of Zebulun
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Zebulun was one of the Tribes of Israel....
is unable to drive out the Canaanites from:
- KitronKitronKitron is a lemon liqueur produced on the Greek island of Naxos. It is made from the fruit and leaves of the citron tree, which is similar to the lemon tree but stronger and slightly different in taste....
- Nahalol
The Tribe of Asher
Tribe of Asher
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Asher! was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
is unable to drive out the Canaanites from:
- AccoAcre, IsraelAcre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
- Siddon
- AhlabAhlabAhlab , a town of Asher lying within the unconquered Phoenician border , north-west of the Sea of Galilee; commonly identified with Gischala , now Jish....
- Aczib
- HelbahHelbahHelbah is a town of the tribe of Asher , in the plain of Phoenicia."Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; but the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they...
- Aphik
- Rehob
The Tribe of Naphtali
Tribe of Naphtali
The Tribe of Naphtali was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes...
is unable to drive out the Canaanites living in:
- Beth Shemesh
- Beth Anath
The Tribe of Dan
Tribe of Dan
The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen Sea Peoples who joined with Hebrews...
was confined to the hill country by the Amorites and could not capture:
- Mount Heres
- Aijalon
- Shaalbim.