Judges 1:26

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz: which [is] its name to this day.

Judges 1:26 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 1:26

And the man went into the land of the Hittites
With his family; Kimchi says this was not one of the seven nations of Canaan; and it is very clear from this narrative, that the land this man went to was not in the land of Canaan; though it is certain a people of this name formerly dwelt there, ( Genesis 15:20 ) ( 23:3 ) ( 26:34 ) ; and the land of Canaan is called the land of the Hittites, ( Joshua 1:4 ) ; these either might flee to another country upon Joshua's entry into the land of Canaan, or a colony of them from thence might settle elsewhere, to which this man chose to go, who might be originally of them:

and built a city;
his family was numerous, and he a man of wealth, and was allowed to carry all his substance with him:

and called the name of it Luz;
in memory of the place he left, and had long lived in. There is a city called Loussa, among the cities which Josephus says ^F19 were taken by the Jews from the Arabians; and which is very probably the Lysa of Ptolemy ^F20, which he places in Arabia Petraea, and might be the same with this Luz; and, if so, this shows the land this man went into was in Edom, which is not unlikely; there is another Luza, which Jerom ^F21 says fell to the lot of the sons of Joseph, near Sichem, three miles from Neapolis:

which [is] the name thereof unto this day:
the time of the writing of this book; (See Gill on Judges 1:21).

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Antiqu. l. 14. c. 1. sect. 4.
F20 Geograph. l. 5. c. 17.
F21 De loc. Heb. fol. 92. M.

Judges 1:26 In-Context

24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will show thee mercy.

25 And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword: but they let go the man and all his family.

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name of it Luz: which [is] its name to this day.

27 Neither did Manasseh expel [the inhabitants of] Beth-shean and its towns, nor Tanach and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and its towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

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