And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

JUDGES 1:19KJV
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Judges 1:19 (KJV)

What does Judges 1:19 mean?

Judges 1:19 says that the LORD was with the tribe of Judah, helping them drive out the people living in the hill country, but Judah could not drive out those living in the valley because those enemies had iron chariots. The verse highlights both God’s presence with Judah and a limitation in their conquest due to the enemy’s military technology.

Judges 1:19 is part of a historical account describing the early efforts of the Israelites, specifically the tribe of Judah, to settle in the land of Canaan after Joshua’s leadership. The verse notes a contrast: Judah succeeds in the mountains but fails in the valleys, where the Canaanites’ iron chariots give them a strong advantage. This detail sets up the ongoing challenges Israel faces in fully taking the land.

The Hebrew behind Judges 1:19

  • LORD (יְהוָה, YHWH): This is the personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, emphasizing that it is specifically Israel’s God who is with Judah in their battles.
  • out (יָרַשׁ, yarash): This word means to dispossess or drive out, not just to defeat but to remove the inhabitants from the land, showing the goal was full occupation.
  • mountain (הָר, har) and valley (עֵמֶק, emeq): The distinction between these two words highlights the different terrains. The mountains were easier for Judah to control, while the valleys, where iron chariots could be used effectively, proved much harder to conquer.
  • chariots (רֶכֶב, rekhev) of iron (בַּרְזֶל, barzel): The mention of iron chariots points to advanced military technology, which made the Canaanites in the valley especially difficult to defeat.

Why Judges 1:19 matters

  • Judges 1:19 clarifies that even with God’s help, the Israelites sometimes faced real obstacles that they could not immediately overcome, such as superior enemy technology.
  • The verse shows that the conquest of Canaan was not instant or total, but involved ongoing struggles and partial victories, which is a theme throughout Judges.
  • This verse helps explain why some Canaanite groups remained in the land for generations, setting up later conflicts and challenges for Israel.

Where else these words appear

“valley” Hebrew H6010 · used in 64 verses

  • Genesis 14:3 All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.
  • Judges 7:8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
  • Job 39:21 He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

“iron” Hebrew H1270 · used in 70 verses

  • Genesis 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
  • 1 Kings 6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
  • Psalms 107:16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.

“not” Hebrew H3808 · used in 73 verses

  • Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
  • Numbers 14:35 I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
  • Psalms 17:1 A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.

“chariots” Hebrew H7393 · used in 104 verses

  • Genesis 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
  • 1 Kings 16:9 And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah.
  • 2 Chronicles 12:3 With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians.