Judges 3:6 (KJV)

What does Judges 3:6 mean?

Judges 3:6 describes how the Israelites married the daughters of the surrounding nations and gave their own daughters to those nations’ sons, and then began to serve the gods of those peoples. This verse shows the Israelites blending in with their neighbors both through marriage and by adopting their religious practices.

In the context of the book of Judges, this verse is part of a summary explaining how the Israelites failed to keep themselves separate from the peoples living in Canaan, as God had commanded. Instead of remaining distinct, they formed close family ties and took up the worship of foreign gods, which set the stage for the troubles and cycles of oppression that follow in the rest of the book.

The Hebrew behind Judges 3:6

• The word for "served" is עָבַד (avad), which means to work for or worship. Here, it emphasizes not just casual involvement but a committed, ongoing service to the foreign gods, showing a deep level of assimilation.
• The word for "gods" is אֱלֹהִים (elohim), a general term for gods or deities. In this context, it refers specifically to the idols or deities of the Canaanite peoples, not the God of Israel.
• The verbs "took" (לָקַח, laqach) and "gave" (נָתַן, natan) highlight intentional actions—these marriages and exchanges were deliberate choices, not accidents or isolated incidents.

Why Judges 3:6 matters

• This verse clarifies that the Israelites' problems were not just about worship but also about forming close personal and family ties with the surrounding nations, which led to deeper assimilation.
• Judges 3:6 sets up the pattern seen throughout Judges: Israel turns away from God, adopts the ways of other nations, and faces consequences, showing why the rest of the events in the book unfold as they do.
• The verse helps explain why later prophets and leaders are so concerned about intermarriage and idolatry, as these actions repeatedly led Israel away from their unique identity and covenant with God.