Manasseh Not Driving Out Behshean - Judges 1:27

In the book of Judges we learned how, “the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy. 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. 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”, and in chapter one and verse twenty-seven of Judges, we learn how “neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns”, where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, …” The writer began with the words, “neither did Manasseh” which means “no and not in any way did Manasseh whose name means ‘causing to forget’ and was the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh” “drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean” or “seize, dispossess, disinherit or occupy the dwellers, abiders and ones who live belonging to Bethshean or Beth-shean or Beth-Shan whose name means ‘house of ease’ and was a place in Manasseh which is located west of the Jordan” “and her towns” or “and her, Bethshean’s, villages”, “nor Taanach” or Tanach which means “no and not in any way Taanach whose name means ‘sandy’ and was an ancient Canaanite city conquered by Joshua and allotted to the half tribe of Manasseh although in the territory of Issachar; given to the Kohathite Levites; located on the west of the Jordan and near the waters of Megiddo” “and her towns” which means “and Taanach’s villages”. The writer shared how the tribe of “Manasseh” did not expel the people who lived within “Bethshean” and it’s villages nor “Taanach” and it’s villages. 

The verse goes on to say, “… 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.” The writer continued with the words, “nor the inhabitants of Dor” which means “no and not in any way the people who dwelt, lived and abided within Dor whose name means ‘generation’ and was a coastal city in Manasseh which was located south of Carmel” “and her towns” or “and her, Dor’s, villages”, “nor the inhabitants of Ibleam” which means “no and not in any way the people who dwelt, lived and abided belonging to Ibleam whose name means ‘devouring the people’ and was a city of Manasseh apparently located in the territory of either Issachar or Asher” “and her towns” or “and her, Ibleam’s, villages”, “nor the inhabitants of Megiddo” which means “no and not in any manner the people who dwelt, lived and abided within Megiddo or Megiddo whose name means ‘place of crowds’ and was the ancient city of Canaan assigned to Manasseh and located on the southern rim of the plain of Esdraelon six miles (10 km) from Mount Carmel and eleven miles (18 km) from Nazareth’” “and her towns” or “and her, Megiddo’s, villages”: “but the Canaanites” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover the Canaanites whose name means ‘zealous or lowland’ and were the descendants or inhabitants of Canaan” “would dwell in that land” or “were to live, abide and remain within that territory, region, district and country”. The writer shared how the rise of “Manasseh” did not expel the people who lived in “Dor, Ibleam, or Megiddo” nor any of their villages which caused the “Canaanites” to remain living with them. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how the tribe of “Manasseh” did not expel the people of “Bethshean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam or Meggido” and their villages. God told the people of Israel to completely destroy the foreigners within the promise land, however, the people of Israel including the tribe of “Manasseh” were unable to complete this task. Therefore pagan Gentiles lived among them, and eventually influenced them to forsake their relationship with Jehovah God. God wants us to have a committed personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and equip us to conquer all the territories He desires for us without leaving any sin and wickedness in our midst. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1;8; 1 John 1:9)

Next time we learn what happened, “when Israel was strong”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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