Bible Synapse
Did Joshua take Jerusalem, or could Judah not drive out the Jebusites?
Hard question · Israel’s history: Joshua to Esther · raised by 1 of the lists sceptics circulate
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The five kings, among them “the king of Jerusalem”, were brought out of the cave at Makkedah to Joshua.
And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
Joshua struck the five kings, slew them and hanged them on five trees.
And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
Joshua struck all the country of the hills, the south, the lowland and the slopes, “and all their kings”.
So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded.
In the list of defeated kings: “The king of Jerusalem, one”.
The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;
The children of Judah “could not drive them out”, the Jebusites of Jerusalem, who still lived there.
As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.
After Joshua’s death, Judah fought against Jerusalem, took it and set the city on fire.
Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem.
And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
David went up against the Jebusites of Jerusalem and took “the strong hold of Zion”.
And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David.
The objection
Joshua 10 says that the king of Jerusalem was captured and killed, and that Joshua struck the whole hill country and left none remaining. Yet Joshua 15:63 says that the men of Judah “could not drive them out”, the Jebusites of Jerusalem, and that they still lived there. Critics ask whether Joshua took Jerusalem or not.
The answer
Joshua 10 says that Joshua killed the king of Jerusalem; it never says that he took the city. The king was one of five who marched against Gibeon. They were routed, hid in a cave at Makkedah, and were put to death there (10:16–26). The chapter then lists the cities Joshua captured on that campaign: Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron and Debir (10:28–39). Jerusalem is not among them. Joshua 12 is a list of kings defeated, not of cities taken, and “The king of Jerusalem, one” (12:10) belongs there. The sweeping words of 10:40 sum up Joshua’s victory over the region and its kings; they do not claim that every fortress fell.
The later passages tell what became of the city itself. After Joshua’s death the men of Judah attacked Jerusalem, took it and set it on fire (Judges 1:8). But they did not hold it. The Jebusites came back, and neither Judah nor Benjamin could drive them out (Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21). A generation later Jerusalem was still “the city of a stranger” to Israel (Judges 19:12), and its stronghold of Zion fell only to David (2 Samuel 5:6–7). Keil and Delitzsch and Haley read the record in this way: the king fell early, the city changed hands, and the citadel held out until David.
Other answers Christians give
A lower town and an upper fortress
Haley, following Josephus, distinguishes the open city of Jerusalem from the Jebusite fortress beside it. On this view the lower town was captured and burned (Judges 1:8), while the fortress on the hill held out until David took “the strong hold of Zion” (2 Samuel 5:7).
Still open
Whether Joshua 15:63 was written before or after the capture in Judges 1:8 is debated. Keil and Delitzsch place it after; on either reading the Jebusites kept a hold in Jerusalem until David.
From the classic commentators
Joshua had already slain the king of Jerusalem and his four allies after the battle at Gibeon (Joshua 10:3, Joshua 10:18-26), but had not conquered Jerusalem, his capital. This was not done till after Joshua's death, when it was taken by the tribes of Judah and Simeon.Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on Judges 1
Jebus was the stronghold or fortress "of extraordinary strength," while Jerusalem was the name of the adjacent city. The latter, with its king, was captured early; the former held out till the time of David.J. W. Haley, Alleged Discrepancies (1874), p. 406
Sources
- Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament: Judges 1, at Bible Hub
- Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua 15, at Bible Hub
- J. W. Haley, Alleged Discrepancies (1874), pp. 404–406 (cities conquered more than once)