Judges 1:24

Jdg 1:24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

Ver. 24. And the spies saw a man come forth.] Whether upon his ordinary business, or to fall to the enemy, is uncertain.

24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Ver. 24. That is able] q.d. I can only counsel you, it is God must keep you.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

the spies . . . said, . . . Show us, . . . the entrance into the city--that is, the avenues to the city, and the weakest part of the walls.

we will show thee mercy--The Israelites might employ these means of getting possession of a place which was divinely appropriated to them: they might promise life and rewards to this man, though he and all the Canaanites were doomed to destruction (Jos 2:12-14); but we may assume the promise was suspended on his embracing the true religion, or quitting the country, as he did. If they had seen him to be firmly opposed to either of these alternatives, they would not have constrained him by promises any more than by threats to betray his countrymen. But if they found him disposed to be serviceable, and to aid the invaders in executing the will of God, they might promise to spare him.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 24. Show us - the entrance into the city] Taken in whatever light we choose, the conduct of this man was execrable. He was a traitor to his country, and he was accessary to the destruction of the lives and property of his fellow citizens, which he most sinfully betrayed, in order to save his own. According to the rules and laws of war, the children of Judah might avail themselves of such men and their information; but this does not lessen, on the side of this traitor, the turpitude of the action.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(24) The spies.—Perhaps, rather, the scouts of the blockading squadron. The Israelites, like most ancient nations, were little able to take cities by storm, and relied either on blockade or on internal treachery.

Saw a man come forth.—Probably he stole out secretly, and was seized by the scouts. Similarly the Persians took Sardis by seizing a path used by a man who had dropped his helmet, and descended the hill fortress to pick it up (Herod. i. 84).

We will shew thee mercy.—They bribed him. with the promise of personal safety. (Compare Jos_2:12; Jos_2:6)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. watchers] i.e. the Israelite outposts. The word favours an emendation such as ‘encamped’ in Jdg_1:23; cf. 2Sa_11:16.

the entrance into the city] i.e. not the gate, but the point where the city could be most easily entered by an attacking party. For the stipulation cf. Jos_2:12 f.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city,.... Or "the keepers" (r); those that were sent to watch, and observe, and get what intelligence they could of the city, and the way into it:

and they said unto him, show us, we pray, thee, the entrance into the city; not the gate or gates of it, which no doubt were visible enough, but some private way into it; the Jews, as before observed, think the entrance was by the way of a cave, or some hidden passage, of which Jarchi and Kimchi make mention:

and we will show thee mercy; give him a reward for it, or spare him and his family when the city came into their hands.

(r) "custodes", Pagninus, Montanus; "observatores", Vatablus, Drusius, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mercy. The city belonged of right to them, so that they might use this means, as they were not bound to enquire by what motives the man was actuated thus to betray his country. He might be convinced, like Rahab, that God had granted it to the Israelites, and these might justly requite his good dispositions and suffer him to depart in peace. (Bonfrere; Grotius; Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The entrance into the city; on which side it is weakest, that we may best invade and take it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

24. The entrance into the city — Not the ordinary gates, for to find these they needed no information; but that entrance which is least guarded, and by which it is easiest to take the whole city by surprise.

And we will show thee mercy — This indicates that the Hebrews were not absolutely commanded to kill all the Canaanites; but there was an implied condition of stubborn refusal to surrender, and to acknowledge the supremacy of the Israelites.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We will show thee mercy. Compare the saving of Rahab alive, with all her house, at the taking of Jericho. (Jos_6:23) This history is not preserved in the parallel place in Joshua 16.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The entrance - On which side it is weakest, that we might best invade and take it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And the watchmen (i.e., the spies sent out to explore Bethel) saw a man coming out of the town, and got him to show them the entrance into it, under a promise that they would show him favour, i.e., would spare the lives of himself and his family (see Jos 2:12-13); whereupon they took the town and smote it without quarter, according to the law in Deu 20:16-17, letting none but the man and his family go. By "the entrance into the city" we are not to understand the gate of the town, but the way or mode by which they could get into the town, which was no doubt fortified.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The entrance to the city. It was entered through a cave. A hazelnut tree stood at the mouth of the cave, and they passed through the tree into the cave.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.