Judges 1:17

“And Judah went with Simeon his brother, etc.] Having subtitled his Canaanites which were in his own lot, according to his promise, he went with his brother Simeon, or the tribe of Simeon, into their lot to reduce those that were in that: and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it: where and what this city was is not certain; there was a place of this name in upper Galilee, mentioned in Jewish writings f15, which cannot be meant here; and we read of the valley of Zephathah, (<141410>2 Chronicles 14:10); which might have its name from hence, and if so it was near Mareshah: and the name of the city was called Hormah; from the destruction made of it, and of the…”

“And Judah went with Simeon his brother--The course of the narrative is here resumed from Jdg 1:9, and an account given of Judah returning the services of Simeon (Jdg 1:3), by aiding in the prosecution of the war within the neighboring tribes. slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath--or Zephathah (Ch2 14:10), a valley lying in the southern portion of Canaan. Hormah--destroyed in fulfilment of an early vow of the Israelites (see on Num 21:2). The confederate tribes, pursuing their incursions in that quarter, came successively to Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron, which they took. But the Philistines seem soon to have regained possession of these cities.”

“Hormah - See Numbers 21:1 note. The destruction then vowed was now accomplished. This is another decisive indication that the events here related belong to Joshua’s lifetime. This would be about six years after the vow. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Judah went with Simeon - According to his promise, Jdg 1:3, and the laws of justice and gratitude. Hormah - Either, The same place so called, Num 21:3, and so what was there vowed, is here executed: or, Some other place called by the same name upon the like occasion, which was frequent among the Hebrews. This seems more probable. Judges 1:18”

“And Judah: Jdg 1:3 Zephath: Ch2 14:10, Zephathah Hormah: Num 14:45, Num 21:3; Jos 19:4 Judges 1:18”

“Remaining Conquests of the Combined Tribes of Judah and Simeon. - Jdg 1:17. Zephath was in the territory of Simeon. This is evident not only from the fact that Hormah (Zephath) had been allotted to the tribe of Simeon (compare Jos 19:4 with Jos 15:30), but also from the words, "Judah went with Simeon his brother," which point back to Jdg 1:3, and express the thought that Judah went with Simeon into his territory to drive out the Canaanites who were still to be found there. Going southwards from Debir, Judah and Simeon smote the Canaanites at Zephath on the southern boundary of Canaan, and executed the ban upon this town, from which it received the name of Hormah, i.e., banning. The town has…”