1. Judges 1:1–2:5 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How often does “go up” appear in Judges 1—2?

Judges 1:1–2:5 (ESV)

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

This verb occurs six times in Judges 1:1 – 2:5, translated variously as go up (Judges 1:1, Judges 1:2), went up (Judges 1:16; Judges 2:1), and come up (Judges 1:3, Judges 1:4, Judges 1:22). Widely recognized is the structural significance of the verb’s occurrence at critical junctures in the narrative: Judges 1:1, Who shall go up…?; Judges 1:4, Judah went up; Judges 1:22, The house of Joseph went up; and Judges 2:1, The angel of the Lord went up.1