Judges 1:23-26 Meaning: Why the Old Name Lingers
23The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before that was Luz.)
24The watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”
25He showed them the entrance into the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go.
26The man went into the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
23And the house of Joseph sent to descry Beth–el. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)
24And 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.
25And when he shewed 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.
26And 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.
23And the house of Joseph sent to spy out Beth-el. (Now the name of the city beforetime was Luz.)
24And the watchers saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Show us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with thee.
25And he showed them the entrance into the city; and they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man go and all his family.
26And 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.
23and the house of Joseph cause men to spy about Beth-El (and the name of the city formerly is Luz),
24and the watchers see a man coming out from the city, and say to him, `Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance of the city, and we have done with thee kindness.'
25And he sheweth them the entrance of the city, and they smite the city by the mouth of the sword, and the man and all his family they have sent away;
26and the man goeth to the land of the Hittites, and buildeth a city, and calleth its name Luz--it is its name unto this day.
23And the house of Joseph sent to search out Bethel; now the name of the city before was Luz.
24And the guards saw a man come forth out of the city, and said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, how [we] may enter into the city, and we will shew thee kindness.
25And he shewed them how to enter into the city. And they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.
26And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
Meaning in one sentence
In the conquest of Bethel, the house of Joseph spares a man who shows them the entrance. The story ends with the old name Luz reappearing.
Context
Judges chapter one tells the story of the tribes continuing the conquest after Joshua's death. Each tribe receives its territory, but the pattern is mixed: some succeed, some fail. The house of Joseph (Ephraim and western Manasseh) goes up against Bethel, a city once known as Luz. The name Bethel is famous from Jacob's dream, he called it “house of God.” But the author pauses to remind us that before that encounter, the city was called Luz. Then the narrative gets personal: the spies spot a man leaving the city, make a deal with him, and he shows them a way in. The city falls. The man and his whole family are spared. The man leaves Canaan entirely, travels to the land of the Hittites, and builds a new city, and he calls it Luz. The verse ends with a quiet note: “which is its name to this day.”
Key Words
The word for what the Josephites do, “spy out”, comes from the Hebrew tur (H8446). It means to search, to explore, to find a way forward. Abraham’s servant used the same word when he looked for a wife for Isaac. It is not just looking; it is looking with purpose. The man who comes out of the city is called ish (H0376), an ordinary word for “man,” not a soldier or a leader. He is simply someone who happens to be in the wrong place at the right time. The deal they offer him is chesed (H2617), the Hebrew word for loyal kindness, the kind of love God shows his covenant people. These spies promise this foreigner the same quality of mercy God shows Israel. And the reader may wonder: does this man deserve chesed? The word itself pushes back against that question. Chesed is not earned.
How Christians Read This Verse
Adam Clarke, writing in the Wesleyan tradition, calls the man a traitor: “He was a traitor to his country, and he was accessary to the destruction of the lives and property of his fellow citizens.” The city was under God’s judgment, but that does not make the man’s betrayal noble. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary, representative of Reformed thinking, assumes the promise was suspended on the man embracing the true religion or leaving the country, which he did. The Cambridge Bible focuses on the antiquity of the Luz, Bethel distinction, noting that some early readers distinguished the two locations. What unites these views is a shared unease: God used this man’s cooperation, but his story does not end in Israel. He builds a new Luz in Hittite territory. The name of the old city outlives the judgment.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers assume the man in this passage is a new Rahab, a foreigner who joins Israel and finds a home among God’s people. But the story moves in the opposite direction. Rahab stayed in Israel; this man leaves completely. He goes to the land of the Hittites and builds a city named Luz, not Bethel. In fact, the narrator’s point may be that mercy does not require the recipient to convert or relocate. The man receives chesed, loyal kindness, even though he does not stay. That is uncomfortable, but the text does not soften it.
Living This Out
This passage asks you to look at the people God uses. They are not all heroes. The man who showed the entrance did not serve Israel out of faith; he saved his own skin. And God still used him. That does not mean betrayal is good, but it does mean God’s purposes are not derailed by mixed motives. This week, you may receive help from someone whose reasons are less than pure. You may even be that person. The story invites you to trust that God works through imperfect people, including you, and still keeps every promise of mercy.
Main takeaway: God's mercy extends even to those who cooperate for the wrong reasons, and his purposes move forward through flawed human choices.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
A man helped God’s people get into a city. They promised to be kind to him, and they kept their promise. God is kind like that too.
For ages 9, 12
The man in this story is not a hero. He showed the spies a secret way into Bethel so he could save his own family. God kept His promise to him anyway. Sometimes God uses people who are just looking out for themselves. That does not make Him less good. It makes Him more surprising.
Questions People Ask
Why does the verse mention that Bethel was originally called Luz?
The name Luz is the city’s old Canaanite name, meaning "almond tree." Jacob renamed it Bethel after his dream. The author probably includes this note to remind readers that before God’s presence marked this place, it was an ordinary Canaanite town. The story of its conquest shows that even a place touched by God’s glory had to be taken by faith and warfare.
Is this man a Hittite? And where is the land of the Hittites?
The text does not say the man himself was a Hittite, only that he went to their land. The Hittites were a powerful people who lived in what is now Turkey and northern Syria. By the time Judges was written, some Hittites had migrated south into Canaan, but their original homeland was north of Israel. The man leaves Canaan entirely and builds a new Luz there.
Why did the Israelites spare this man but kill everyone else in Bethel?
The spies promised to "deal kindly" with him, the Hebrew word is chesed, loyal covenant love. This is the same promise Joshua’s spies made to Rahab. God’s command to destroy the Canaanites allowed for exceptions when individuals showed allegiance or helped Israel. The man’s family was spared too, a pattern that respects the value of a household.
Does this story contradict the command to wipe out the Canaanites?
Christians have understood this differently. Some see the sparing of the man as a warranted exception, like Rahab. Others note that the man left Canaan entirely, he did not remain in the land under judgment. The text does not resolve the tension. It presents God’s judgment and God’s mercy side by side, without apology.
For pastors & researchers
Hebrew interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study