From what is said in Judges 1:18, 21, and in 2 Sam. 5:6 it is evident that the people of Judah took and set fire to at least a part of the city of Jerusalem, but probably were not able to take the stronghold situated on Mt. Zion. The king had been slain by Joshua (ch. 12:10), but the city continued to be held by the Jebusites until the tribe of Judah burned it. After this, as the brief record seems to imply, the Jebusites retook and rebuilt the city and held it until the time of David.

 Jerusalem, at the time of the original distribution, was in the territory of Benjamin because the border ran in the valley south of the city. Though it belonged to Benjamin, the children of Judah for some reason, as seen by their attack upon it (Judges 1:8), sought to share with the Benjamites in the possession of it. It later became known as the city of David.

There is a spiritual lesson here for us. Before the time of David, Judah was not able to drive out the Jebusites. It may have been unbelief, coming from conscious sin or from a weak distrust of God, that made the tribe of Judah feel that they were unequal to this task. The lesson is apparent. When we decline to do the work that God has bidden us to perform, on the ground that we are unable to accomplish it, we are equally manifesting our unbelief. When faith departs, fear necessarily enters in to take its place. When we fail to have faith in God, our hearts will fail before our enemies. Then zeal departs also, and inaction and indifference follow.

This verse is an additional proof that the book of Joshua was not written after the times of the Jewish kings, as some have endeavored to prove, for when this verse was written, the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah, which they did not do after the days of David.