1:1–2:5 This introduction to Judges, in which covenant keeping finds expression in dispossessing and destroying the Canaanites, raises the question of leadership for fighting them (v. 1). The covenant-keeping successes and failures of the various tribes, and God’s judgment on Israel for the covenant failure of letting the Canaanites live in the land, are recounted (cf. Deut. 7:1–2; 20:16–20). The space and detail given to Judah’s successes (vv. 3–20) contrast strongly with the brief accounts of the failures of the other tribes (vv. 21–36), although the house of Joseph is treated positively (vv. 22–26).