שופטים, פרק א׳, פסוק א׳

The passing of a great leader leaves a profound void, not only in a nation's leadership but also in its overarching strategy. With the death of Joshua, the central commander of the Israelites, the era of a unified national conquest comes to an end. The nation faces a new reality where each tribe must fight independently to secure its allotted territory. This major transition raises critical questions about how to proceed with the military campaign. Seeking direction, the people turn to God for guidance through the Urim and Thummim [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].

The primary approach among commentators [מלבי"ם, אברבנאל] explains that during his lifetime, Joshua managed the nation's battles through direct prophecy and communication from God, making the regular use of the Urim and Thummim unnecessary. Only after his death, lacking a prophet of such magnitude, are the people forced to return to this method of seeking divine counsel. Alternatively, other perspectives suggest that the Urim and Thummim were indeed used previously, and the true shift lies in the urgent, overarching military dilemma that arises following Joshua's death [רלב"ג].

Because the nation no longer operates as a single, unified army, a pressing question emerges: which of the now-independent tribes should be the first to step forward? Someone must take the lead to continue clearing the land and capturing the territories that had been assigned but remain unconquered [רש"י, רד"ק, שטיינזלץ]. Commentators agree that this initial battle carries immense weight, serving as the foundation for all the campaigns that will follow. The primary fear is that if the first tribe suffers a defeat, the local Canaanites will assume that God's protection has vanished along with Joshua. Such a loss would boost enemy morale and deeply discourage the Israelites. Conversely, a decisive victory in this first engagement will strike fear into the local populations, paving the way for the remaining tribes to succeed in their own battles [רלב"ג, מלבי"ם, אברבנאל].

Because of these high stakes, the upcoming battle is not viewed as an isolated event. Even though each tribe is now responsible for fighting for its own private portion of land, the success or failure of the first tribe deeply impacts the entire nation. The victory of the pioneering tribe is considered an achievement for everyone, as it will instill much-needed confidence in the rest of the Israelites as they continue their respective campaigns [מצודת דוד, אלשיך].