And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Parallel translations
- WEB The land had rest forty years, then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
- BSB So the land had rest for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
- NKJV So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
- NASB Then the land was at rest for forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
- NLT So there was peace in the land for forty years. Then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The land has rest for forty years until Othniel dies. It matters as the peace that follows God-given deliverance, and a pattern that will repeat.
Overview
Othniel's deliverance brings a full generation of rest, a gift of God's grace. Yet the note of his death signals that the peace is temporary, anticipating the relapse to come. This rest after deliverance points toward the lasting rest secured by Christ, the Judge and Savior whose victory and reign never end.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 11:23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
- Judg 8:28Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
- Judg 5:31So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.
- Judg 3:30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
- Esth 9:22As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
- Josh 15:17And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
- 1 Chr 4:13And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.
- Judg 3:9And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 3:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.