“And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.”
The men of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. — Benjamin's failure to eradicate the Jebusites from Jerusalem contradicts verse 8's report of conquest, instead revealing that military destruction did not translate to demographic displacement. The verb 'did not drive out' directly echoes the failure formula that characterizes the chapter's latter half, establishing Benjamin as the first explicitly failed tribe among many. The parenthetical 'to this day' creates a narrative voice addressing contemporary readers, suggesting that the Jebusites' persistence in Jerusalem serves as permanent witness to Benjamin's covenant failure.
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