When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely. — The transition from failed expulsion to exploitation marks a crucial theological and social shift: unable to dispossess, Israel instead enslaves. The construction 'when Israel grew strong' suggests that military capacity enabled labor exploitation even when complete conquest proved impossible. The phrase 'did not drive them out completely' indicates that Manasseh's non-expulsion became an ongoing pattern rather than temporary circumstance. This compromise—enslaving rather than displacing—represents a pragmatic adaptation that paradoxically violated covenant principles while maintaining economic benefit.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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