1. These are the nations the Lord left in order to test Israel, since the Israelites had fought none of these in any of the wars with Canaan.
2. This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.
3. These nations included: the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.