Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 1:21

"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." — Judges 1:21 (ASV)

The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites. —In Joshua 15:63 we find the same statement regarding the children of Judah. (See Judges 1:8.)

Jerusalem was on the borders of Judah (Joshua 16:8) and Benjamin (Judges 18:28). It belongs more properly to the latter, but the conquest of Zion by David (2 Samuel 5:7) naturally caused its closer identification with Judah.

The Jebusites were tolerated inhabitants ever since this conquest, and had their own prince—Araunah (2 Samuel 24:18)—“Araunah the king.” We even find traces of them after the exile (Ezra 9:1).

Jerusalem is a remarkable exception to the rule that the Israelites conquered “the hill-country,” but not the plain.

Unto this day. —The assignment of Jerusalem to Benjamin shows that this narrative, though not contemporaneous, is older than the conquest of Jerusalem by David.