After Simeon and Levi destroyed the men of Shechem, a great terror fell over every city in the region. The nations said: "If two sons of Jacob could exterminate an entire town, what would happen if all twelve brothers united?" The fear of God kept them paralyzed—but it did not last forever.
Seven years later, the kings of the Amorites heard that Jacob and his sons had resettled in Shechem. They assembled their armies, furious: "It is not enough that they killed every man in the city—now they come to take the land." According to the Chronicles of Jerahmeel, a 12th-century Hebrew chronicle preserving ancient battle traditions translated by Moses Gaster in 1899, what followed was an epic military confrontation.
Judah was the first to charge into the enemy ranks. He met Ishub, King of Tapuah, a fearsome warrior encased head to foot in iron and brass armor, riding a powerful steed and hurling javelins with deadly accuracy from both hands. Judah was not intimidated. He picked up a stone weighing sixty shekels and launched it from 170 cubits away. The stone struck the king's shield so hard it knocked him clean off his horse.
Judah rushed forward to finish him before he could stand, but the king rallied and sprang back to his feet. A fierce hand-to-hand fight followed. Meanwhile, Jacob himself entered the battle, bending his bow and killing enemies from a distance. The other brothers joined the assault, each fighting with astonishing ferocity. The chronicle describes how the sons of Jacob systematically routed the Amorite coalition, striking terror into every surrounding kingdom. The nations concluded that the God of Israel fought alongside His people, and no army could stand against them.