Title
The title refers to
the leaders Israel
had from the time of
the elders who
outlived Joshua
until the time of
the monarchy. Their
principal purpose is
best expressed in
2:16: “Then the Lord
raised up judges,
who saved them out
of the hands of . .
. raiders.” Since it
was God who
permitted the
oppressions and
raised up
deliverers, he
himself was Israel’s
ultimate Judge and
Deliverer (11:27;
see 8:23, where
Gideon, a judge,
insists that the
Lord is Israel’s
true ruler).
Author and Date
Although tradition
ascribes the book to
Samuel, the author
is actually unknown.
It is possible that
Samuel assembled
some of the accounts
from the period of
the judges and that
such prophets as
Nathan and Gad, both
of whom were
associated with
David’s court, had a
hand in shaping and
editing the material
(see 1Ch 29:29).
The date of
composition is also
unknown, but it was
undoubtedly during
the monarchy. The
frequent expression
“In those days
Israel had no king”
(17:6; 18:1; 19:1;
21:25) suggests a
date after the
establishment of the
monarchy. The
observation that the
Jebusites still
controlled Jerusalem
(1:21) has been
taken to indicate a
time before David’s
capture of the city
c. 1000 b.c. (see
2Sa 5:6–10). But the
new conditions in
Israel alluded to in
chs. 17–21 suggest a
time after the
Davidic dynasty had
been effectively
established (tenth
century b.c.).
Themes and Theology
The book of Judges
depicts the life of
Israel in the
promised land from
the death of Joshua
to the rise of the
monarchy. On the one
hand, it is an
account of frequent
apostasy, provoking
divine chastening.
On the other hand,
it tells of urgent
appeals to God in
times of crisis,
moving the Lord to
raise up leaders
(judges) through
whom he throws off
foreign oppressors
and restores the
land to peace.
With Israel’s
conquest of the
promised land
through the
leadership of
Joshua, many of the
covenant promises
God had made to
their ancestors were
fulfilled (see Jos
21:43–45). The
Lord’s land, where
Israel was to enter
into rest, lay under
their feet; it
remained only for
them to occupy it,
to displace the
Canaanites and to
cleanse it of
paganism. The time
had come for Israel
to be the kingdom of
God in the form of
an established
commonwealth on
earth.
But in Canaan Israel
quickly forgot the
acts of God that had
given them birth and
had established them
in the land.
Consequently they
lost sight of their
unique identity as
God’s people, chosen
and called to be his
army and the loyal
citizens of his
emerging kingdom.
They settled down
and attached
themselves to
Canaan’s peoples
together with
Canaanite morals,
gods, and religious
beliefs and
practices as readily
as to Canaan’s
agriculture and
social life.
Throughout Judges
the fundamental
issue is the
lordship of God in
Israel, especially
Israel’s
acknowledgment of
and loyalty to his
rule. His kingship
over Israel had been
uniquely established
by the covenant at
Sinai (Ex 19–24),
which was later
renewed by Moses on
the plains of Moab
(Dt 29) and by
Joshua at Shechem
(Jos 24). The author
accuses Israel of
having rejected the
kingship of the Lord
again and again.
They stopped
fighting the Lord’s
battles, turned to
the gods of Canaan
to secure the
blessings of family,
flocks and fields,
and abandoned God’s
laws for daily
living. In the very
center of the cycle
of the judges (see
Outline), Gideon had
to remind Israel
that the Lord was
their King (see note
on 8:23). The
recurring lament,
and indictment, of
chs. 17–21 (see
Outline) is: “In
those days Israel
had no king;
everyone did as he
saw fit” (see note
on 17:6). The
primary reference
here is doubtless to
the earthly
mediators of the
Lord’s rule (i.e.,
human kings), but
the implicit charge
is that Israel did
not truly
acknowledge or obey
her heavenly King
either.
Only by the Lord’s
sovereign use of
foreign oppression
to chasten his
people—thereby
implementing the
covenant curses (see
Lev 26:14–45; Dt
28:15–68)—and by his
raising up
deliverers when his
people cried out to
him did he maintain
his kingship in
Israel and preserve
his embryonic
kingdom from
extinction. Israel’s
flawed condition was
graphically exposed;
they continued to
need new saving acts
by God in order to
enter into the
promised rest (see
note on Jos 1:13).
Out of the recurring
cycles of
disobedience,
foreign oppression,
cries of distress,
and deliverance (see
2:11–19; Ne 9:26–31)
emerges another
important theme—the
covenant
faithfulness of the
Lord. The amazing
patience and
long-suffering of
God are no better
demonstrated than
during this
unsettled period.
Remarkably, this age
of Israel’s failure,
following directly
on the redemptive
events that came
through Moses and
Joshua, is in a
special way the OT
age of the Spirit.
God’s Spirit enabled
people to accomplish
feats of victory in
the Lord’s war
against the powers
that threatened his
kingdom (see 3:10;
6:34; 11:29; 13:25;
14:6,19; 15:14; see
also 1Sa 10:6,10;
11:6; 16:13). This
same Spirit, poured
out on the church
following the
redemptive work of
the second Joshua
(Jesus), empowered
the people of the
Lord to begin the
task of preaching
the gospel to all
nations and of
advancing the
kingdom of God (see
notes on Ac 1:2,8).
Background
Fixing precise dates
for the judges is
difficult and
complex. The dating
system followed here
is based primarily
on 1Ki 6:1, which
speaks of an
interval of 480
years between the
exodus and the
fourth year of
Solomon’s reign.
This would place the
exodus c. 1446 b.c.
and the period of
the judges between
c. 1380 and the rise
of Saul, c. 1050.
Jephthah’s statement
that Israel had
occupied Heshbon for
300 years (11:26)
generally agrees
with these dates.
And the reference to
“Israel” in the
Merneptah Stele
demonstrates that
Israel was
established in
Canaan before 1210
b.c. (see chart, p.
xxiii).
Some maintain,
however, that the
number 480 in 1Ki
6:1 is somewhat
artificial, arrived
at by multiplying 12
(perhaps in
reference to the 12
judges) by 40 (a
conventional number
of years for a
generation). They
point out the
frequent use of the
round numbers 10,
20, 40 and 80 in the
book of Judges
itself. A later date
for the exodus would
of course require a
much shorter period
of time for the
judges (see
Introduction to
Exodus: Chronology;
see also note on 1Ki
6:1).
Literary Features
Even a quick reading
of Judges discloses
its basic threefold
division: (1) a
prologue (1:1—3:6),
(2) a main body
(3:7—16:31) and (3)
an epilogue (chs.
17–21). Closer study
brings to light a
more complex
structure, with
interwoven themes
that bind the whole
into an intricately
designed portrayal
of the character of
an age.
The prologue
(1:1—3:6) has two
parts, and each
serves a different
purpose. They are
not chronologically
related, nor does
either offer a
strict chronological
scheme of the time
as a whole. The
first part (1:1—2:5)
sets the stage
historically for the
narratives that
follow. It describes
Israel’s occupation
of the promised
land—from their
initial success to
their large-scale
failure and divine
rebuke.
The second part
(2:6—3:6) indicates
a basic perspective
on the period from
the time of Joshua
to the rise of the
monarchy, a time
characterized by
recurring cycles of
apostasy,
oppression, cries of
distress and
gracious divine
deliverance. The
author summarizes
and explains the
Lord’s dealings with
his rebellious
people and
introduces some of
the basic vocabulary
and formulas he will
use in the later
narratives: “did
evil in the eyes of
the Lord,” 2:11 (see
3:7,12; 4:1; 6:1;
10:6); “handed them
over to,” 2:14 (see
6:1; 13:1); and
“sold them,” 2:14
(see 3:8; 4:2;
10:7).
The main body of the
book (3:7—16:31),
which gives the
actual accounts of
the recurring cycles
(apostasy,
oppression,
distress,
deliverance), has
its own unique
design. Each cycle
has a similar
beginning (“the
Israelites did evil
in the eyes of the
Lord”; see note on
3:7) and a
recognizable
conclusion (“the
land had peace . . .
years” or “led
Israel . . . years”;
see note on 3:11).
The first of these
cycles (Othniel; see
3:7–11 and note)
provides the “report
form” used for each
successive story of
oppression and
deliverance.
The remaining five
cycles form the
following narrative
units, each of which
focuses on one of
the major judges:
1.Ehud (3:12–30), a
lone hero from the
tribe of Benjamin
who delivers Israel
from oppression from
the east.
2.Deborah (chs.
4–5), a woman from
one of the Joseph
tribes (Ephraim,
west of the Jordan)
who judges at a time
when Israel is being
overrun by a
coalition of
Canaanites under
Sisera.
3.Gideon and his son
Abimelech (chs.
6–9), whose story
forms the central
account. In many
ways Gideon is the
ideal judge, evoking
memory of Moses,
while his son is the
very antithesis of a
responsible and
faithful judge.
4.Jephthah
(10:6—12:7), a
social outcast from
the other Joseph
tribe (Manasseh,
east of the Jordan)
who judges at a time
when Israel is being
threatened by a
coalition of powers
under the king of
Ammon.
5.Samson (chs.
13–16), a lone hero
from the tribe of
Dan who delivers
Israel from
oppression from the
west.
The arrangement of
these narrative
units is
significant. The
central accounts of
Gideon (the Lord’s
ideal judge) and
Abimelech (the
anti-judge) are
bracketed by the
parallel narratives
of the woman Deborah
and the social
outcast
Jephthah—which in
turn are framed by
the stories of the
lone heroes Ehud and
Samson. In this way
even the structure
focuses attention on
the crucial issue of
the period of the
judges: Israel’s
attraction to the
Baals of Canaan
(shown by Abimelech;
see note on 9:1–57)
versus the Lord’s
kingship over his
people (encouraged
by Gideon; see note
on 8:23).
The epilogue (chs.
17–21) characterizes
the era in yet
another way,
depicting religious
and moral corruption
on the part of
individuals, cities
and tribes. Like the
introduction, it has
two divisions that
are neither
chronologically
related nor
expressly dated to
the careers of
specific judges. The
events must have
taken place,
however, rather
early in the period
of the judges (see
notes on 18:30;
20:1,28).
By dating the events
of the epilogue only
in relationship to
the monarchy (see
the recurring
refrain in 17:6;
18:1; 19:1; 21:25),
the author contrasts
the age of the
judges with the
better time that the
monarchy
inaugurated,
undoubtedly having
in view the rule of
David and his
dynasty (see note on
17:1—21:25). The
book mentions two
instances of the
Lord’s assigning
leadership to the
tribe of Judah: (1)
in driving out the
Canaanites (1:1–2),
and (2) in
disciplining a tribe
in Israel (20:18).
The author views the
ruler from the tribe
of Judah as the
savior of the
nation.
The first division
of the epilogue
(chs. 17–18) relates
the story of Micah’s
development of a
paganized place of
worship and tells of
the tribe of Dan
abandoning their
allotted territory
while adopting
Micah’s corrupted
religion. The second
division (chs.
19–21) tells the
story of a Levite’s
sad experience at
Gibeah in Benjamin
and records the
disciplinary removal
of the tribe of
Benjamin because it
had defended the
degenerate town of
Gibeah.
The two divisions
have several
interesting
parallels:
1.Both involve a
Levite’s passing
between Bethlehem
(in Judah) and
Ephraim across the
Benjamin-Dan
corridor.
2.Both mention 600
warriors—those who
led the tribe of Dan
and those who
survived from the
tribe of Benjamin.
3.Both conclude with
the emptying of a
tribal area in that
corridor (Dan and
Benjamin).
Not only are these
Benjamin-Dan
parallels
significant within
the epilogue, but
they also form a
notable link to the
main body of the
book. The tribe of
Benjamin, which in
the epilogue
undertook to defend
gross immorality,
setting ties of
blood above loyalty
to the Lord, was the
tribe from which the
Lord raised up the
deliverer Ehud
(3:15). The tribe of
Dan, which in the
epilogue retreated
from its assigned
inheritance and
adopted pagan
religious practices,
was the tribe from
which the Lord
raised up the
deliverer Samson
(13:2,5). Thus the
tribes that in the
epilogue depict the
religious and moral
corruption of Israel
are the very tribes
from which the
deliverers were
chosen whose stories
frame the central
account of the book
(Gideon-Abimelech).
The whole design of
the book from
prologue to
epilogue, the unique
manner in which each
section deals with
the age as a whole,
and the way the
three major
divisions are
interrelated clearly
portray an age gone
awry—an age when
“Israel had no king”
and “everyone did as
he saw fit” (see
note on 17:6). Of no
small significance
is the fact that the
story is in episodes
and cycles. It is
given as the story
of all Israel,
though usually only
certain areas are
directly involved.
The book portrays
the centuries after
Joshua as a time of
Israelite
unfaithfulness to
the Lord and of
their surrender to
the allurements of
Canaan. Only by the
mercies of God was
Israel not
overwhelmed and
absorbed by the
pagan nations around
them. Meanwhile,
however, the history
of redemption
virtually stood
still—awaiting the
forward movement
that came with the
Lord’s servant David
and the
establishment of his
dynasty.
Outline
I.Prologue:
Incomplete Conquest
and Apostasy
(1:1—3:6)
A.First Episode:
Israel’s Failure to
Purge the Land
(1:1—2:5)
B.Second Episode:
God’s Dealings with
Israel’s Rebellion
(2:6—3:6)
II.Oppression and
Deliverance
(3:7—16:31)
Major Judges Minor
Judges
A. Othniel Defeats
Aram Naharaim
(3:7–11)
B. Ehud Defeats Moab
(3:12–30) 1. Shamgar
(3:31)
C. Deborah Defeats
Canaan (chs. 4–5)
D. Gideon Defeats
Midian (chs. 6–8)
(Abimelech, the
anti-judge, ch. 9)
2 .Tola (10:1–2)
3 .Jair (10:3–5)
E. Jephthah Defeats
Ammon (10:6—12:7)
4 .Ibzan (12:8–10)
5. Elon (12:11–12)
6. Abdon (12:13–15)
F. Samson Checks
Philistia (chs.
13–16)
III.Epilogue:
Religious and Moral
Disorder (chs.
17–21)
A.First Episode
(chs. 17–18; see
17:6; 18:1)
1.Micah’s corruption
of religion (ch. 17)
2.The Danites’
departure from their
tribal territory
(ch. 18)
B.Second Episode
(chs. 19–21; see
19:1; 21:25)
1.Gibeah’s
corruption of morals
(ch. 19)
2.The Benjamites’
near removal from
their tribal
territory (chs.
20–21)
