Generations after Joshua forget how the Lord rescued Israel from the gods of Egypt Ex and made them his special nation in the wilderness. When the people of Israel mingle with the Canaanites and especially when they intermarry , their loyalties become divided between the God of Israel who gave them the land and the gods of the Canaanites.
When Israel worships other gods, the Lord revokes his protection. This results in foreign people groups invading and oppressing Israel, until things reach a point at which the people of Israel cry out to God for help.
When they do this, God sends a deliverer called a judge to rally the people, overthrow the invaders, and give the nation peace. This section again states the cycle that Israel and God find themselves in, then tells the stories of 12 judges whom God raises up to deliver Israel. The former judges section begins with Othniel , a member from a prominent family the late, great Caleb.
The Spirit of God comes on Othniel, he restores peace, and the story moves on. Ehud and Deborah both take their turns delivering Israel from the cycle after this. The Spirit of God comes on Gideon, and the people of Israel try to make him king he refuses.
After he dies, his son tries to claim the throne, throwing Israel back into chaos. Shamgar, Tola, and Jair are mentioned in this section, but briefly. The latter judges section opens with Jephthah , an illegitimate son from a prominent family. Minor judges Izban, Elon, and Abdon get brief mentions.
But the section ends with Samson. When the Spirit of God comes upon Samson, he is able to accomplish feats of supernatural strength. Whereas the former judges section boasts four major judges, the latter section only includes two—half as many. The final major judge in both sections wins miraculous victories, but while the people of Israel propose making Gideon king, the people actually hand Samson over to their enemies. Elsewhere, a family of Israelites sets up their own invented god, with their own invented priesthood.
The text of Judges gives no indication as to who wrote the book, but Jewish tradition names the prophet Samuel as the author. The namesake of 1 and 2 Samuel, Samuel was the last of the judges, one of the special leaders whom God raised up during this time period to rescue His people. The judges did not oversee merely legal matters, as in our sense of the role; their tasks often included military and administrative authority as well.
Why Samuel? The author of Judges certainly lived in the early days of the monarchy. Also, Samuel was known to write on occasion 1 Samuel We think about the judges as both a period of time and a book of the Bible.
The period of the judges began after the death of Joshua in the early fourteenth century BC Joshua and continued until Saul was crowned king of Israel by the prophet Samuel in BC 1 Samuel Events within the book of Judges span the geographical breadth of the nation, happening in a variety of cities, towns, and battlefields. Scholars believe some of the judges ruled simultaneously in separate geographical regions.
Attempts to calculate the exact amount of time covered in Judges are inconclusive, but generally, the book begins soon after the death of Joshua and ends in the years just before the entrance of Samuel onto the scene, a period of about three hundred years. The contents of Judges were likely not written chronologically. The final few chapters Judges 17—21 give an overview of the moral climate during those days and, rather than occurring after the period of the judges listed earlier in the book, they probably happened in and around the times of various judges mentioned in earlier chapters.
The time of the judges brought about great apostasy in Israel. The nation underwent political and religious turmoil as the people tried to possess those parts of the land that had not yet been fully conquered.
The tribes fought among themselves, as well, nearly wiping out the tribes of Manasseh Judges 12 and Benjamin 20— Learn More. Share Download. How to Read Biblical Narrative. Israel abandons God and becomes completely corrupt in the land.
Descent into Madness After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel begin a downward spiral. Dive Deeper and Explore More. Read the Blog. Read More. Reading Plan. Popular Books. Judges and Ruth: God in Chaos. Academic Books. Free Seminary-Level Classes. Classroom is graduate-level classes taught by Tim Mackie brought to you for free.
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