Introduction and Title
The Book of Judges stands in stark contrast to Joshua. In Joshua an obedient people conquered the land through trust in the power of God. In Judges, however, a disobedient and idolatrous people are defeated time and time again because of their rebellion against God.
In seven distinct cycles of sin to salvation, Judges shows how Israel had set aside God’s law and in its place substituted “what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). The recurring result of abandonment from God’s law is corruption from within and oppression from without. During the nearly four centuries spanned by this book, God raises up military champions to throw off the yoke of bondage and to restore the nation to pure worship. But all too soon the “sin cycle” begins again as the nation’s spiritual temperature grows steadily colder.
The Hebrew title is Shophetim, meaning “judges, rulers, deliverers, or saviors.” Shophet not only carries the idea of maintaining justice and settling disputes, but it is also used to mean “liberating and delivering.” First the judges deliver the people; then they rule and administer justice. The Septuagint used the Greek equivalent of this word, Kritai (“Judges”). The Latin Vulgate called it Liber Judicum, the “Book of Judges.” This book could also appropriately be titled “The Book of Failure.”
Author
The author of Judges is anonymous, but Samuel or one of his prophetic students may have written it. Jewish tradition contained in the Talmud attributes Judges to Samuel, and certainly he was the crucial link between the period of the judges and the period of the kings.
It is clear from two verses (18:31; 20:27) that the book was written after the ark was removed from Shiloh (1 Sam. 4:3–11). The repeated phrase “In those days there was no king in Israel” (17:6; 18:1; 21:25; cf. 19:1) shows that Judges was also written after the commencement of Saul’s reign but before the divided kingdom. The fact that the Jebusites were dwelling in Jerusalem “to this day” (1:21) means that it was written before 1004 B.C. when David dispossessed the Jebusites (2 Sam. 5:5–9). Thus, the book was written during the time of Samuel; and it is likely that Samuel compiled this book from oral and written source material. His prophetic ministry clearly fits the moral commentary of Judges, and the consistent style and orderly scheme of Judges point to a single compiler.
Chapter 18, verse 30 contains a phrase that poses a problem to this early date of composition: “until the day of the captivity of the land.” If this refers to the 722 B.C. Assyrian captivity of Israel it could have been inserted by a later editor. It is more likely a reference to the Philistine captivity of the land during the time of the judges. This event is described as “captivity” in Psalm 78:61.
Date and Setting
If Judges was not written by Samuel it was at least written by one of his contemporaries between 1043 B.C. (the beginning of Saul’s reign) and 1004 B.C. (David’s capture of Jerusalem). Joshua’s seven-year conquest is general in nature; much of the land remains to be possessed (Josh. 13:1). There are still important Canaanite strongholds to be taken by the individual tribes. Some of the nations have been left to “test Israel” (3:1, 4). During this time, the Egyptians maintain strong control along the coastal routes, but they are not interested in the hill country where Israel is primarily established.
The events covered in Judges range from about 1380 B.C.–1045 B.C. (c. 335 years), but the period of the judges extends another thirty years since it includes the life of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:1–5:1). Evidently, the rulerships of some of the judges overlap because not all of them ruled over the entire land. Judges describes the cycles of apostasy, oppression, and deliverance in the southern region (3:7–31), the northern region (4:1–5:31), the central region (6:1–10:5), the eastern region (10:6–12:15), and the western region (13:1–16:31). The spread of apostasy covers the whole land.
Theme and Purpose
The historical purpose of Judges is to carry the story of Israel from the death of Joshua to the time of Samuel and the beginning of the united kingdom. It was written during the reign of Saul (1043–1011 B.C.) or during the first seven years of David’s reign (1011–1004 B.C.), and it gives an explanation and defense of Israel’s monarchy (see 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The nation needed to be unified under a righteous king.
Like the other historical books of the Bible, Judges presents the historical facts in a very selective and thematic way. For example, chapters 17–21 actually preceded most of chapters 3–16, but these chapters appear at the end of the book to illustrate the moral conditions that were prevailing during the period. Judges gives a geographical survey of apostasy to illustrate its spread and a chronological survey to illustrate its growing intensity. The book reaches a climax in chapters 17–21 with the last verse as a fitting summary.
Theologically, Judges makes a clear contrast between the idolatry, immorality, and violence of Israel and Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness and gracious deliverance of the people. In His patient love, God forgave the people every single time they repented. Israel often acted in foolishness, ingratitude, stubbornness, and rebellion, and this led to defeat. Sin always leads to suffering, and repentance always leads to deliverance.
Key Word: Cycles
Key Verses (2:20–21; 21:25)
“Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, ‘Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died’ ” (2:20–21).
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25).
Key Chapter (2)
The second chapter of Judges is a miniature of the whole book as it records the transition of the godly to the ungodly generation, the format of the cycles, and the purpose of God in not destroying the Canaanites.
Christ in Judges
Each judge is a savior and a ruler, a spiritual and political deliverer. Thus, the judges portray the role of Christ as the Savior-King of His people. The Book of Judges also illustrates the need for a righteous king. Including First Samuel, seventeen judges are mentioned altogether. Some are warrior-rulers (e.g., Othniel and Gideon), one is a priest (Eli), and one is a prophet (Samuel). This gives a cumulative picture of the three offices of Christ, who excelled all his predecessors in that He was the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King.
Contribution to the Bible
Judges records the failure of the theocracy due to lack of faith and obedience. They were disloyal to their divine King and would later find it easier to follow an earthly king.
Survey of Judges
Following the death of Joshua, Israel plunges into a 350-year Dark Age. After Joshua and the generation of the conquest pass on, “another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel” (2:10; see also 2:7–10; Josh. 24:31). Judges opens with a description of Israel’s deterioration, continues with seven cycles of oppression and deliverance, and concludes with two illustrations of Israel’s depravity.
Deterioration (1:1–3:4)
Judges begins with short-lived military successes after Joshua’s death, but quickly turns to the repeated failure of all the tribes to drive out their enemies. The people feel the lack of a unified central leader, but the primary reasons for their failure are a lack of faith in God and a lack of obedience to Him (2:1–3). Compromise leads to conflict and chaos. Israel does not drive out the inhabitants (1:21, 27, 29–30); instead of removing the moral cancer spread by the inhabitants of Canaan, they contract the disease. The Canaanite gods literally become a snare to them (2:3). Chapter 2, verses 11–23 are a microcosm of the pattern found in chapters 3–16 of Judges.
Deliverances (3:5–16:31)
This section describes seven apostasies (fallings away from God), seven servitudes, and seven deliverances. Each of the seven cycles has five steps: sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence. These also can be described by the words rebellion, retribution, repentance, restoration, and rest. The seven cycles connect together as a descending spiral of sin (2:19). Israel vacillates between obedience and apostasy as the people continually fail to learn from their mistakes. Apostasy grows, but the rebellion is not continual. The times of rest and peace are longer than the times of bondage. The monotony of Israel’s sins can be contrasted with the creativity of God’s methods of deliverance.
The judges are military and civil leaders during this period of loose confederacy. Thirteen are mentioned in this book, and four more are found in First Samuel (Eli, Samuel, Joel, and Abijah).
Depravity (17:1–21:25)
These chapters illustrate (1) religious apostasy (17–18) and (2) social and moral depravity (19–21) during the period of the judges. Chapters 19–21 contain one of the worst tales of degradation in the Bible. Judges closes with a key to understanding the period: “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). The people are not doing what is wrong in their own eyes, but what is “evil in the sight of the LORD.”
Wilkinson, B., & Boa, K. (1983). Talk thru the Bible (pp. 59–63). Nashville: T. Nelson.