21 chapters
1. Author and Time of Writing
As in many other books in the
Old Testament the author of the
book of Judges is not mentioned
either. According to ancient
Jewish tradition the author was
Samuel the prophet, who lived at
the times of Saul and David
around the year 1000 BC. The book of Judges describes the
time after the death of Joshua
(Judges 1:1; 2:8) up to the end
of Samson's life (Judges 16:31). The following statements in
Judges indicate its origin at
the beginning of King Saul's
reign:
- We read in chapter 1:21: ". but
the Jebusites dwell with the
children of Benjamin in
Jerusalem unto this day."
According to 2 Samuel 5:6-8 only
David conquered Jerusalem.
Judges 1:21 therefore had to
been written before that.
- The repeated mention of the fact
that there was no king in Israel
(Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25)
indicates a time of writing
during the beginning of the
kingdoms in Israel.
2. Purpose of Writing
After Joshua's death the failure
of Israel was more and more
visible in
- not obeying the commandments of
God
- not exterminating the Canaanites
- and the increasing apostasy from
Jehovah by even adopting the
idol worship of the Canaanites
The unity of the people of
Israel suffered much under these
circumstances. God punished the
tribes by subduing them to their
enemies. But in answer to their
crying unto Him the Lord sent
them twelve judges and
liberators. And yet these judges
demonstrated their failure more
and more. The book of Judges is a book of
human failure but also of
God-given revivals and
deliverances. We find the
blessings of the people of God
and their taking possession of
them typically in the book of
Joshua. In Judges the first
decline of the people of Israel
is described. Similarly the
church (after a short period of
blossom) quickly declined by
sins and errors although God
also sent her "liberators" many
a times who produced short
spiritual revivals.
3. Peculiarities
a) Seven Times of Decline and of
Salvation
Chapter 3:8-11 Oppression by Chushan-rishathaim
and Salvation through Othniel
Chapter 3:12-31 Ehud and Shamgar liberate Israel
from the Moabites and
Philistines
Chapter 4 - 5 Deborah and Barak defeat Jabin
Chapter 6:1-8:32 Gideon defeats Midian
Chapter 8:33-10:5 Tola and Jair
Chapter 10:6-12:15 Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon and Abdon
Chapter 13-16 Samson and the Philistines
b) Periods of 40 Years (= Times
of Trying, Testing)
- 40 years of peace under
Othniel (chap. 3:11)
- 80 (2 x 40) years of peace
under Ehud (chap. 3:30)
- 40 years of peace under
Deborah (chap. 5:31)
- 40 years of peace under Gideon
(chap. 8:28)
- 40 years of trouble under the
Philistines (chap. 13:1)
- 40 years of decline under Eli
(1 Samuel 4:18)
c) Chronology of the Times of
the Judges The various indications of time
concerning the periods of the
judges are best explained as
follows:
- The indications of time must not
simply be added, as various
incidents happened at the same
time (compare chap. 10:7-9;
13:1).
- During the time of Jephthah
Israel had sojourned around 300
years already on that side of
Jordan (chap. 11:26)
- The indication of time of 480
years in 1 Kings 6:1 begins at
the exodus out of Egypt and ends
with the fourth year of King
Solomon's reign. If one deducts
thereof the 40 years of
wandering in the wilderness, the
time of Joshua and the times of
King Saul and King David's reign
(each 40 years) there will
remain almost 350 years for the
time of the judges.
- The 450 years in Acts 13:19-20
relate (according to the best
manuscripts of the NT) not to
the time of the Judges but to
the period before that. The
Greek NT (Nestle-Aland, 26th
Edition) has the following
wording: "And after He had
exterminated seven nations in
Canaan He let them inherit their
land in about 450 years. And
after that He gave judges up to
the time of Samuel the prophet."
This indicates that the period
of 450 years ended at the
beginning of the period of the
judges. That means this period
began at the time of the
patriarchs. Another possibility
is that this period of about 450
years began at the Exodus out of
Egypt and ended with the life of
Samuel.
4. Overview of Contents
I. Judges 1:1 - 3:7 Introduction
- The Failure of Israel after
Joshua's Death
Chapter 1 Israel's increasing Weakness in
Fighting the Canaanites
Chapter 2 - 3:7 Israel's Apostasy after Joshua's
Death
II. Judges 3:8 - 16:31 Seven
Oppressions and Salvations
Chapter 3:8-11 Oppression by Cushan-rishathaim
and Salvation through Othniel
Chapter 3:12-31 Ehud and Shamgar liberate Israel
from the Moabites and the
Philistines
Chapter 4 - 5 Deborah (with Barak) gains
Victory over Jabin
Chapter 6:1-8:32 Gideon defeats the Midianites)
Chapter 8:33-10:5 Abimelech's Tyranny; Tola and
Jair
Chapter 10:6-12:15 Jephthah slays the Ammonites;
Ibzan, Elon and Abdon
Chapter 13 - 16 Samson and the Philistines
III. Judges 17 - 21 Appendix -
Idolatry and Moral Decline in
Israel
Chapter 17 - 18 Micah's Idolatry and the Tribe
of Dan
Chapter 19 - 21 Immorality in Gibeah and
Fratricidal War of Israel
against the Tribe of Benjamin
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