Degree of difficulty: 3 out of 10 (Explanation:) Judges is a book filled with fascinating stories. it is a compilation of separate episodes that are thematically written / arranged to tell us something about the Israelite people. some of these episodes are just a few sentences long, while some of them, like Samson's are many chapters long. The main element contributing to reading difficulty in this book is the many peoples and places that are referred to in the course of telling these stories. You can* read Judges sufficiently by ignoring them if you wish. You will learn what you need to know through the characters of these judges and the characterizations of the Israelite people by the author. However, if you want to be able to orient the stories that you are reading on a map, you'll need a one showing the location of the Israelite tribes withing the promised land, and also a map showing the locations of the of the non-Israelite nations living within and around the promised land whom the judges are frequently confronting; both are provided below.

About the Book

Judges

Date of Authorship: 11th century BC. the book of Judges is clearly written at a date significantly later than the events described in it. This book contains explicit editorial commentary, which points to a future resolution of the spiraling descent of the Israelite people. Dating clues include the frequently repeated phrase "In those days, Israel had no king..." indicating that it was likely written after the beginning of the monarchical period of Israel that began with Saul's ascension in 1047 BC. Further bracketing is provided in Judges Judges 1:21 which records that Jebusites are still living in Jerusalem at the time of authorship which means that it was written before David's conquest of that city in 1004 BC (2 Sam 5:6-7).

Author: Jewish tradition maintains that Judges was written by the prophet Samuel

Purpose: The book of Judges explains the downward spiral of spiritual faithlessness and material loss which occurred in the period between the conquest of the Promised Land led by Joshua, and the beginning of the monarchical period beginning with Saul. This book shows the Israelites the dire consequences that their people have suffered as a result of their violation of God's covenant, and accounts the progressive digression of their people into evil an chaos. Judges also serves as a persuasive argument for the need for a king in Israel.

As you read Notes

Judges 2:10-23: A Thesis

After repeating some of the material that we read near the end of Joshua, the book of Judges introduces the theme and outline for the rest of the book in chapter two. these verses summarize the entire book:

another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them... In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them... Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them.

before the account of the judges starts, listen to how this book describes Israel's situation in chapter 3:5-6:

"The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,Hivites and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods."

Contrast that with what God told them in Deuteronomy 20: 16-18 just before the entered the Promised Land

However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.

The Judges:

A Judge is primarily a military leader of a particular Israelite tribe. Some of the Judges fight exclusively with their particular tribe like Jephthah, and often the stories of Judges are localized to their specific region of the Promised Land, as is the story of Samson and the Philistines. Despite these regional settings for each Judge, they are regarded as leaders of the the whole Israelite people. As you read Judges, you should notice the digression in the character of these judges. As the people of Israel descend into Idolatry and distance themselves from God, their Judges become less and less praiseworthy and admirable:

List of Israel's Judges

Othniel - Arameans
Ehud - Moabites
Shamgar - Philistines
Deborah and Barak - Canaanites centered in Hazor
Gideon - Midianites
Abimelek - fellow Israelites
Tola - (no opponent listed)
Jair - (no opponent listed)
Jephthah - Ammonites then fellow Israelites
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon - (no opponent listed)
Samson - Philistines

The Philistines

Judges is our first full introduction to a people that will plague the Israelites for most of the Old Testament, the Philistines. The Bible tells us that they are descended from Ham (Gen 10:14). the archaeological and historical record tells us that they were sea peoples who first appeared in the Levant (region of the Promised Land) in the 13th century BC, and settled there in the 12th century. They occupied an area of land within the borders of the territory of the Promised Land, the South-West corner. Phillista was a collection of 5 major cities: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron. As we continue to read the story of the Israelites in the Promised Land, the Philistines will be an almost constant problem, frequently pushing eastward into the territory of Judah and Simeon

The Philistines had one of the worst of all religious practices in their day. The chief God of the Philistines was Dagon, a god of grain and agriculture, who was also worshiped by the Amorites. Interestingly, this agricultural diety was depicted as a fish-man in ancient iconography. Child sacrifice was a normal part of the worship of Dagon. Yahweh (the Israelite God) and Dagon have an encounter in 1st Samuel 5 when the Ark of the Covenant is momentarily captured by the Philistines. Spoiler - Dagon loses.

Baal

Judges recounts the tailspin of the Israelite people into idolatry. a favorite foreign god of the Israelites is one named "Baal" (we're used to saying "bale" but it you're reading it in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament it is a two syllable word sounding like "Bah-ahl" The Word Baal simply means "lord" or "owner." While it usually stands alone in the Old Testament text, sometimes this title gets combined with a certain quality or descriptor like "Baal-Meon" lord of habitation or " Baal-hamon lord of abundance.

Baal is a Canaanite deity often depicted as a half-man, half-bull. he was supposedly a God of warfare, weather, and fertility. He was often described as abiding in the sky or riding on the clouds. this Imagery is at play later when Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel in 1st Kings 18; the followers of Baal would have thought that calling down fire from the sky was a specialty of their cloud-riding weather God. This imagery is often addressed in an antagonistic way by the Old Testament authors in passages like Psalm 68:4

"Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds;
rejoice before him—his name is the Lord (Yahweh)." (not Baal*)

Baal worship involved offerings of grain and produce because of his supposed provision of weather. additionally Baal worship included wanton bloodshed and ritual orgies because he was also a god of fertility and warfare. Archaeological excavations from Israelite cities in the promised land often, sadly, produce imagery and figurines of Baal, like this one excavated at Meggido in northern Israel, now housed at the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago.

Judges 11 Jephthah's Daughter

One of the most striking and awful stories in the Old Testament concerns an Israelite Judge named Jephthah. Before he goes to battle the Ammonites he makes a vow to Yahweh that he will offer - in a sacrifice of fire - whatever comes out of the door of his house to meet him upon his return. When he returns from battle his only daughter comes out to him and he keeps the vow he made to offer her as a sacrifice. Though attempts have been made to lessen or explain away Jephthah's wretched act (the vow itself) they are all bunk. There were no pets kept in the house and a pet or household animal would not be an acceptable offering of thanksgiving for a military victory; Jephthah was fully anticipating human sacrifice. Some have theorized that he could have dedicated her to service at the tabernacle like Hannah does with her son Samuel in 1st Samuel, but there is no textual reason to accept this, and we are never told of any woman in Israel being dedicated to temple service by her parents.

Jephthah's vow is simply evil. He is treating Yahweh - the Israelite God - like Baal, Dagon, Molech or any number of other Canaanite deities that would be pleased by human sacrifice. the God of the Old Testament, decidedly, is not. The fact that Jephthah regards God this way is literary evidence of the moral failure of the judges and the Israelite people; part of the author's depiction of the increasingly-evil Israelite leaders. After Jephthah sacrifices his daughter, Jephthah gets entangled in a civil war with Ephraim and the account of his judge-ship ends with Israelites killing each other.

Study Questions:

In Judges 1:10, we're told " another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel" is such a development possible in our Church, in our society? what can we do to prevent it?
In Judges 5, What does Deborah do after teaming up with Barak to save the Israelites? why is this important?
In Judges 6:15, Why does Gideon doubt that he can deliver Israel? what does he learn about the way that God works over the course of his story?
In Judges 10:11-16, God moves from anger and indignation towards the Israelites to mercy. How did the Israelites request this from God? Is there anything keeping you from experiencing God's mercy right now?
In Judges 13:22, after seeing an angel of the Lord, Samson's parents fear for their lives. Why do you think they were afraid? why do you think people who encounter an angel like this frequently respond in fear?
In Judges 16, Samson dies. looking back on what he had been through, was Samson's life a good or bad one? what gave him so much trouble and pain? what lesson would this teach the Israelite people?
In Judges 21:6-10, the city of Jabesh-Gilead is singled out for punishment and attack. why was this city selected? do you plan on going to Church on Sunday??

Week 6 Study Page - Judges 1-21

Week #6 Study Page

Judges 1-21

About the Book

As you read Notes