Names of the Book
English: | Judges |
Hebrew: | שׁוֹףּטים |
Transliterated: | Shoftim |
Other names: |
Who
Wrote the book: | Possibly Samuel |
Are the key people: | Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, Samson, Delilah |
Is it written to: | The people of Israel |
What
The Descent of Israel into bondage (Judges 1:1-3:6) |
The Judges and the six periods of peace (Judges 3:7-16:31) |
The Moral Failure of the tribes of Dan and Benjamin (Judges 17:1-21:25) |
When
Was it written: | unknown place in Israel |
Did the events occur: | c 1380-1050 BCE |
Was it canonized: | c 499-100 BCE |
(see the Timeline of the Tanakh) |
Where
Was it written: | unknown |
Did the events occur: | The Land of Israel, tribal areas of Dan and Benjamin |
Why
Judges was written to inform us that: |
Compromising G-d's commands results in personal and national decline. |
Moral decay can turn into apostasy. |
Abandoning G-d and His ways results in bondage. |
Repentance and a return to G-d results in deliverance. |
Introduction
Judges is a historical narrative that relates Israel's history for a period of about 400 years after Joshua's death. The book is named after the collection of individuals (judges) who led Israel during that time. The more well known of these judges include Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. The book describes Israel's recurring cycles of apostasy, foreign oppression, repentance, and deliverance during this period. Repeatedly, we read about Israel abandoning G-d and disobeying His commandments. G-d responds by sending foreign nations to oppress Israel leading them to repent and cry out to G-d for mercy and deliverance. G-d raises up a judge who liberates them from the foreign oppression and the cycle begins again in a subsequent generation. The book concludes with another period of lawlessness where "everyone did what was right in his own eyes".
Scripture- Book Selection