7 Things You Didn't Know about the Book of Judges

Ruth was a Moabite woman who married into a Hebrew family, and remained loyal to her mother-in-law Naomi, and the God of Israel, after her husband’s death. They return to Naomi’s homeland, and a relative of hers named Boaz notices Ruth. He redeems Naomi and Ruth by marrying the latter.

While the nation of Israel was taking shape, this son of Abraham married a descendent of Lot, foreshadowing the grafting in of gentiles into the family of God. They were generally in the area around Bethlehem, and Boaz and Ruth became part of the line from Judah that was part of Jesus’ lineage. One of their descendants, David, would become the second king of Israel.

It is not known which judge was in charge specifically in their area and their lifetime, but the Bible does affirm the events of the life of Ruth occurred, “In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land…” (Ruth 1:1a). Some scholars speculate this correlates with Judges 6, but there is no consensus.

2. The themes and events of Judges are the antithesis of the themes and events in the Book of Joshua.

The events of the Bible in the histories are true accounts, but the self-contained books also contain themes, motifs, and ideas. The book before Judges, both in the bound Bible and chronologically, is the Book of Joshua.

In the early history of the nation of Israel, one leader guided people through trials to victories by following and obeying God, seen in Moses and Joshua. Both men had flaws, but relied on God, and tended to have more victories than failures. For example, Joshua led his people to many battles successfully through singular command.

In Judges, there were more losses than victories, and there was disunity among the tribes, which lacked a single leader. Joshua recounts how Israel defeated Jericho by trusting God to bring down the walls of the city, where Judges features the men of weak faith. Joshua highlights obedience, but Judges is full of disobedience. In both books, however, God uses sinners to do His will, and shows mercy and forgiveness.

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Nazarite is a term that refers to someone from the Hebrew faith and ethnicity who makes a vow of service to God. The vow can be temporary, or life-long. It involves a three-prong promise: not to consume alcohol from grapes, not cutting your hair, and avoiding all human corpses.

While the concept was introduced in the Book of Numbers, the Bible does not mention one until the story of Samson. He committed himself to God’s service, who endowed Him with supernatural strength. Samson was alive when the Philistines were the primary antagonists against the nation of Israel. He famously fell in love with Delilah, who seduced him into revealing the secret of his strength, and how to weaken him. He was granted an opportunity of redemption, and defeated the Philistines by pushing over the columns in the temple, killing everyone inside.

His story is found in Judges 13-16. Though they do not make many prominent appearances, when they are mentioned, the spiritual state of the nation can be seen through the behavior of the Nazarites. For example, the prophet Amos highlights the decline of the nation by stating, “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy’” (Amos 2:12).

4. Women played important roles in God’s plan to redeem Israel during the period of the judges. 

Early in the book of Judges, the second judge Ehud secures eighty years of peace for his people. After he dies, trouble falls again, and the Canaanites invade, threatening to enslave the Israelites. During this time, God raised up a prophetess named Deborah. “She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment” (Judges 4:5).

She functioned as judge, and when the time came to face the Canaanites, she summoned the military leader Barak. The two of them guided 10,000 men to victory. Another woman finalized this victory. When the leader of the Canaanites fled the battlefield, a woman named Jael brought him into her tent, and killed him by driving a peg into his head.  Both women also received the credit for their participation.

God raised these women up in times of need. As mentioned previously, God also used Ruth during the period of the judges, who became a part of the bloodline of Jesus Christ.

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Today, the idea of a judge is a person who possesses a deep understanding of the law of the land, who sits on a bench wearing a long robe, and maybe a wig, wielding a gavel - dispensing justice. At this point in history, Israel was not a stable nation. The twelve tribes did not always agree, get along, or work together; they had enemies all around them, and sometimes within their lands. Judges were raised up in response to military threats.

While some of them did play other roles, all of them came up to respond to enemies, though the Bible does not record all of them, only the length of the peace the judge enforced.

The judges and their respective enemies were:

1. Othniel defeated Mesopotamia

2. Ehud defeated Moab

3. Shamgar defeated Philistia

4. Deborah and Barak defeated Canaanites

5. Gideon defeated Midian

6. The Bible does not record the specific enemies of Tola

7. The Bible does not record the specific enemies of Jair

8. Jephthah defeated Ammon

9. The Bible does not record the specific enemies of Ibzan

10. The Bible does not record the specific enemies of Elon

11. The Bible does not record the specific enemies of Abdon

12. Samson defeated the Philistines

6. It is a story about man’s frailty and God’s forgiveness.

Many individuals recounted in Judges, like Samson, fell into sin, but returned to the Lord, and asked for forgiveness, which He gave. One common phrase in the Book of Judges is, “The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…” (Judges 10:6a).

After the death of Joshua, the disunified people of Israel stopped looking to God, forgetting all He did for them. The people who were freed from Egypt and saw God part the Red Sea died in the wilderness because of their sinfulness. Joshua and Caleb’s generation saw the pillar of fire that guided them by night and Jericho’s walls fall, but not their descendants. They consistently returned to idolatry, worshipping other gods. When this happens, God allowed their enemies to harass them, but saved them when they repented; this pattern foreshadowed God’s plan for salvation.

Through the blood of Jesus, the debts for all humanity’s sins are paid in full, and each individual has the opportunity to repent and accept that salvation. God is willing to forgive, and waits patiently to do so. Even after people are saved, they still sin, but God has covered that sin, and is still forgiving.

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Because there was no king over all of Israel, the tribes tended to do what was best for them. Different tribes developed different opinions, and they came into conflict. Judges 20 and 21 recount a conflict between the other tribes and the smallest one, Benjamin. It came about because a corrupt Levi turned over his concubine to violent men to save himself, and used her death to insight the other tribes against Benjamin, because the town where this happened was part of that tribe. Benjamin would not surrender the criminals, and war broke out.

Of the 26,000 soldiers who went to battle for Benjamin, only 600 survived. Israel did provide these men wives so the tribe would not go extinct. This tragic account ends the Book of Judges, recounting the general decline of the people as they drifted away from God. However, the following book, Ruth, shows that even in chaos and evil, God works in the lives of individuals for their good, and to continue His plan for redemption.

The Book of Judges is a fascinating look into the history of a people. It shows a unique form of government, and the complexities of navigating politics. It also shows the dangers of a people doing what is right in their own eyes, and not turning to the Lord. Understanding the lessons of the Judges teaches the modern reader to turn to the Lord in all circumstances.

Sources

Beldmen, David. Deserting the King. Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2017.

Schwab, George. Right in their Own Eyes The Gospel According to Judges. Phillipsburg: P & R Publishing, 2011.

Wilmington, H.L. Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981.

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