History · Old Testament
Judges
c. 1375–1050 BC
- Section
- History · Old Testament
- Events span
- c. 1375–1050 BC
- Written
- c. 1045 BC critical view: Part of the Deuteronomistic History, c. 6th century BC
- Author
- Samuel (by tradition) critical view: The Deuteronomistic historians
Judges recounts Israel's dark spiral after Joshua: repeated cycles of falling into idolatry, oppression by enemies, crying out to God, and rescue through judges like Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. “Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Key themes
- Cycles of sin and deliverance
- Idolatry and apostasy
- God raises up deliverers
- Moral chaos without a king
- God's mercy amid failure
Key events
The Cycle Begins (Judges 1–3)
- After Joshua's death Israel fails to drive out the Canaanites and turns to their gods
- The pattern is set as Othniel and Ehud (who kills fat king Eglon) deliver Israel
The Major Judges (Judges 4–16)
- Deborah and Barak defeat Sisera; Jael drives a tent peg through his head
- Gideon routs the Midianites with just 300 men, trumpets, and torches
- Abimelech makes himself king by murdering his brothers and dies in disgrace
- Jephthah defeats Ammon but is bound by a rash vow concerning his daughter
- Samson, the Nazirite strongman, battles the Philistines and, betrayed by Delilah, dies pulling down their temple
Moral Chaos (Judges 17–21)
- Micah's idols and the Danites' migration reveal Israel's spiritual decay
- The outrage at Gibeah ignites a civil war that nearly wipes out the tribe of Benjamin
“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”