Introduction to Judges

From BibleWiki

Introduction

The book receives its name from the 'judges' (shophetim) raised up by God in the period between Joshua and Samuel to deliver his people from their oppressors.

The main part of the book is built on a recurring form: "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord sold them into the hand of A, king of B, who oppressed them for X years. And they cried to the Lord, and he raised up a deliverer for them, C the son of D, and he prevailed against A, king of B, and delivered Israel, and the land had rest Y years" (or "and the judged Israel Y years").

The books starts with an introductory section where the writer explains his understanding of history, and ends with two apparently unconnected narratives.

Outline

• Introduction (1-3:⁶)
  • Partial conquest of Canaan by Israel (1 - 2:⁵)
  • Writer's understanding of history (2:⁶ - 3:⁶)
• The Judges (3:⁷ - 16)
  1. Othniel (3:^7-11)
  2. Ehud (3:^12-30)
  3. Shamgar (3:³¹)
  4. Deborah (4 - 5)
  5. Gideon (6 - 8)
  6. Abimelech (9)
  7. Tola (10:^1-2)
  8. Jair (10:^3-5)
  9. Jephthah (10:⁶ - 12:⁷)
  10. Ibzan (12:^8-10)
  11. Elon (12:^11-12)
  12. Abdon (12:^12-15)
  13. Samson (13 - 16)
• Unattached Narratives (17-21)
  • Micah's priest and the Danite migration (17-18)
  • War against Benjamin (19-21)

Authorship and Date