Covers the period from the death of Joshua to that of Samson

The Hebrew title is "Sophetim," compare the Carthaginian "Suffetes" and, with reservations, the Roman "Dictators."

The Book of Judges covers the period from the death of Joshua to that of Samson. Heli and Samuel may be classed among the "Judges," though their history is not given in this book.

Divisions and Contents of the Book of Judges

A. Chapters 1 -to- 3:6.

Introductory.

(a) Chs. 1 -to- 2:5. A summary of the wars with the Canaanites. This is apparently a sequel to the twelfth chapter of the Book of Joshua.

(b) Chs. 2:6 -to- 3:6. A direct introduction to the body of the Book.

B. Chapters 3:7 -to- 16.

The story of the successive apostasies, consequent punishments, repentances, and deliveries of the people at the hands of the various "Judges" raised up by God for this purpose.

C. Chapters 17-21.

Two appendices which should be compared, for style, with the Book of Ruth.

The moral thesis of the author is clearly set forth in 2:10-23; Israel apostatized, was therefore afflicted by foreign powers, repented, was delivered by God through the medium of a "Savior," and then had a period of rest until they again lapsed into idolatry, cf., for example, 3:7-11.

The author's material seems to have been contained in a series of stories about these "deliveries"; some were more important than others, or perhaps more abundant information concerning them was at his disposal. Thus, if we go by the length of the account left us of each, we can conveniently divide the "Judges" into "Greater" and "Lesser." Among the former will rank Othoniel, Judges 3:7-11; Aod, 3:12-30; Deborah and Barac, 4-5; Gedeon, 6-8; Jephte, 10:17-12:7; Ahialon, 12:11; and Samson, chapters 13-16. The "Lesser" Judges will be Samgar, 3:21; Thola and Jair, 10:1-5; Abesan, Elon, and Abdon, 12:8-15. The Chronological difficulty is very great. According to 3 Kings 6:1, 480 years elapsed between the Exodus and the fourth year of Solomon; according to Jephte, Judges 11:26, 300 years had in his time already elapsed since the occupation by Reuben, Gad, and Manasses of the land to the east of the Jordan, and it is difficult to condense into the space of 180 years all the events which took place between the time of Jephte and the fourth year of Solomon. At the same time the recurrence of the number 40 is suspicious, and we may well believe that the author often speaks in round numbers. It seems certain, too, that some of the Judges and the periods of rest, as well as the times of oppression, were contemporaneous, thus in 10:7, a twofold oppression is referred to, viz. by the Philistines and the Ammonites; we may, then, reasonably suppose that the two "deliverers" raised up, viz. Samson against the Philistines, and Jephte against the Ammonites, were also contemporary. Again, whereas Gedeon seems to have been the only "Judge" during his time, it is almost certain that while Deborah and Barac were engaged in their struggle with the kings of the north, the southern portion of the country was at rest after the removal of Eglon, 3:20-23. This would allow us to distinguish three periods in the history as given us in the book before us, viz.:

3:7 -to- 5:31, Othoniel, Aod, and Deborah;
6:1 -to- 10:5, Gedeon, Abimelech (who was not a Judge), followed by Jair and Thola;
10:6 -to- 16:31, Jephte and Samson.

The accompanying table will serve to make this clearer:

Judge	District	Adversary	Period of Rest
First Period
3:7-11. Othoniel	Whole land	Chusanrishathaim 8 years	40 years
3:12-30. Aod	The East	Eglon, king of Moab 18 years	80 years
3:31. Samgar	The West	The Philistines
Ch. 4-5. Deborah and Barac	The North	Jabin, 20 years	40 years
Second Period
6:1 -to- 10:5. Gedeon	The East	The Madianites 40 years	7 years
Third Period
10:6 -to- 12:7. Jephte		Ammonites 18 years
12:9. Abesan (7 years)
12:11. Ahialon (10 years)
12:13. Abdon
Chs. 13-16. Samson (20 years)		Philistines 40 years

In the APPENDICES, chapters 17-21, we have two distinct stories which are given by the author to illustrate the lawlessness of the times; the first is concerned with the fortunes of the Danites, the second with those of the Benjamites. These stories are told at considerable length and in a very different style from the series of brief chronicles given us in the earliest portions of the book. The story of Ruth falls into the same category as those in this Appendix.

The Date of the Composition of Judges

We clearly have to do with a compilation from documents, whether written or merely orally preserved; the two portions of the introduction, the various accounts of the Judges, the insertion of the story of Abimelech who was not a "Judge," and finally the two appendices, abundantly prove this. At the same time, the materials have been skilfully welded together, the moral purpose of the compiler serving to unify the whole, note, for instance, the formula he makes use of in the case of nearly all the Judges to point out the fidelity of God, and the infidelity of Israel. Jewish tradition, Baba Bathra xiv., points to Samuel as the compiler. Modern interpreters are inclined to attribute its ultimate compilation to the time of the Scribes after the Return from the Captivity. Hugo a S. Caro, c. A.D. 1240, referred it to the Scribes who worked for Ezechias. Prov. 25:1. But there is more evidence for attributing it to Samuel than is commonly conceded. It would be hazardous to insist that the Appendices are necessarily later than the body of the book, but if they are so it is worth noting the frequent recurrence of the formula "in those days there was no king in Israel," cf. Judges 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25. It is a legitimate conclusion that when the compiler worked there was a king of Israel. But he attributes the disorders of the time to the want of a king; could he, then, have witnessed the miseries of the Schism in 975? Further, 1:21, 19:10, he speaks of Jerusalem as "Jebus," and says that the Jebusites still inhabited it "until this present day"; it seems a legitimate conclusion, therefore, that he wrote before David, 2 Samuel 5, expelled the Jebusites. It would be even possible to go further and argue that he could hardly have spoken so enthusiastically of a king had he witnessed the deplorable struggle between David and Saul. This would bring us down to the time of Samuel, and a comparison between 1 Samuel 12:8-15, and Judges 2:11-23, shows a remarkable affinity between Samuel and the compiler of Judges.

For a summary of the work and office of the Judges, cf. Ecclesiasticus 46:13-23.


by
Very Rev. Hugh Pope, O.P., S.T.M.
Doctor in Sacred Scripture,
Member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, and
late Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Collegio Angelico, Rome.