Understanding the Book of Judges in the Old Testament

• The Book of Judges is named after the major human characters in the book, the judges that God raised up in Israel. • The book is introduced in chapter 2, followed by individual narratives of 12 judges in chapters 3-16. • The final two judges in Israel, Eli and Samuel, are not included in the Book of Judges, but their narrative is in the beginning of the Book of Samuel. • The narrative time in the book covers approximately 300-350 years of history. • The period of the judges is broadly estimated to be around 300-325 years. • The book begins with the death of Joshua, which is dated around 1398 BC, and continues to around 1375-1350 BC. • The Jebusites continued to live in Jerusalem, which is mentioned in Judges 1:21 and assumes that the information precedes David's conquest of Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 5. • The Book of Judges is one of the most neglected books in the Old Testament, with the earliest recorded reference from Philo in the 1st century AD. • The New Testament has few references to Judges, and the book was largely ignored in the preaching of the church. • Hebrews 11:32 mentions Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah alongside Samuel, David, and the prophets, indicating that they were men of faith. • The positive portrayal of these judges in Hebrews 11 creates a dilemma for expositors, as the narrative in Judges seems extremely negative. • The early church and medieval church often viewed the judges as types of Christ, following the example of Hebrews 11.Here are the detailed bullet points summarizing the text:

• For about a thousand years, the judges were preached about in the context of how they were imperfect types of Christ, preparing the way for the ultimate savior of Israel, Jesus Christ.

• John Calvin, a great reformer, moved away from a dominating Christocentric typological hermeneutic to a more historical grammatical hermeneutic, which is now being questioned by some who claim to be strongly committed to John Calvin.

• The book of Judges has been ignored in the past, but in the last 22 years, there have been some outstanding works both exegetically and homiletically produced on Judges.

• Today, women have become more involved in academic biblical studies, and one of the books they have latched on to is Judges, particularly the narrative of Jephthah's daughter.

• Dan Block believes that Judges needs to be one of the primary Old Testament books that is preached in evangelical churches today because our culture is more like Judges than any other era of Israel's history.

• The major theme of Judges is Yahweh, who is the one in chapter one of whom the sons of Israel inquired.

• The central human characters are the judges, who are introduced to us in chapter two, and are referred to as those who judged Israel.

• The institution of judgeship arose in Israel in Exodus chapter 18, where Jethro advises Moses to select able men who fear God to judge the people.

• The judges were associated with their tribes and not with all Israel, and their primary influence was on the tribes from which they came.

• The judges were responsible for adjudicating disputes between the people based on the laws that God had given, and making sure that Israel followed the commandments.

• In Deuteronomy 16 and 17, Moses lays out the statutes and judgments for Israel, including the appointment of judges and officers in all their towns.

• The judges were to judge the people with righteous judgments, and not to distort justice or take bribes.

• The problem with the judges was that they themselves were sometimes lawless characters, and did not always follow the law.

• The book of Judges presents 12 judges, who are usually categorized as major and minor, but it's unclear what makes one a minor judge.

• Six primary judges are concentrated on by the author, including Gideon and Samson, who have the longest narratives.

• The holy spirit directed the author to concentrate on these men because what they did was of primary importance for later generations to know.

• Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson are all mentioned in Hebrews 11 as men of faith, and their stories have been used to teach important lessons about faith and obedience.

Here is the summary of the text:

• The book of Judges introduces the concept of Israel's sin, consequence, and deliverance, which is a four-fold cycle that repeats throughout Israel's history.

• This cycle begins with Israel doing evil in the sight of the Lord, serving the Baals, and forsaking Yahweh, their God (Judges 2:11-13).

• The consequence of Israel's sin is that the anger of the Lord burns against them, and they are given into the hands of plunderers who plunder them and sell them into the hands of their enemies (Judges 2:14).

• The Israelites are seriously distressed, and the Lord raises up judges who deliver them from their enemies, but the people do not listen and rebel against their judges (Judges 2:16-19).

• The cycle repeats, with the Israelites sinning, becoming slaves, crying out to the Lord, being delivered by a judge, and then rebelling against the judge when they die (Judges 2:18-19).

• The sin of the Israelites increases with each generation, leading to a downward spiral of sin and rebellion against God (Judges 2:19).

• The author of Judges portrays this cycle as a provocation of God's anger and a demonstration of God's protection and pity towards His people (Judges 2:18-19).

• Despite Israel's sin and rebellion, God's loyalty to the Abrahamic covenant is what ultimately allows Israel to survive the period of the judges (Psalm 106:43-45).

• The period of the judges is often referred to negatively in the Old Testament, but in Hebrews 11, the judges are spoken of in a positive light.

• Psalm 106:34-45 describes the Israelites' sin and rebellion during the period of the judges, including their idolatry and sacrifice of their sons and daughters to demons.

• The narrative of Judges is sanitized, and some English translations tone down the intensity of the sin and rebellion described in the text.

• The book of Judges is framed by God's loyalty to the Abrahamic covenant, which is what ultimately allows Israel to survive despite their sin and rebellion.

• The period of the judges is a demonstration of God's faithfulness to His covenant, even in the midst of Israel's disobedience and rebellion.

• The book of Judges is a testament to God's compassion and pity towards His people, even when they provoke Him to anger through their sin and rebellion.