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JUDGES, BOOK OF

Part of the larger narrative from Genesis to Kings. Chronologically it is set in the period between the Conquest (Joshua) and the establishment of the monarchy (1 Samuel).

Formation

It is generally agreed that the book of Judges is composed of stories that originally circulated independent of their present context. These stories center on the exploits of local heroes (Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon and Abimelech) who by their cleverness or military prowess were able to lead the people to victory over their enemies. The stories were then collected together as stories of the deliverance of Israel by Yahweh in holy war. At a later stage of development the stories were put into a framework of sin–punishment–cry for help–deliverance. The original collection of stories was supplemented by the stories of Jephthah and Samson, and the addition of brief notices about the “minor judges” (3:31; 10:1-5; 12:8-15). The framework and supplemental material are probably the work of the Deuteronomistic historian or at the very least the work of a Deuteronomic editor. At a final stage of development, the prologue (1:1–2:5) and epilogue (17:1–21:25) were added. That these sections were added at a later stage is clear from the fact that the prologue and the epilogue intrude into a story line that runs continuous from Joshua to Judges and Judges to Samuel. Moreover, in the rest of Judges the tribes are presented as united under a judge, but in the prologue and epilogue the tribes act independently. Finally, both sections focus on internal issues among the tribes, not the tribes united against a common enemy.

The Judges

The term “judge” has a broader meaning in Hebrew than in English. It can refer to someone who has a judicial function, but it can also be applied more broadly to anyone who exercises rule. For the Deuteronomistic writers the term applies to military leaders who were raised up by God to deliver the Israelites from their enemies. Six judges (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson) function as military leaders and traditionally have been called the “major judges.” Sometimes they are called “charismatic leaders” because it is the spirit of Yahweh that designates them as leaders; they are not appointed, nor do they inherit the office. Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, traditionally called the “minor judges,” are said to have delivered or judged Israel, but so little is recorded of them that it is not possible to determine their rule. It has been speculated that they were judges in the sense of having a judicial function, or possibly local officials or elders of their tribes, or simply prominent individuals.

Contents

There are three major divisions in the book of Judges: 1:1–2:5, an alternate presentation of the Conquest; 2:6–16:31, the exploits of the judges; 17:1–21:25, appendices.

The Conquest (1:1–2:5)

This section is composed of ancient fragments concerning the Israelite takeover of the land of Canaan. It shows the tribes acting independently of one another, in contrast to the book of Joshua where the Conquest is presented as undertaken by all the tribes under the leadership of Joshua. In Judges the conquest of the south is attributed to the tribes of Judah and Simeon (1:2-21) and the conquest of Bethel to the tribe of Joseph (1:22-26). The other tribes fail to drive out the inhabitants of their respective territories (1:27-36). The reason for this failure is that the people disobeyed Yahweh’s command (2:1-5), and consequently the inhabitants of the land were a snare to Israel.

Exploits of the Judges (2:6–16:31)

The exploits of the judges are introduced by two passages which give the theological interpretation of the period of the judges. In Judg. 2:11-23, a passage dominated by Deuteronomic language and theology, the cyclic pattern sin–punishment–cry for help–deliverance is delineated. Israel’s failure to worship Yahweh and Yahweh alone sets in motion a sequence of events that is repeated again and again. The sin of apostasy leads to punishment in the form of military conquest, and only by returning to Yahweh will Israel be assured of deliverance from its enemies; Israel does not remain faithful after its deliverance and the cycle begins again. The second passage (3:1-5) explains Israel’s failure to conquer the land totally as a way to test Israel’s faithfulness to Yahweh. It reiterates 2:1-5.

The stories of the six “major judges” vary considerably. Othniel is little more than a name set in the Deuteronomistic framework of sin–punishment–cry for help–deliverance. The story of Ehud, in a crudely humorous manner, tells how Ehud uses “his handicap” (left-handedness) to his advantage in dispatching the king of Eglon. In the account of Deborah and Barak Israel is able to gain victory over a superior military force because Yahweh fights on Israel’s behalf. The role of women (Deborah and Jael) in this story is noteworthy. The poem in ch. 5 is a victory hymn in which Yahweh is praised as the Warrior God who fights on behalf of Israel. The story of Gideon is complex, probably composed of various separate traditions that have been brought together. Victory for Israel is assured because Yahweh is with Gideon as confirmed in the account of the fleece. Issues of Israel acting as a unity (8:1-21), kingship (8:22-23; 9:1-57), and the dangers of idolatry (8:24-27) are woven into the Gideon narrative. The account of Jephthah is difficult, for it involves human sacrifice to Yahweh and as such leaves many unanswered questions. It may well have been originally an etiological story explaining the custom of ritualized yearly mourning, but in Judges it becomes another example of victory achieved by a judge. The Samson story, though set in the Deuteronomistic framework, focuses not on the relationship between Yahweh and Israel, but on the exploits of Samson. The various episodes are united by a common theme: Samson’s personal vendetta against the Philistines after he is repeatedly betrayed by women. Into the exploits of the Judges are set the notices of the minor judges.

Appendices (17:1–21:25)

The last five chapters of the book of Judges are concerned with incidents in which Levites figure prominently. The first appendix (chs. 17–18) relates the sequence of events that led up to the establishment of a cultic center at Dan; the second appendix (chs. 19–21) centers on the rape of the Levite’s concubine and the civil war that results from this outrage. This section is unified, not simply because both appendixes deal with Levites, but also by the recurring pro-monarchical phrase, “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes” (17:6; 21:25; incomplete in 18:1a; 19:1a). The pro-monarchical stance of the appendices stands in marked contrast to the anti-monarchical sentiments expressed in the central portion of the book in Gideon’s refusal to accept kingship (8:22-23) and Abimelech’s attempt to establish himself as king of Shechem (9:1-57).

Themes

The Deuteronomistic theological perspective dominates thematically in the book of Judges. Its underlying theological principle is that obedience to the covenant Lord, particularly expressed in the worship of Yahweh and Yahweh alone, leads to peace and prosperity; disobedience, i.e., the worship of other gods, leads to war and dominance by one’s enemies. This is clearly presented in 2:11-23 and is repeated throughout the book in the framework into which the stories of the judges are inserted. Another theme which pervades the book surrounds the issue of leadership. When under a judge Israel is able to adhere to the command to worship Yahweh and Yahweh alone; with the death of a judge Israel falls again into apostasy, suggesting that a more permanent form of leadership is needed. This becomes explicit in the epilogue with its repeated insistence that without a king the people pursue their own interests. The issue of leadership is not resolved until kingship is established in the book of Samuel, but the tension between pro- and anti-monarchical sentiment remains throughout the Deuteronomistic history.

New Directions

More recent work on the book of Judges is concerned with reading the book from a literary critical perspective focusing on the rhetorical features and unity of the book. The presence of several women characters (Deborah, Jael, Jephthah’s daughter, the Levite’s concubine) has drawn the attention of feminist scholars, and several studies have appeared from this interpretive stance.

Bibliography. M. Bal, Death and Dissymmetry: The Politics of Coherence in the Book of Judges (Chicago, 1988); J. Gray, Joshua, Judges, Ruth. NCBC (Grand Rapids, 1986); L. R. Klein, The Triumph of Irony in the Book of Judges. JSOTSup 68 (Sheffield, 1988); A. D. H. Mayes, Judges. Old Testament Guides 8 (Sheffield, 1985); R. H. O’Connell, The Rhetoric of the Book of Judges. VTSup 63 (Leiden, 1996); B. G. Webb, The Book of Judges. JSOTSup 46 (Sheffield, 1987); G. A. Yee, ed., Judges and Method (Minneapolis, 1995).

Pauline A. Viviano

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JUDGES, BOOK OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)