The Book of Judges

The Book of JudgesPage | 1

The Book of Judges

The transition from Joshua to Judges resembles the transition fromDeuteronomy to Joshua. In each case, a new generation arises. Becausethe generation that followed Moses in the wilderness was notoriously disobedientand unfaithful, they died in the wilderness. By their fidelity to God,the subsequent generation followed Joshua into the Promised Land and accomplishedgreat things. But this ideal generation also passed away. The generationthat arises after the death of Joshua “did not know the LORD or whathe had done for Israel” (2:10). They did not see the wonders of God in the Exodus,wilderness, or conquest. Consequently, they worship the gods of thenations surrounding them. This lack of fidelity becomes the major problemof the Book of Judges. God and the people seek a political arrangement thatwill keep the Israelites faithful to God’s law.

A related problem that pervades the book is the issue of political succession.With the death of Joshua, as with the death of Moses, the Israelites are“like sheep without a shepherd” (Numbers 27:17). Now that Israel possesses theland promised to them through Abraham, they are expected to settle and liveaccording to the Law of Moses. Consequently, neither Joshua nor God appointsa leader for the Israelites to succeed Joshua. The Book of Judges examineswhether Israel can live without formal political structures but rely onthe leadership of God instead. God continues to lead through the written lawand the judges.

The Judges Cycle

The beginning of Judges indicates thepattern of the narrative for the wholebook. Judges 2:10–23 lays out this pattern(known as the Judges cycle). The cyclehas seven elements:

1. The Israelites worship other gods.

2. God becomes angry and gives the Israelitesover to the power of their enemies.

3. The Israelites cry out to God.

4. God raises up a judge to deliver the Israelites.

5. The judge frees the Israelites fromtheir enemies.

6. The land has rest while the judgelives.

7. The judge dies, and the cycle beginsagain.

The fourth and central step in the cycleis God’s raising up a judge to deliver Israel.This raising up, often noted as “the spiritof the Lord” coming upon the judge(3:10, 11:29), is the means by which Godcontinues to govern Israel. What is different,however, is that God’s governance isnot continuous. Between judges, Israel hasonly the Law for a leader. As the cycle indicates,the people do not observe the Lawin the absence of a judge.

The above cycle describes what a judgeis. Even a casual reading of the storiesmakes clear that these judges not only decidelegal cases or settle disputes (asseems to be the case in 4:5) but are primarilymilitary leaders. The above descriptionof the pattern of history in the time ofJudges may sound repetitive. Even theterm cycle suggests ending at the beginning.However, each cycle is not exactlythe same. Indeed, the differences amongthe stories of various judges are so strikingthat the pattern is not easy to discern unlessone looks for it. Still, some parts of thecycle are missing from some narratives.For example, Abimelech is hardly a typicaljudge and several parts of the cycle are absentfrom the story about him (e.g., Goddoes not raise him up).

A careful examination and comparisonof the judges’ narratives indicates that theJudges cycle may be understood as adownward spiral. Each judge seems lessadequate than the one before: Gideon introducesidolatry; Abimelech is more a localthug than judge; Jephthah sacrifices hisdaughter; and Samson never even raisesan army to liberate his people but seemsmotivated only by his own private good. Bythe end of the book, the Israelites are fightingeach other. Four times, the book notes“There was no king in Israel” (17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25). In the first and last occurrences,this phrase is followed by the expression“everyone did what he thoughtbest.” By itself, these expressions do notindicate whether the absence of a king is agood or bad thing. In the context of storiesabout rape and civil war, however, the lackof a king seems to be something to lament.The narrative seems to express the hopethat a monarchy could fix the problemsthat judgeship has been unable to solve.

The failure of judgeship as a form of governmentcasts doubt on the leadership ofGod. God chooses not to maintain a consistentline of leaders following the deathof Joshua but rather raises up judges onlywhen the people cry out. Since the Israelitesfollow the Law of God while the judgelives, we are left to wonder why God doesnot provide a successor to each judge butallows the leaderless people to slip into theworship of other gods.

The political problem is focused by theIsraelite request that Gideon establish adynasty: “Rule over us—you, your son, andyour son’s son,” (8:22). Gideon refuses onthe grounds that “the Lord must rule overyou” (8:23). This expression may also betranslated as an indicative statement: “TheLord rules over you.” Gideon voices thenotion that his family cannot rule over Israelwithout usurping the place of God.The people’s request, however, already indicatesthat they are dissatisfied withGod’s leadership.

Violence and theTreatment of Women

The introduction to Joshua already alludedto the moral critique of theScriptures. In Judges, the moral critiqueprimarily focuses on the issues of violencecontinued from Joshua and the treatmentof women. Judges explores the role ofwomen in society. In general, women aretreated worse and worse as the Judges cyclecontinues its downward spiral. In thebeginning of Judges, the woman Deborah,a prophetess and judge, directs male militaryleaders dependent on her guidance(4:4–9). The woman Jael is celebrated for her heroism (4:9,21; 5:24–27). Similarly,another nameless woman ends the tyrannyof Abimelech (9:53–56). By the end of thebook, however, women have become objectsto be used and abused by men. Onenameless woman is raped to death(19:22–30), while others are abducted tobecome wives against their will (chapter21). Between these extremes, Samson’smother is visited by an angel and showsmore wisdom than her husband (chapter13). The other women in Samson’s life areless sympathetically portrayed. WhatJudges says about women in the context ofits political concerns is open to interpretation.Might the worsening treatment ofwomen be part of the problem that the narrativehopes monarchy will address?

Conclusion

The introduction to Joshua also notedthe rational critique of the Scripturesand the problems concerning the archeologicalevidence surrounding the conquest.The historicity of the conquest hasbecome dubious not only because of recentarcheological discoveries but also becausethe Book of Judges tells a differentstory than the one we read in Joshua. Bythe end of Joshua, the Israelites are in possessionof the whole land and Joshua diesknowing that the mission of the conquestis accomplished. In Judges, however, theIsraelites live in a land not completely conquered.Even within the Scriptures, variousaccounts of how Israel emerged in thePromised Land may be found.

(This article is from “The Book of Judges,” by David A. Bosworth, PhD, in The Saint Mary’s Press® College Study Bible, New American Bible [Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press, 2007], pages 305–307.)