Introduction to Judges

There is an ominous note near the end of the book of Joshua, where we are informed that “Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua” (Josh 24:31). This is repeated verbatim in Judges 2:7. It is an ominous statement, because it implies that the people would stop serving the LORD after the days of Joshua and the elders who outlived Joshua. And indeed that is exactly what happened. The book of Judges begins with the words, “After the death of Joshua” (1:1) and then proceeds to show us the moral, societal, and spiritual chaos into which the people descended. The point is to show us the need for a king to arise to bring order and lead God’s people in true worship: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg 21:25).

Outline of Judges

1. Setting the stage for the period of the judges (1:1–3:6)
   1. After the death of Joshua, conquest continues (1:1-26)
   2. But the conquest is incomplete (1:27-36)
   3. The cycle of sin, judgment, and deliverance (2:1–3:6)
2. The twelve judges and one false king (3:7–16:31)
   1. Othniel (3:7-11)
   2. Ehud (3:12-30)
   3. Shamgar (3:31)
   4. Deborah and Barak (chs. 4–5)
   5. Gideon (chs. 6–8)
   6. Abimelech (ch. 9) - false king
   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 (12:13-15)
   13. Samson (chs. 13–16)
3. The chaos of Israel’s king-less status (chs. 17–21)
   1. Corruption in worship (chs. 17-18)
   2. Corruption in morals - outrageous crimes (ch. 19)
   3. The ensuing tragedy of civil war (chs. 20-21)

Themes and Typology of Judges

1. The way apostasy works at societal level - deviation from true worship, cultural assimilation with the Canaanites, leads to moral and societal corruption.
2. Several of the judges can be interpreted as types of Christ; even the false king, Abimelech, can be read as an antithetical type similar to king Saul later and the bad kings of Israel.
3. The need for a good king - “So it was until the days of David” (Acts 7:45).

New Testament References to Judges

The New Testament never directly quotes from the book of Judges. However, the author of Hebrews, in his famous “hall of faith” chapter, explicitly names four figures whose stories are recorded in Judges: “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets” (Heb 11:32). And Paul, in a sermon recorded in Acts, also alludes to the period of the judges: “All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet” (Acts 13:20).