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- Old Testament
Book of Judges
Pronunciation:
Authorship and Origin:
The dates of when the events in this book took place, are uncertain. It is unlikely that
the years each judge is said to have ruled, should be added to each other, as the total would
encompass more than 400 years. It is more likely that these are selected stories out of the
period from the conquest of the promised land until the establishment of a monarchy, when
many different judges ruled over local regions. The time of the judges was from the death
of Joshua (around 1390 B.C.) to the annointing of King Saul around 1050 B.C.. The author or
collector of these stories is unknown.
Overview and Significant sections
The book of Judges describes a time when Israel had adapted to a settled life in the promised
land (Canaan). This is a time when Israel's spiritual committment is declining, and as result
there is political, social, and moral deterioration. No judge, who was a military leader
of a local region, showed the spiritual leadership of Moses or Joshua. The book speaks of
various sins and failures leading to apostasy.
There are three major sections to the book of Judges. The first is an introduction, which
gives reasons for the decline. The second is a historical section, which includes the
stories of the judges. The third gives incidents of the people's decline and their turning
from the covenants.
Significant sections:
For more detailed study:
Read Chapter 1. (the entire book is available starting here.)
The Concise Matthew Henry Commentary on this book.
bible.org introduction of this book.
the World Wide Study Bible has Dictionary, Commentary, Scripture and sermons available
on this book.
