Table of Contents
The Judges in Israel’s history, as described in the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible, are traditionally categorized as Major and Minor Judges based on the extent of their narratives and roles. Lords of the Earth – Judges
| Book | Summary | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Judges 1 | After Yehoshua's death, Yehudah and Shimon conquer Canaanite cities; other tribes fail to fully drive out inhabitants, disobeying Yahweh. | |
| Judges 2 | An angel of Yahweh rebukes Yisrael for not removing altars; idolatry leads to oppression; judges are raised to deliver them. | |
| Judges 3 | Yisrael serves foreign gods; Yahweh sends Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar as judges to defeat enemies like Moab and Philistines. | |
| Judges 4 | Devorah and Barak defeat Canaanite king Yavin; Yael kills his general Sisera, fulfilling Yahweh’s deliverance through a woman. | |
| Judges 5 | Devorah and Barak sing of Yahweh’s victory over Canaanites; tribes are praised or rebuked; Sisera’s fall is celebrated. | |
| Judges 6 | Yisrael sins; Midian oppresses them; Yahweh calls Gideon, who destroys Baal’s altar and prepares to lead deliverance. | |
| Judges 7 | Gideon, with 300 men chosen by Yahweh, defeats Midian using trumpets and torches; enemies flee in confusion. | |
| Judges 8 | Gideon subdues Midian’s kings; refuses kingship but makes an ephod, leading to idolatry; he dies after 40 years of peace. | |
| Judges 9 | Avimelech, Gideon’s son, seizes power, kills brothers; Yotam curses him; Avimelech dies after a woman’s stone hits him. | |
| Judges 10 | Judges Tola and Yair lead; Yisrael worships idols; Ammon and Philistines oppress; Yisrael cries to Yahweh for help. | |
| Judges 11 | Yiftach, an outcast, becomes judge; vows to sacrifice whatever greets him; defeats Ammon; his daughter is sacrificed. | |
| Judges 12 | Yiftach defeats Ephraimites after a dispute; Shibboleth test used; Yiftach dies; Ibzan, Elon, and Avdon judge. | |
| Judges 13 | Yisrael sins; Philistines rule; an angel announces Shimshon’s birth to Manoach’s wife, a Nazirite dedicated to Yahweh. | Samson’s Birth and Blessing The Riddle of Samson Samson’s Role in Delivering Israel |
| Judges 14 | Shimshon seeks a Philistine wife; kills a lion; poses a riddle at his wedding, revealing his strength from Yahweh. | |
| Judges 15 | Shimshon burns Philistine fields; kills 1,000 with a jawbone; Yahweh provides water; he judges 20 years. | |
| Judges 16 | Shimshon loves Delilah; she betrays his strength’s secret; captured, he destroys Philistine temple, dying with enemies. | |
| Judges 17 | Micah creates idols and a shrine; hires a Levite as priest; Yisrael’s idolatry spreads, ignoring Yahweh’s law. | |
| Judges 18 | Danites seek land; steal Micah’s idols and priest; conquer Laish, renaming it Dan, and set up idolatrous worship. | |
| Judges 19 | A Levite’s concubine is abused to death in Gibeah; he cuts her body, sending pieces to shock Yisrael’s tribes. | |
| Judges 20 | Yisrael unites against Benjamin for Gibeah’s sin; war kills many; Benjamin nearly destroyed after fierce battles. | |
| Judges 21 | Yisrael mourns Benjamin’s loss; provides wives from Yavesh-gilead and Shiloh dancers to preserve the tribe. |
Through the lens of many gods
Chemosh gives land too (Judges 11:24)
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym · Strong’s H 430Plural of eloah: gods, or the supreme God; the plural form is used even when one being is meant.Read more giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh · Strong’s H 3068The personal name of the God of Israel, often read as Yahweh; KJV prints it as LORD.Read more our אֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym · Strong’s H 430Plural of eloah: gods, or the supreme God; the plural form is used even when one being is meant.Read more shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
Judges 11:24 (KJV)
Many commentators think Jephthah is only arguing from the Ammonite king’s point of view.
Jephthah speaks as if Chemosh is as real as YHWH. Each god gives land to his own people. Mauro Biglino counts Chemosh as one of the Elohim, ruling the Moabites the way Yahweh ruled Jacob.
Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:30-31, 39)
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
Judges 11:30-31 (KJV)
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
Judges 11:39 (KJV)
Most preachers call it a rash vow that God never wanted.
No voice from heaven stops this sacrifice. There is no ram. I put it next to Genesis 22. Abraham is stopped by the angel of YHWH. Jephthah, who just spoke of Chemosh, burns his daughter. A burnt offering of one’s own child is what the Moabite god received in 2 Kings 3:27. See Moloch.
Two things weaken this. The vow is made “unto the LORD”, and some readers think the daughter was dedicated to the sanctuary, not killed.
See also The Gods in the Bible.
