Book of Judges

Book of Judges, a book of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) that, along with Deuteronomy, Joshua, I and II Samuel, and I and II Kings, belongs to a specific historical tradition (Deuteronomic history) that was first committed to writing about 550 bce, during the Babylonian Exile. (The traditional view that the book was written by the prophet Samuel in about the 11th century bce is rejected by most biblical scholars.) The judges to whom the title refers were charismatic leaders who delivered Israel from a succession of foreign dominations after their conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land.

The introduction is an account of the conquest of Canaan (1:1–2:5) and a characterization of the period of the judges (2:6–3:6). The main body of the book consists of narratives about the judges. The book concludes with supplements about the migration of the tribe of Dan to the north (chapters 17–18) and about the sins of the Benjaminites (chapters 19–21).

Because the author was an exile in Babylonia, foreign domination was a matter of deep concern. The retelling of Israel’s experiences during the period of the judges is thus coloured by the experiences of the present. The historian emphasized that Israel’s subjugation to foreign powers and its loss of freedom and prosperity were caused by the people’s worship of Canaanite gods. Recurring throughout the book is the stereotyped formula: “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord…and he sold them into the hand of….” After each period of subjection, the historian introduces another formula: “But when the people of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people.” Clearly, the historian schematized the accounts of the judges according to an apostasy–deliverance pattern. This arrangement of historical materials was designed to influence a course of action for the deliverance of the Israelites held captive in Babylonia. In addition to the apostasy–deliverance schema, the historian takes the history of individual tribes and gives an “all Israel” scope. This technique likewise reflects the author’s exilic perspective, for the deliverance of all Israel, he believes, is possible if the people return to their worship of Yahweh.