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You are here: Home / 101Study Help / Resources by Book / Judges Bible Study Resources

Judges Bible Study Resources

August 18, 2020 by Krisan Marotta

Judges Bible Study Resources | WednesdayintheWord.com

Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Judges.

Jump to: Background; ** Maps; ** Encyclopedias; ** Key Words; ** Commentaries; ** Articles; ** GotQuestions ** Next **


Basics

  • Setting: Death of Joshua to birth of Samuel (approx 1250-1050 BC).
  • Structure: Theological prologue and epilogue with exploits of the judges in between.
  • Purpose: To show that YHWH will not give up on Israel, even in a dark period of sustained apostasy. Israel still has a future, in spite of herself.
  • Themes: Obedience to God and His covenant will bring blessing but disobedience will bring the curse of war and foreign oppression. God will not forget His people, even if they forget him.

Structure

  • Prologue 1:1-3:6 – explains the pattern to come
  • Exploits of the judges 3:7-16:31 (see Chart of Judges)
  • Epilogue: Israels deterioration (17-20)
  • Judges 17: religious disintegration
  • Judges 18: tribes disintegrate
  • Judges 19: moral/social disintegration
  • Judges 20: political disintegration

Pattern: The author of judges selects 12 judges (one from each tribe) whose stories tell the same basic reoccurring cycle (for example: Judges 2:6-19).

  1. Israel sins.
  2. God judges their sin and they suffer at the hands of cruel oppressors until they cry out to God for relief.
  3. God sends them a deliverer (or a judge) who delivers them from their oppressors.
  4. When that judge dies, the cycle starts all over. But it is a downward spiral. Each cycle is worse than before.
  5. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).

Other ways to describe the cycle of Judges

  • Rest > Rebellion > Retribution > Repentance > Restoration
  • Sin > Suffering/Servitude > Supplication > Salvation
  • Apathy > Apostasy > Affliction > Answered Prayer
  • Disobedience > Desperation > Deliverance

Simple Outline

  • 1:1-2:5 – Settlement of the land in the first generation
  • 2:6-23 – The pattern of Israel’s history from the first generation to the monarchy described
  • 3:1-16:31 – The pattern illustrated in the judges
  • 17:1-21:25 – Appendix illustrating the depth of Israel’s fall

What is a judge?

  • a military leader
  • deliverer from oppression
  • administrator
  • Spirit of God comes upon them to give the ability to deliver

Genre: Understanding Narrative

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Section 1: Background

Background & Outlines

Chart of Israel’s Judges

Chart: Bible History at a glance

Blue Letter Bible: Old Testament Timeline

Jensen’s Survey of the Old Testament

What was the Canaanite religion?

Bible Atlas: Egypt

Bible Atlas: Sinai

Bible Atlas: Mount Horeb/Sinai

Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book

John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background

ESV Introduction to Judges

ESV The Global Message of Judges

ESV: Judges on a map

NIV: Introduction to Judges

Biblehub: Timeline of Judges

Hebrew Calendar

Joshua-Job quotes in the NT

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Section 2: Maps

Maps from Holman Bible Atlas

The Tribal Allotments of Israel

The Division of the Land Among the Tribes

Levitical Cities and Cities of Refuge (1)

The Levitical Cities (2)

The Judges of Israel

The Period of the Judges

Ehud and the Oppression of the Moabites

Deborah’s Victory over the Canaanites

Gideon’s Battles with the Amalekites

Jephthah and the Ammonites

Samson the the Philistines

ESV Maps

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Section 4: Key Words

Key Words

Lord (137x); Israel (154x)

evil (9x) – Strong’s H7451a in Jdg 2:11; Jdg 3:7; Jdg 3:12; Jdg 4:1; Jdg 6:1; Jdg 9:23; Jdg 10:6; Jdg 13:1; Strong’s H7563a in Jdg 2:15.

judged (11x) – Strong’s H8199 in Jdg 3:10; Jdg 10:2; Jdg 10:3; Jdg 12:7; Jdg 12:8; Jdg 12:9; Jdg 12:11; Jdg 12:13; Jdg 12:14; Jdg 15:20; Jdg 16:31; judge (5x/3v; same word) in Jdg 2:18; Jdg 2:19; Jdg 11:27.

deliver Strong’s H3467 (17v) – in Jdg 3:9; Jdg 6:14; Jdg 6:15; Jdg 6:31; Jdg 6:36; Jdg 6:37; Jdg 7:7; Jdg 10:11; Jdg 10:13; Jdg 10:14; Jdg 12:2; Jdg 12:3; Jdg 13:5; Jdg 20:13; Jdg 20:28; delivered (8x; same word) – Jdg 2:16; Jdg 2:18; Jdg 6:9; Jdg 7:2; Jdg 8:22; Jdg 8:34; Jdg 9:17; Jdg 10:12; deliverer (2x) in Jdg 3:9; Jdg 3:15.

deliver Strong’s H5337 (2x) – in Jdg 10:15; Jdg 18:28; delivered – (3x, same word) in Jdg 6:9; Jdg 8:34; Jdg 9:17.

OppressorJudgeReference
ArameansOthnielJudges 3:7-11
MoabitesEhudJudges 3:12-30
PhilistinesShamgarJudges 3:31
CanaanitesDeborah-BarakJudges 4:1-5:31
MidiantiesGideon
Tola
Jair
Judges 6:1-8:35
AmmonitesJephthah
Ibzan
Elon
Abdon
Judges 10:6-12:7
PhilistinesSamsonJudges 13:1-16:31
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Section 3: Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Judges, Theology of

American Tract Society: Judges

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary: Judges, book of

Easton’s Bible Dictionary: Judges, Book Of

Fausset Bible Dictionary: Judges, the Book of

Holman Bible Dictionary: Judges, Book of

Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible: Judges

Morrish Bible Dictionary: Judges, Book Of

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Judges, Book of; Judges, Period of

McClintock and Strong: Judges, Book Of,

The Nuttall Encyclopedia: Judges, Book Of

The Jewish Encyclopedia: Judges, Period of

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Section 5: Commentaries

Commentaries

Ligionier.org Top 5 Commentaries: Judges

Tim Challies Best Commentaries: Judges

Such A Great Salvation. Grand Rapids: 1990. – Dale R Davis

Commentary Reviews: Judges

Calvin’s Commentary on the Bible:

Matthew Henry: Judges

Albert Barnes Notes: Judges

Reformation Study Bible Notes: Judges

Geneva Study Bible: Judges

Precept Austin Commentaries & Sermons: Judges

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Section 7: Got Questions

From Got Questions.org

Book of Judges – Bible Survey 

Who was Adoni-Bezek? / Fausset’s Bible Dictionary article

Why did the Israelites take the Canaanites as slaves instead of destroying them as they were instructed?

Who was Othniel? / Fausset’s article

Who was Ehud? / Fausset’s article

Who was Shamgar?/ Fausset’s article

What is an ox goad / oxgoad in the Bible?

What is the story of Deborah and Barak? / Fausset’s – Deborah ; Barak

Who was Jael in the Bible? / Fausset’s article

What can we learn from the life of Gideon? / Fausset’s article

Why is Gideon referred to as Jerubbaal?

Is it acceptable to “lay out a fleece” before God in prayer?

Who was Abimelech in the Book of Judges?

Who were Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon?

Who was Jephthah? / Fausset’s article

Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter to the Lord?

What is the meaning of shibboleth in the Bible? / Fausset’s article

What can we learn from the life of Samson? / Fausset’s article

Who was Delilah in the Bible? / Fausset’s article

What should we learn from the account of Samson and Delilah?

What was the source of Samson’s strength?

What can we learn from the account of Micah and the idol in Judges?

What can we learn from the story of the Levite and his concubine?

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Section 6: Articles

Journal Articles

Unspeakable Crimes: The Abuse of Women in the Book of Judges — By: Daniel I. Block

‘No King In Israel’: Narrative Criticism And Judges 17-21 Philip Satterthwaite

History and Theology in Joshua and Judges – Dennis Bratcher

The Judges of Israel – Dennis Bratcher

Will The Real Gideon Please Stand Up? Narrative Style And Intention In Judges 6-9 – Daniel Block

Judges 6-8 The Gideon Narrative as the Focal Point of Judges – J Paul Tanner

The Conquest and Early Hebrew Poetry – Peter Craigie

Judges 5 – Parallel Word Pairs in the Song of Deborah – Peter Craigie

Antecedents of the Monarchy in Ancient Israel – Arthur E Cundall

The Book of Judges: The Israelite Tribal Federation and Its Discontents – Daniel J. Elazar

The Symbolism of the Lion and the Bees: Another Ironic Twist in the Samson Cycle – Martin Emmrich

The Shaving of Samson: A Note on Judges 16:19 – F C Fensham

Enigma Variations: Aspects of the Samson Story Judges 13-16 – Mark Greene

A Literary Appreciation of the Book of Judges – J P U Lilley

The Altar in Joshua and Judges – J P U Lilley

Moral Formation and the Book of Judges – Paul Miller

12 Pages of Questions on Judges chapter 1

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Section 8: Next

Next: Ruth

Previous: Joshua

Series: Resources by Book

Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash

(This article has been read 1,268 times plus 16 today.)

Related posts:

  1. Judges of Israel Chart
  2. Ruth Bible Study Resources
  3. Hosea Bible Study Resources
  4. Amos Bible Study Resources
  5. Jonah Bible Study Resources

Filed Under: Resources by Book Tagged With: Judges, resources

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