Study questions, maps, charts, key words, history, background, outlines, and links to help you study the Old Testament book of Judges.
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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).
- Israel sins.
- God judges their sin and they suffer at the hands of cruel oppressors until they cry out to God for relief.
- God sends them a deliverer (or a judge) who delivers them from their oppressors.
- When that judge dies, the cycle starts all over. But it is a downward spiral. Each cycle is worse than before.
- “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
Background & Outlines
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: Mount Horeb/Sinai
Ray C Stedman: Overview of the Book
John MacArthur: Author, Date, Background
ESV The Global Message of Judges
Biblehub: Timeline of Judges
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)
Ehud and the Oppression of the Moabites
Deborah’s Victory over the Canaanites
Gideon’s Battles with the Amalekites
ESV Maps
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.
| Oppressor | Judge | Reference |
| Arameans | Othniel | Judges 3:7-11 |
| Moabites | Ehud | Judges 3:12-30 |
| Philistines | Shamgar | Judges 3:31 |
| Canaanites | Deborah-Barak | Judges 4:1-5:31 |
| Midianties | Gideon Tola Jair | Judges 6:1-8:35 |
| Ammonites | Jephthah Ibzan Elon Abdon | Judges 10:6-12:7 |
| Philistines | Samson | Judges 13:1-16:31 |
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
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
From Got Questions.org
Who was Adoni-Bezek? / Fausset’s Bible Dictionary article
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?
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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