Introduction

Judges is named after an interesting collection of individuals who led Israel after Joshua’s death until the rise of the monarchy under Samuel (up to about 1050 b.c.). In this time of national decline, despite their promise to keep the covenant (Josh. 24:16–18) the people turned from the Lord and began to worship other gods. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 21:25). A pattern repeats throughout the book: 1) the people abandoned the Lord; 2) God punished them by raising up a foreign power to oppress them; 3) the people cried out to God for deliverance; and 4) God raised up a deliverer, or judge, for them. The author of the book is unknown, although some Jewish tradition ascribes it to Samuel.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel ainquired of the Lord, b“Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. cAnd I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off dused to pick up scraps under my table. eAs I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 fAnd the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in gthe hill country, in the Negeb, and in gthe lowland. 10 hAnd Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron i(now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated jSheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, kCaleb’s younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the descendants of the lKenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah mfrom the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near nArad, oand they went and settled with the people. 17 pAnd Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called qHormah.1 18 Judah also rcaptured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 pAnd the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the shill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had tchariots of iron. 20 uAnd Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it vthe three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, wso the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, xand the Lord was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (yNow the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, zand we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to athe land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

Failure to Complete the Conquest

27 bManasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29 cAnd Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of dNahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31 eAsher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of fBeth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

34 gThe Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, hin Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from ithe ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Israel’s Disobedience

2 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to jBochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, k‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 land you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; myou shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? 3 So now I say, nI will not drive them out before you, but they shall become othorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 4 As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim.1 And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

The Death of Joshua

6 When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 pAnd the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 8 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9 And they buried him within the boundaries of qhis inheritance in Timnath-heres, rin the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11 sAnd the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 tAnd they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. uThey went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and vbowed down to them. wAnd they provoked the Lord to anger. 13 They abandoned the Lord xand served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 ySo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he zgave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. aAnd he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, bso that they could no longer withstand their enemies. 15 Whenever they marched out, the hand of the Lord was against them for harm, as the Lord had warned, cand as the Lord had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

The Lord Raises Up Judges

16 dThen the Lord raised up judges, ewho saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for fthey whored after other gods and bowed down to them. gThey soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, hthe Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. iFor the Lord was moved to pity by jtheir groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. 19 But kwhenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. 20 lSo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he said, “Because this people mhave transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, 21 nI will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, 22 in order oto test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did, or not.” 23 So the Lord left those nations, not driving them out quickly, and he did not give them into the hand of Joshua.