A guide to Judges

Who wrote Judges, and when?

Unnamed; Jewish tradition names Samuel. Events about 1380–1050 BC; written during or after the early monarchy.

Judges does not name its author. Jewish tradition credits it to Samuel, the last of the judges and the man who anointed the first two kings. The book covers events from roughly 1380 to 1050 BC, from the death of Joshua to the time just before Saul. Several times it remarks that in those days there was no king in Israel, which suggests it was written or completed after the monarchy began, when there was a king to compare those days with. Most scholars think it was compiled from older stories and records, some of them very early, such as the song of Deborah in chapter 5. The exact date and editor remain unknown, and the book's message does not depend on them.

Who was Judges written to?

Israel under the monarchy, looking back on the chaos that came before there was a king.

The first readers were Israelites living under the monarchy, most likely in the days of David or soon after. They knew what a king was and could look back on the period before there was one. Judges showed them what that period had been like: a time when the tribes were loosely connected, when foreign enemies raided at will, and when Israel kept drifting toward the gods of Canaan. The final chapters, with their civil war and horrifying crimes, showed how far things fell when everyone did what was right in their own eyes. For readers weighing what kind of leader Israel needed, the book made the case that a king who followed the LORD was a gift, and it quietly pointed toward David's tribe of Judah.

What was happening at the time?

Between Joshua’s death and the first king, Israel lived as loose tribes with no central leadership. The book traces a downward spiral: Israel sins, God hands them to an enemy, they cry out, he sends a judge, peace comes, and the cycle repeats, each round worse than the last. The final chapters show how far a people falls when everyone does what is right in their own eyes.

Why was Judges written?

To show the consequences of forgetting the LORD and the need for a righteous king.

Judges was written to show what happens when a people forgets the LORD. Its repeated cycle is simple and painful: Israel turns to other gods, God hands them over to an enemy, they cry out, God raises up a deliverer, the land has rest, and then the whole thing starts again. Each cycle goes a little lower, and the judges themselves get more flawed, from Othniel and Deborah to Jephthah and Samson. The book wants readers to see the cost of compromise and to marvel at God's patience, since he keeps answering people who keep forgetting him. It also makes the case for a king, and in the wider story of the Bible it sets up the rise of David and, beyond him, the perfect King his line was promised.

How to read Judges today

Chapter 2 gives the pattern for the whole book, so read that first. Then read the best-known stories: Deborah and Barak in chapters 4 and 5, Gideon in chapters 6 to 8, and Samson in chapters 13 to 16. Chapters 17 to 21 are dark and disturbing, and they are meant to be. Do not expect the judges to be role models; Gideon doubts, Jephthah makes a terrible vow, Samson is reckless. The point is that God works through weak and flawed people because there is no other kind. Do not force a moral lesson out of every event, since the book often simply reports what happened and lets the reader wince. As you read, pray about the places where you have drifted, and thank God that he answers those who cry out to him, however many times.

The key verse in Judges

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Passages worth knowing in Judges

• Judges 2:6-23

  The cycle explained

  The pattern that shapes the whole book.

• Judges 4–5

  Deborah and Barak

  God delivers through a prophetess and a tent peg.

• Judges 6–8

  Gideon

  Three hundred men so that Israel cannot boast.

• Judges 13–16

  Samson

  Great strength, weak character, and God still at work.

• Judges 19–21

  The Levite and the civil war

  The moral collapse that cries out for a king.

The main themes of Judges

• The cycle of sin and rescue
• God’s patience
• Flawed deliverers
• Compromise with Canaan
• The need for a king

An outline of Judges