This is an outline or summary of the Book of Judges extracted from ‘The Bible Brief’ a summary of the complete Bible.
When: Covers time between 1400 – 1050 B.C. Most probably written or compiled around 800B.C.
Who: According to tradition Samuel wrote the book of Judges, though scholars generally agree as to input from other sources.
People & Places:
Joshua; Deborah; Barak; Gideon; Samson; Delilah
Canaan; Judah; Hebron; Gaza; Shechem
Sound-Bites:
The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” (Ch.1:2)
He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” (Ch.6:15)
“With the jawbone of a donkey, Heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of a donkey I have killed a thousand men.” (Ch.15:16)
“In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (Ch.17:6)
The Messianic Link:
Jesus is typified throughout the book of Judges as he is the true and righteous Judge of all the earth.
Judges Summary:
- The book of Judges covers a period when there was no King in Israel ( Ch.17:6).
- Rebellion was commonplace as was murder, rape, and idolatry (Ch.2:12).
- The people had become backslidden shortly after the death of Joshua, and this led to unrest and disillusionment.
- This in turn led to the appointing of Judges to guide them through particularly turbulent periods.
Heroes of the book include Gideon (Ch.6:12) whom the Lord raised up to become a mighty commander; and of course Samson (Ch.14) whom the Lord raised to champion them against the Philistines.
The tribe of Benjamin is almost completely destroyed in a civil war (Ch.20), that resulted from the gang-rape and murder of a Levites concubine in Gibeah – a city of the Benjamites.
Notes & Quotes:
This book is probably best known for the story of Samson & Delilah, the cutting of Samson’s hair and his subsequent loss of strength.
It is perhaps not so well known for the rape and murder of the Levites concubine, and the subsequent punishment of the tribe of Benjamin by the other tribes – which almost led to its complete annihilation.
Israel had reached an all-time low during this period, when they had backslidden massively from the will of The Lord. The lesson here is that disobedience will always bring mayhem and destruction, but repentance will bring about God’s mercy always.
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