Judges, Ruth eBook

By John C Lawrenz

What is the book of Judges about? What is the book of Ruth about?The book of Judges in the Bible records the stories of the leaders God sent to rescue his people from their oppressors before Israel had kings. Each account reveals how frequently God' s people turned away from him, and yet how faithful God was in sending them deliverance.The book of Ruth in the Bible is the beautiful story of a Moabite woman who became an ancestor to King David and Jesus, the Savior of the world.Want to learn more? If you' re wondering what the books of Judges and Ruth are about, this book is for you!Judges, Ruth is a reliable Bible commentary. It' s down to earth, clearly written, easy to read and understand, and filled with practical and modern applications to Scripture.It also includes the complete text of the books of Judges and Ruth from the NIV Bible. The Christ-centered commentaries following the Scripture sections contain explanations of the text, historical background, illustrations, and archaeological information. Judges, Ruth is a great resource for personal or group study!This book is a part of The People' s Bible series from Northwestern Publishing House.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Northwestern Publishing House
• Release date: Jul 1, 1997
• ISBN: 9780810025134

Book preview

The People’s Bible

Judges

Ruth

John C. Lawrenz

NORTHWESTERN PUBLISHING HOUSE

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Cover art by Frank Ordaz.

Interior illustrations by Glenn Myers.

Covers of first edition volumes and certain second edition volumes feature illustrations by James Tissot (1836–1902).

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—except for brief quotations in reviews, without prior permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Card 97–69199

Northwestern Publishing House

1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226–3284

© 1997 by Northwestern Publishing House

ISBN 0–8100–1166–2

CONTENTS

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Editor’s Preface

Introduction to Judges

A conquest to complete (1:1–36)

Consequences (2:1–23)

Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar (3:1–31)

Barak and Deborah (4:1–24)

The song of Deborah and Barak (5:1–31)

Gideon (6:1–8:35)

Abimelech (9:1–57)

Tola and Jair (10:1–18)

Jephthah (11:1–12:7)

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (12:8–15)

Samson (13:1–16:31)

Stories typical of the times

One lost household (17:1–13)

Dan migrates (18:1–31)

An outrage (19:1–30)

Civil war (20:1–48)

Benjamin survives (21:1–25)

Introduction to Ruth

Ruth moves to Bethlehem (1:1–22)

Ruth meets Boaz (2:1–23)

Ruth and Boaz betrothed (3:1–18)

Selfless love (4:1–22)

MAPS AND CHARTS

Timeline

The 12 judges

Ehud vs. the Moabites

Deborah and Barak vs. the Canaanites

Gideon vs. the Midianites

Jephthah vs. the Ammonites

Samson vs. the Philistines

Civil war

Israel in the time of the judges

ILLUSTRATIONS

Samson kills a young lion

Deborah beneath the palm tree

Gideon chooses the three hundred

Jephthah meets his daughter

The angel ascends toward heaven

Samson pushes down the pillars

Ruth gleaning in the field of Boaz

EDITOR’S PREFACE

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The People’s Bible is just what the name implies—a Bible for the people. It includes the complete text of the Holy Scriptures in the popular New International Version. The commentary following the Scripture sections contains personal applications as well as historical background and explanations of the text.

The authors of The People’s Bible are men of scholarship and practical insight, gained from years of experience in the teaching and preaching ministries. They have tried to avoid the technical jargon that limits so many commentary series to professional Bible scholars.

The most important feature of these books is that they are Christ-centered. Speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus himself declared, These are the Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39). Each volume of The People’s Bible directs our attention to Jesus Christ. He is the center of the entire Bible. He is our only Savior.

The commentaries also have maps, illustrations, and archaeological information when appropriate. All the books include running heads to direct the reader to the passage he is looking for.

This commentary series was initiated by the Commission on Christian Literature of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

It is our prayer that this endeavor may continue as it began. We dedicate these volumes to the glory of God and to the good of his people.

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES

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The Place of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament

The Bible does not treat all history with equal detail. The five books of Moses tell us a great deal about the generation that left Egypt and moved to the Promised Land. The two books of Samuel also focus on a single generation, the one in which King David rose to power over God’s people. Two-thirds of the prophetic books cluster around the generation who lived through the years when Judah lost its independence and its temple. The entire New Testament brackets the time of Jesus. These four short periods of intense Spirit-given revelation were separated by long periods, each lasting half a millennium. Moses was born around 1500 B.C., David ruled around 1000 B.C., Israel returned from exile around 500 B.C., and Jesus, of course, was born at the turn of the era.

Another way to look at Bible history is to tie it to the moves made by God’s appointed place for worship. The tabernacle served from the time of Moses to Samuel. Solomon’s temple served from four years after David’s death until the kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587/586 B.C. A rebuilt, second temple served the Jews until the Father sent Jesus as the ever-after place to which true worship must be directed.

The book of Judges sketches history from the time of Joshua, the successor of Moses, to the time of Samuel, who anointed King David. It covers most of the period when Israel had no royal leader. The covenant that Moses delivered and that Joshua affirmed was the nation’s constitution. Each man in his own family and within his tribe was responsible for covenant faithfulness. Each Israelite pledged allegiance to the nation by annual pilgrimages to the tabernacle in Shiloh. The sketches show how covenant faithfulness and national unity broke down. The sketches also tell how the Lord remained faithful in the midst of Israel’s backsliding unfaithfulness.

As salvation history, the book of Judges is summed up in the book’s last verse: In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit (21:25).

The Hebrew Bible places Judges together with the books of Joshua, Samuel, and Kings among the former prophets. This ranking underscores the spiritual thrust of what God revealed. We must remember this as we read Judges. We would like to know more. It is as if we had only 15,000 words with which to relate all that happened in our country from the discovery of America by Columbus to the present.

Who Were the Judges?

The book introduces us to a series of individual people who made salvation history. The first and second, Othniel (3:9) and Ehud (3:15), the NIV calls deliverers. The same Hebrew word, used also to describe the ministries of Shamgar (3:31), Gideon (6:14), Tola (10:1), and Samson (13:5), is identical with the word from which the name of Jesus the Savior is derived.

Jephthah was a mighty warrior (11:1) whom his people made commander (11:6) and head (11:9). By his actions he distinguished himself as a skilled diplomat. Samson was a Nazirite (13:5), a consecrated man who was not to shave, drink alcohol, or come in contact with a corpse (Numbers 6:1–21). The one woman in the group, Deborah, was a prophetess and a wife (4:4), a mother in Israel (5:7), and the only one described as deciding disputes in a court of law (4:5). Deborah’s partner, Barak, is not labeled in our book, even though he is paired with Deborah (5:1, 12, 15) and listed among other judges by Samuel (1 Samuel 12:11) and by the writer to the Hebrews (11:32).

When the Hebrew Bible says that a leader in the book of Judges judged, the NIV often renders the word as led. The word occurs in conjunction with Othniel (3:10), Deborah (4:5), Tola (10:2), Jair (10:3), Jephthah (12:7), Ibzan (12:8), Elon (12:11), Abdon (12:13), and Samson (15:20; 16:31). The office of leader continued in Israel until Saul, Israel’s first king, was anointed. The high priest Eli (1 Samuel 4:18), the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 7:15–17), and Samuel’s two unworthy sons (1 Samuel 8:1) all judged (NIV: led) Israel.

According to the Latin historian Livy, the title borne by the chief magistrates of Semitic-speaking Carthage (in North Africa) was suffete, the equivalent of the Hebrew shofet (judge). Inscriptions and tablets from Phoenicia, Ugarit, Assyria, and Mari reveal that this title was used widely in the ancient world. As powerful leaders, David (2 Samuel 15:4) and Solomon (1 Kings 7:7) sat in judgment. Earlier, Moses, as Israel’s first leader, did all the judging by himself until his father-in-law, Jethro, advised him to set up a supportive governmental infrastructure over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens (Exodus 18:13–26). The opening chapter of Deuteronomy (anticipating the office Deborah held before summoning Israel to battle) admonishes these people, Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien (1:16).

Deuteronomy observes in the next verse that judgment belongs to God (1:17), something confessed earlier by Abraham (Genesis 18:25) and later by Isaiah (3:13). Judging, judgment, and justice belong to a family of Hebrew words that describe doing the right thing according to divine standards.

Those who led Israel between the time of Moses and David were far from perfect. We will see how the level of righteous behavior declined from the first judge to the last. In spite of this, moral and spiritual weakness did not disqualify God’s choices. They were under-judges of the heavenly judge because of what God did through them, in spite of their weaknesses. That is why they take their places among the heroes of faith in the New Testament book of Hebrews. There the writer declares, I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah … who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised (11:32, 33). Indeed, the book of Judges tells us that the Holy Spirit stirred three of these less than perfect men, Gideon (6:34), Jephthah (11:29), and Samson (13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14), even as he stirred the first and only ideal judge, Othniel (3:10).

Composition

The book of Judges is a collection of short stories. The author groups them into three sections. First come stories that give the reader a general overview of the age. Then come the short histories of the 12 judges whose exploits define the book. The book closes with chapters that sketch the unflattering character of Israelite life in the home, village, tribe, and nation.

A.In the prologue (1:1–3:6) we learn to what extent the individual tribes were successful in claiming their inheritance after Joshua died. We are also informed of the four phases of the reoccurring pattern that are typical of the seven historical cycles described in the bulk of the book. The prologue closes with a geographical sketch of how much of the Promised Land was in Israelite hands and how much territory the Israelites failed to take from the original Canaanite inhabitants.

B.The stories of the 12 judges (3:7–16:31) are arranged in seven historical cycles. Each cycle begins with the stability resulting from the exploits of the previous leader. When the leader dies, the people turn to idols. God then visits this apostasy with some agent of oppression, usually a foreign foe. After a time the people cry out, and the Lord sends a deliverer in the person of one or more judges who restore rest for the land and its people. Rest, apostasy, oppression, and deliverance are the four repeated waystations as each cycle unfolds. These cycles resemble loops in a downward spiral. Each judge represents movement in the right direction, but the overall tendency is not good. For that reason the judges themselves move from a good example like Othniel, the first judge, to a man with many weaknesses, Samson, the last judge.

Cycle 1 (3:7–11)

Rest for Joshua’s generation

Apostasy ("the Israelites did evil," 3:7)

Cushan’s oppression (Aram, 8 years)

Othniel’s deliverance

Cycle 2 (3:12–31)

Rest for Othniel’s generation (40 years)

Apostasy ("the Israelites did evil," 3:12)

Eglon’s oppression (Moab, Ammon, and Amalek, 18 years)

Ehud and Shamgar’s deliverance

Cycle 3 (4:1–5:31)

Rest for Ehud’s generation (80 years)

Apostasy ("the Israelites once again did evil," 4:1)

Jabin and Sisera’s oppression (Canaanites, 20 years)

Deborah and Barak’s deliverance

Cycle 4 (6:1–8:27)

Rest for the Deborah-Barak generation (40 years)

Apostasy ("again the Israelites did evil," a prophet reminds Israel of its unfaithfulness, 6:1)

The oppression of Oreb, Zeeb, Zebah, and Zalmunna (Midian, Amalek, and the people of the East, 7 years)

Gideon’s deliverance

Cycle 5 (8:28–10:5)

Rest for Gideon’s generation (40 years)

Apostasy (Gideon’s ephod and worship of Baal of the covenant reveal deeply rooted syncretism)

Abimelech’s oppression (near Shechem, 3 years)

Tola and Jair’s team deliverance (23 and 22 years, respectively)

Cycle 6 (10:6–12:15)

No rest mentioned.

Widespread apostasy ("they served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram … Sidon … Moab … the Ammonites and … the Philistines," 10:6)

Oppression from the east (Ammon, 18 years)

Jephthah’s brief deliverance (6 years), together with Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (7, 10, and 8 years, respectively)

Cycle 7 (13:1–16:31)

No rest mentioned.

Continued apostasy ("again the Israelites did evil," 13:1)

Oppression from the west (Philistines, 40 years)

Samson’s impermanent deliverance (20 years: Samson led … in the days of the Philistines, 15:20)

No rest mentioned: the Philistine menace continues.

C.The epilogue (17:1–21:25) stands apart from the seven cycles and has no obvious chronological connection with any of them. Each story looks at a different segment of society. Chapter 17 presents a family bereft of moral and spiritual strength. In chapter 18 one of the 12 tribes, aided by a wayward Levite, forsakes its duty to claim its tribal inheritance. Without divine approval the tribe of Dan carves out an idolatrous home for itself. Chapter 19 sets the stage for the civil war that follows. The Israelites behave no better than the Canaanites, whom God had ordained for destruction because of their immoral practices. Chapter 20 presents the civil war that ensued. Chapter 21 relates the questionable post-war attempts of the winners to provide brides for the all-male remnant of the lone defeated tribe. The many weaknesses revealed in these five chapters show how God’s people were prone to sin against the spirit and letter of the covenant the Lord had made with Israel on Mount Sinai.

More Judges

The historical period of the judges extends beyond the book of Judges. The opening chapters of 1 Samuel reveal two more major judges, Eli and Samuel. The wickedness of Eli’s sons led to the destruction of the central sanctuary in Shiloh and the capture of the ark of the covenant by the Philistines. The ark of the covenant was the visible sign of God’s presence among his people. Its loss signaled the Lord’s judgment for all that had gone wrong in the long period of the judges. Samuel is the bridge to the next era of Israelite history, the one defined by the rule of Israel’s kings. Samuel anoints King Saul, who fails, and King David who, although flawed, is a man after the Lord’s own heart. David brings the ark to Jerusalem and makes preparations for a temple to house it there.

Author and Date of Writing

The book of Judges anticipates kingship in Israel. In the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 17:14–20), God had provided for the position of king. Midway through the period of the judges, the people offered Gideon a crown. Gideon’s son Abimelech reigned briefly. Minor judges took on royal trappings, for example, riding on donkeys (10:4; 12:14) and arranging strategic marriages (12:9). Yet for the duration of the judges’ period, Israel stood alone among its neighbors in that it had no king. This fact is stated twice, in 17:6 and in the book’s closing statement, In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit (21:25).

The author of Judges seems to be aware of kingship and its benefits. The book contains no hint that kingship is a mixed blessing. Was Samuel therefore the author, as Jewish tradition holds? Samuel was personally hurt when Israel requested a king (1 Samuel 8:6). King Saul disappointed Samuel deeply (1 Samuel 15:35). Although these facts are true, it also is true that Samuel anointed David and may have been led by the Lord’s admonition to accept the right kind of kingship as preferable to the do-as-you-see-fit days of the judges.

Samuel’s vivid childhood memory of the sack of Shiloh and the loss of the ark may be behind Judges 18:30. There the author points out that Danite idolatry persisted until the time of the captivity of the land. Captivity usually brings to mind the exile of the Northern Kingdom, Israel (approximately 720 B.C.), or of the Southern Kingdom, Judah (approximately 586 B.C.). Psalm 78:60, 61, however, reads: He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among men. He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy.

If not Samuel, the author was likely one of David’s court historians. Nathan and Gad are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 29:29. There were certainly others. Whoever the writer was, he wrote before David conquered the Jebusites and established Jerusalem as his capital (Judges 1:21).

Chronology and the Number 40

Periods of time are measured throughout the book of Judges. The years of oppression are 8 (Aram), 18 (Moab), 20 (Canaan), 7 (Midian), 3 (Abimelech), 18 (Ammon), and 40 (Philistia). If we add them together, we get 114 years. The first judges bring peace to the land for periods of 40 (Othniel, Deborah, Gideon) or 80 (Ehud) years, a total of 200 years. The two judges who follow Abimelech lead for 23 (Tola), 22 (Jair), 6 (Jephthah) 7 (Ibzan), 10 (Elon), 8 (Abdon), and 20 (Samson) years, for a total of 96 years. If we add them all together, we get 410 years from Othniel to Samson.

Eight of the eighteen notations from inside the book of Judges are multiples or factors of 40. If we consider the periods of time given in the Bible prior to and following the book of Judges, the 40 phenomenon is even more pronounced. Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. The life of Moses is 120 years, divided equally into 40-year thirds. The high priest Eli judged 40 years, and Samuel, half that time. Israel’s first three kings, Saul, David, and Solomon, each reigned 40 years. More than half of the chronological notes from Israel’s departure from Egypt in the days of Moses until the breakup of the kingdom at Solomon’s death are multiples or factors of 40. No such dominant pattern is discernible in the ages of the patriarchs of earlier days, nor in the reigns of the kings after Solomon. It would appear that a mode of expression was in vogue during the period of history that straddles the time of the judges, when neither patriarchs nor kings defined what constituted civil authority among God’s people.

In matters easily influenced by history and politics, Egypt loomed large. It was in that country that Israel multiplied into a nation. Moses, God’s chosen leader, was a prince of Egypt, well schooled in Egyptian ways (Acts 7:22). In Egypt all months were 30 days. After 30 years, a month of years, an Egyptian pharaoh marked the event with a spectacular Heb Sed festival. Such a festival testified to the extraordinary favor of the Egyptian gods in allowing a prolonged period of rule.

To these observations regarding the length of a month and an extraordinary reign, we must next consider the n and n-plus-1 literary device encountered primarily in the poetical books of the Old Testament. There are four examples in the sayings of Agur in chapter 30 of Proverbs. In verse 15 Agur observes, There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’  Agur proceeds to provide four examples. Amos uses the 3 and 4 combination eight times in his first two chapters. The device is also used with 6 and 7 (Job 5:19; Proverbs 6:16) and 7 and 8 (Ecclesiastes 11:2; Micah 5:5).

It is reasonable to surmise that three decades of days or years raised by a factor of an additional decade, that is, 30 and 40 is another evidence of this literary device. In effect the writer would be conveying a period of time with an approximate rather than exact number in order to communicate something of greater import than simple calculation. In the case of a period of roughly 30 days, the writer would speak of 40 days and 40 nights to convey not only a month, but a month of significant importance. This certainly fits the 40 days of judgment at the time of the flood, in which God unleashed the forces of nature to inundate the earth. It also fits the 40 days in which Jesus fasted and wrestled with Satan and the 40 days in which Jesus appeared to his disciples before his ascension. Pointing out this literary device does not rule out that the time could have been 40 days, no more, no less. It simply warns us that the context allows an alternative.

If it was a well-known fact in Israel that the culturally imposing nation of Egypt reckoned a reign of 30 years as a measure of extraordinary, divine blessing on that ruler, it would be reasonable to expect that a period raised by a factor of one decade would also underscore God’s unique providence in providing a blessing for his people. We see Moses applying this principle in Psalm 90, where he asserts that a normal lifetime of 70 years with blessing might be extended to 80 years. It is entirely possible that God actually calibrated some lives so precisely that they were measured by 40s. This could be asserted in respect to the age of Moses because the context of Exodus 7:7 includes both Moses’ age at 80 and Aaron’s at 83. David’s reign too is subdivided into 7½ years in Hebron and 33 in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:5). It would make no sense for God to measure out 40 years of wandering for the 40 days the spies spent on their ill-fated military reconnoiter of Canaan if 40 were not exactly what is meant. It would probably be the example of these instances that reinforced the stature of 40 as a period of divine blessing.

Against those who would say, Why not insist on a precise number in all instances? one would have to cite Scripture itself. Gideon is said to have sired 70 sons (Judges 8:30). We are told that Abimelech then on one stone murdered his seventy brothers (9:5). Nevertheless Jotham survived. Either 70 were killed and there were 71 sons, or there were 70 sons and 69 were murdered. It seems that the number 70 is the traditional round number for an extended family or group. Examples are the 70 names in Genesis chapter 10, the 70 clans of Israel, and the 70 in Ahab’s family.

The Bible also prefers 12 as a round number in counting tribes. Jacob adopted the two sons of Joseph as his own (Genesis 49). Yet there were but 12 tribal inheritances (Levi left out and Ephraim and Manasseh counted, Joshua 13:14) and 12 tribes who spoke blessings and cursings (Levi counted and Ephraim and Manasseh combined as Joseph, Deuteronomy 27:12). The number 12 is kept in Revelation 7:5–8 by dropping Dan and including Levi, Ephraim, and Manasseh. Similarly, 12 is maintained as the preferred number of apostles by the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas. Indeed, the number of judges listed in the book of Judges is 12. Some have suggested that the holy writer made a selection from several judges with the 12 tribes of Israel in mind.

Our interpretation of 40 is strengthened when we note that peace (KJV: rest) for the land is associated with 40-year periods following the exploits of each of the early judges, Othniel (3:11), Ehud (40 x 2 in 3:30), Deborah and Barak (5:31), and Gideon (8:28). Peace for the land is not mentioned again in the Bible until the reigns of David (2 Samuel 7:1, 11; 1 Kings 5:1) and Solomon (1 Kings 4:24; 8:56). What happened between the time of Gideon and the time of David was a breakdown of peace for the land. The short reign of King Abimelech, the half-Israelite, half-Canaanite who followed Gideon, shattered the peace. Thereafter the land did not have rest until David smashed the Philistine threat. In this period of unrest, most of the judges are listed with periods of leadership and no mention of rest. We may surmise that the peace judges, Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, and Gideon, each had a relatively brief number of years in which they personally led the people. Their impact for peace, however, lingered after their deaths. This longer time is expressed not in precise terms but in the meaningful use of 40-year periods.

The Bible’s Chronology and Judges

Our discussion of 40-year periods is important when we attempt to lay out a chronology for the period of the judges. A significant chronological benchmark is given outside the book of Judges, in 1 Kings 6:1. There the dedication of Solomon’s temple is dated 480 years after the exodus of Israel from Egypt. We have already noted that the sum total of all chronological data inside the book of Judges totals 410 years. This fits nicely with the 480 years between the exodus and the temple dedication, but it doesn’t allow for up to a century and a half that lies outside the book of Judges, that is, the 40 years of wilderness wandering, the 40 years of David’s rule, the four years of Solomon’s reign before the dedication, the 60 combined years that Eli and Samuel judged, plus the unspecified time of Joshua and the elders who followed him and the reign of Saul, which may have been 22, 32, 40, or 42 years, depending on how we resolve 1 Samuel 13:1 (the Hebrew text is unclear) and Acts 13:21.

Round numbers (like 40, 80, and 20) and numbers miscopied in early manuscripts (like 1 Samuel 13:1) are possible shoehorns that allow us to fit approximately 560 years into 480. Some have suggested that the 480 figure itself is a round number, representing 12, 40-year periods. While possible, such an argument would question the aggregate while giving full credence to the 40s, 80s, and 20s that make up the parts.

Overlapping numbers are another shoehorn. Coregencies, for example, exist when a king appoints his heir to share the last years of his reign. In the book of Judges we have no royal houses and therefore no heirs (with the possible exception of Gideon and Abimelech). We do, however, have stories in which the geographical context is limited to a few tribes rather than the whole nation. It may have happened that several judges asserted their influence simultaneously. Tola, for example, had his headquarters in the hill country of Ephraim, west of the Jordan, while his successor, Jair, held sway in the Transjordan. That Jair (23 years) followed Tola (22 years) may simply mean, for example, that one followed the other after an interval of one year and the pair both ended their judgeships at the onset of the Ammonite oppression, which followed. Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon may also be plotted in four distinct geographical areas (Gilead, Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, respectively) and be considered contemporaneous.

The book of Judges contains one significant era of its own, the period between the arrival of the Israelites and the day Jephthah entered into negotiations with the king of Ammon over property rights in the Transjordan. Jephthah asserts that Israel had occupied the towns along the Amon River for three centuries (11:26).

While Jephthah is certainly using a round number, one would hardly expect him to improve his negotiating position by a ridiculous exaggeration. If we add the rest periods preceding Jephthah (40 + 80 + 40 + 40 = 200), plus the oppressions that precede his day (6 + 18 + 20 + 7 + 18 = 69), allow 23 years for Tola and Jair together, and allow seven years for the conquest under Joshua (a Jewish tradition), the total is 299.

If we then subtract 44 years from David’s coronation until the temple’s dedication and 40 years for the desert wanderings, we must assume that the chaotic period from Jephthah to Saul’s death would account for the remaining 97 years, which would bring us to a total of 480 years from the exodus to the temple’s dedication. This 97 years could embrace Eli for 40 years, Samson and Samuel for 20 years each within the time of the Philistine 40-year oppression, and the balance for King Saul (overlapping with Samuel and the Philistine oppression if approximately 40 years, not overlapping if closer to 20 years).

Many schemes have been put forward to chart the chronology of the period of the judges. In view of the data at hand, none can claim authority. We can be sure that God knows the chronology. We can be satisfied that he has not chosen to reveal its internal precision.

Fitting the Judges in the Context of World History

Israel lies between Egypt to the southwest and the mighty nations of Mesopotamia to the northeast. Bible students and secular historians have tried hard to link together biblical history and the history of the Near East. Such historical ties are called synchronisms.

In the first millennium B.C., we can tie the fall of Jerusalem to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Samaria’s fall can be tied to kings Shalmaneser and Sargon of Assyria. Both of these events are recorded in the Bible and in the annals of the conquering nations. Assyrian records also mention several of the kings of Israel and Judah. Because the Assyrians named their years after high officials and because we have a nearly complete list of these officials, it is possible within an error factor of one or two years to establish a world chronology and absolute dates for most of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Absolute synchronisms are not possible for the second millennium B.C. Israel’s contacts during that period were with Egypt. The Bible does not identify any of the pharaohs by name. Also adding to the difficulty, the absolute chronology of Egypt during its second and third millennium B.C. heyday is determined by a small number of astronomical notations, some of which are open to varying interpretations. Historians speak of high, low, and middle dates for such key pharaohs as Thutmose III and Ramses II.

Archaeology has been called upon to define what written documents and the stars fail to fix. By definition, archaeology is the study of leftovers. The ruins of antiquity always reflect what was discarded or inadvertently buried over time. A useful parallel might be a rummaging around in last month’s garbage. Things can be learned, but the potential for mistaken conclusions always looms large.

Archaeologists recognize the emergence of a major cultural alliance between Egypt and Canaan in the second millennium B.C. The two were drawn together initially by the introduction of chariot warfare. To defend against chariots, the walls of Canaanite cities were raised, thickened, and surrounded by packed-earth ramparts to keep wheeled vehicles away. City gates too were strengthened to meet the new threat. If archaeology and history are correct, invaders from the north ended the Middle Kingdom in Egypt and welded the Nile Delta and Canaan into a single political entity for a time. The late Egyptian historian-priest Manetho called these interlopers the Hyksos. The name is a likely corruption of the Egyptian words rulers of foreign lands.

In time native Egyptians from the south liberated the Delta from its foreign invaders and established an aggressive stance against Canaan that lasted for several centuries. Egyptologists call this Egypt’s Empire Age. Pharaoh’s armies attacked their Asiatic neighbors again and again. Troops garrisoned key cities along the coast and along the trade routes reaching east. During this period the archaeological debris reflects clear Egyptian influence.

At the very end of the second millennium B.C., the whole eastern Mediterranean was set in motion. The impetus may have been a slight change in climate, causing whole nations to move in search of food. Peoples of the sea ended the Hittite Empire in Anatolia and stole the Hittite secret of iron smelting. Sea people snuffed out the city state of Ugarit on the Syrian Coast. They also invaded Egypt but were repulsed. A few settled permanently along the coast of Canaan and left behind their distinctive painted pottery. Among the sea peoples were the Philistines. Inside the land of Canaan itself, settlement patterns changed. The second millennium B.C. began with settlements concentrated along the coasts and here and there along the roads that traced the inland valleys. Early on, the high ground was sparsely settled. By the end of the millennium, however, small settlements appeared all over the mountains of Judah, Ephraim, and Galilee.

The archaeological model for the second millennium begins with the final phase of the Middle Bronze Age. This is the period of the high walled cities in Canaan, a time when Asia overshadowed Egypt. Bronze was the metal of choice for implements used in war and peace. Egypt turned the tables on Asia in about 1550 B.C., ushering in the Late Bronze Age. In most instances the material culture of both countries continued to develop without an observable interruption or radical change of direction. The Iron Age, beginning about 1200 B.C., however, was markedly different. Material culture declined. Egypt weakened. Iron technology spread. Nationalities were on the move.

The emergence of Israel as a nation in Canaan is believed by most scholars today to coincide with the beginning of the Iron Age. The settlement of the Palestinian highlands is seen as proof. The exodus from Egypt is pegged by most scholars to the 13th century B.C. The great Ramses II is selected as the one who inspired Israel to remember an Egyptian oppression. According to this prevailing scenario, the period of the judges is compressed into two centuries or less.

Recently, however, a small number of archaeologists have questioned the tie between Egypt’s expulsion of the Hyksos and the end of the Middle Bronze in Canaan. Key cities in Palestine were burned and destroyed at that time, including Jericho, Bethel, Hazor, Debir, Lachish, Hebron, Hormah, and Dan. The biblical narrative demands some destruction of these cities at the time of the conquest or soon thereafter. None of these cities experienced a major catastrophe between 1300 and 1200 B.C. Was a resurgent Egypt responsible, or is this telling evidence for the Israelite conquest under Joshua? Should a second millennium B.C. cuneiform library be discovered in Megiddo, Hazor, or some other key site, the answer might be forthcoming.

An even more radical hypothesis, recently advanced by Egyptologist David Rohl, places Israel’s conquest of Canaan at the end of the Middle Bronze period as well. What makes this historical reconstruction different is his recalibration of Egypt’s internal history. Rohl marshals evidence to set aside the prevailing interpretation of the four key astronomical synchronisms upon which absolute dates have been fixed for key pharaohs. As a result the Shishak of chapters 11 and 14 of 1 Kings is no longer Shoshenk I, but Ramses II; Moses leads Israel out of Egypt at the tail end of the Hyksos period; and the Amarna Age letters paint a picture of the turmoil preceding David’s coronation as king.

What is a student of the Bible to believe? This question is best answered with a flat declaration that we know far too little to establish synchronisms between the people and