Judges 3

Judges 3:1 These are the nations Yahveh placed to test all those in Israel who had experienced none of the wars in Canaan.

Judges 3:2 This was to teach the future generations of the Israelites how to fight in battle, especially those who had not fought before.

Judges 3:3 These included the five rulers of the Philistines and all of the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the Lebanese mountains from Mount Baal-hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.

Judges 3:4 They were for testing Israel, to determine whether they would keep Yahveh’s commands, which he had given their fathers through Moses.

Judges 3:5 But they settled among the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Judges 3:6 The Israelites took their daughters as wives for themselves, gave their own daughters to their sons, and worshiped their gods.

Judges 3:7 The Israelites did what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes; they forgot Yahveh, their God, and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

Judges 3:8 Yahveh’s nose burned angrily against Israel, and he sold them to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim, and the Israelites served him for eight years.

Judges 3:9 The Israelites cried out to Yahveh. So Yahveh raised Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, as a rescuer to rescue the Israelites.

Judges 3:10 The Breath of Yahveh came on him, and he judged Israel. Othniel went out to battle, and Yahveh handed over King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram to him so that Othniel overpowered him.

Judges 3:11 Then the land had peace for forty years, and Othniel, son of Kenaz, died.

Judges 3:12 The Israelites again did what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes. He gave King Eglon of Moab power over Israel because they had done what was evil in Yahveh’s eyes.

Judges 3:13 After Eglon convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him, he attacked and struck Israel down and took possession of the City of Palms.

Judges 3:14 The Israelites served King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

Judges 3:15 Then the Israelites cried out to Yahveh, and he raised Ehud, son of Gera, a left-handed Benjaminite, as a rescuer for them. The Israelites sent him with the tribute for King Eglon of Moab.

Judges 3:16 Ehud made himself a double-edged sword eighteen inches long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his clothes

Judges 3:17 and brought the tribute to King Eglon of Moab, who was an extremely fat man.

Judges 3:18 When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had carried it.

Judges 3:19 At the carved images near Gilgal he returned and said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.” The king said, “Silence!” and all his attendants left him.

Judges 3:20 Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in his upstairs room where it was cool. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you,” and the king stood up from his throne.

Judges 3:21 Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.

Judges 3:22 Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And the waste came out.

Judges 3:23 Ehud escaped by way of the porch, closing and locking the doors of the upstairs room behind him.

Judges 3:24 Ehud was gone when Eglon’s servants came in. They looked and noticed the doors of the upstairs room locked, thinking he was relieving himself in the cool room.

Judges 3:25 The servants waited until they became embarrassed and noticed that he had still not opened the doors of the upstairs room. So they took the key and opened the doors – and there was their lord lying dead on the floor!

Judges 3:26 Ehud had escaped while the servants waited. He passed the Jordan near the carved images and reached Seirah.

Judges 3:27 After he arrived, he sounded the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hill country, and he was in front.

Judges 3:28 He told them, “Follow me, because Yahveh has handed over your enemies, the Moabites, to you.” So they followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over.

Judges 3:29 At that time, they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all big and capable men. Not one of them escaped.

Judges 3:30 Moab became subject to Israel that day, and the land had peace for eighty years.

Judges 3:31 After Ehud, Shamgar, son of Anath, became a judge. He also rescued Israel, striking down six hundred Philistines with a goad.

Judges 3 quotes:

“Shamgar is remembered as a charismatic judge-leader in both Judges 1 and 5. Whatever the intriguing implications of his name, he, like Samson, is a hero capable of wiping out the enemy by unorthodox and single-handed applications of brute strength. That his origins are somewhat obscure, an ethnic mystery, only adds to his mystique as judge. Some of the traditions assigned to Jael in Judges 4-5 may have been assigned to Shamgar in other tellings, thereby explaining the confusion in 5:6 (see below). In similar fashion, David’s victory over Goliath, recounted at length in 1 Samuel 17, is much more briefly assigned to one Elhanan in 2 Sam 21:19. Such switches and reassignment of traditions are common in oral-style works.”

Niditch Susan. Judges : A Commentary. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 59.

Judges 3 links:

a culture of compromise
for the testing of Israel
sin, bondage, warfare, rest
tests and lessons
the lefty and the locked room
where did all the spirits go?

The JUDGES shelf in Jeff’s library

Judges 2

Judges 2:1 The agent[1] of Yahveh went up from Gilgal to Bochim and he said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. I also said: I will never invalidate my covenant with you.

Judges 2:2 You are not to cut[2] a covenant with the ones living in this land. You are to tear down their altars.” But you have not obeyed me. What is this you have done?

Judges 2:3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.”

Judges 2:4 When the agent of Yahveh had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people raised their voices and wept.

Judges 2:5 So they named that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to Yahveh.

Judges 2:6 Previously, when Joshua had sent the people away, the Israelites had gone to take possession of the land, each to his own inheritance.

Judges 2:7 The people worshiped Yahveh throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all Yahveh’s great works he had done for Israel.

Judges 2:8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Yahveh, died at the age of 110.

Judges 2:9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

Judges 2:10 That whole generation was also gathered to their fathers. After them another generation rose up who did not know Yahveh or the works he had done for Israel.

Judges 2:11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Yahveh’s eyes. They worshiped the Baals

Judges 2:12 and abandoned Yahveh, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered Yahveh,

Judges 2:13 because they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths.

Judges 2:14 Yahveh’s nose burned angrily[3] against Israel, and he handed them over to raiders who raided them. He sold them to the enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies.

Judges 2:15 Whenever the Israelites went out, Yahveh was against them and brought disaster on them, just as he had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly.

Judges 2:16 Yahveh raised judges, who rescued[4] them from the power of their raiders,

Judges 2:17 but they did not listen to their judges. Instead, they prostituted themselves with other gods, bowing down to them. They quickly turned from the way of their fathers, who had walked in obedience to Yahveh’s commands. They did not do as their fathers did.

Judges 2:18 Whenever Yahveh raised up a judge for the Israelites, Yahveh was with him and rescued the people from the power of their enemies while the judge was still alive. Yahveh was moved to pity whenever they groaned because of those who were oppressing and afflicting them.

Judges 2:19 Whenever the judge died, the Israelites would act even more spoiled[5] than their fathers, following other gods to serve them and bow in worship to them. They did not turn from their evil practices or their obstinate ways.

Judges 2:20 Yahveh’s nose burned angrily against Israel, and he declared, “Because this nation has violated my covenant that I made with their fathers and disobeyed me,

Judges 2:21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.

Judges 2:22 I did this to test Israel and to see whether or not they would keep Yahveh’s way by walking in it, as their fathers had.”

Judges 2:23 Yahveh placed[6] these nations and did not drive them out immediately. He did not hand them over to Joshua.

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[1] מַלְאָךְ = agent. Judges 2:1, 4; 5:23; 6:11-12, 20-22, 35; 7:24; 9:31; 11:12-14, 17, 19; 13:3, 6, 9, 13, 15-18, 20-21.

[2] כָּרָת = cut, cut down (destroy). Judges 2:2; 4:24; 6:25-26, 28, 30; 9:48-49.

[3] ‎  ַיִּֽחַר־אַ֤ף= his nose burned angrily. Judges 2:14, 20; 3:8; 6:39; 9:30; 10:7; 14:19.

[4] יָשַׁע  = rescue. Judges 2:16, 18; 3:9, 15, 31; 6:14, 15, 31, 36, 37; 7:2, 7; 8:22; 10:1, 12, 13, 14; 12:2, 3; 13:5.

[5] שָׁחַת = spoil, ruin, devastate. Judges 2:19; 6:4-5; 20:21, 25, 35, 42.

[6] נוּחַ = place. Judges 2:23; 3:1; 6:18, 20

Judges 2 quotes:

“Two features are noteworthy in exploring the place of chapter 2 within the corpus of Judges. Its style is characterized by the presence of complex sentence structures, with embedded clauses and much subordination, a trait that Polak (1998) finds in postexilic or Persian period Hebrew. Laying the text out in cola thus reveals considerable enjambment whereby the thought is not completed until a line or two beyond the opening clause. The language, content, and themes of Judges 2, moreover, parallel those of Deuteronomistic writings, emphasizing the idolatry of the natives of the land, the need to separate from these peoples, the tendency to break covenant by consorting with foreigners, and the punishment as defeat that follows. The texture of the passage would seem to indicate a late Deuteronomistic voice. The register is thus quite different from that of ch. 1, which more often than not assumes an epic style, although its date, as preserved, may well be as late or later than that of ch. 2 (see introduction, sections 3 and 4). Structurally, Judges 2 is composed of at least four segments, each of which offers theological explanation for Israel’s lack of success in taking possession of the land. All are framed in terms of covenant.”

Niditch Susan. Judges : A Commentary. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 48.

Judges 2 links:

“To be gathered to his people”
consequences of ignorance
Excursus- “To Be Gathered”
for the testing of Israel
Immanuel – part 1
infusion of hope
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, July 1, 2019
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, July 3, 2023
The consequences of separation
The sin of inclusion
weathering the storm

The JUDGES shelf in Jeff’s library

Judges 1 

Judges 1:1 It happened after the death of Joshua; the Israelites asked Yahveh, “Who will be the leading[1] tribe to go up for us to battle against the Canaanites?”

Judges 1:2 Yahveh[2] answered, “Judah is to go. Notice[3] I have given the land[4] to his hand.”

Judges 1:3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come with me to my allotted territory and let us fight against the Canaanites. I will also go with you to your allotted territory.” So Simeon went with him.

Judges 1:4 When Judah went up, Yahveh gave the Canaanites and Perizzites to their hands. They struck down[5] ten thousand men in Bezek.

Judges 1:5 They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek, fought against him, and struck down the Canaanites and Perizzites.

Judges 1:6 When Adoni-bezek fled, they chased[6] him caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.

Judges 1:7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I have done.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

Judges 1:8 The men of Judah fought against Jerusalem, captured it, struck it down with the sword, and set the city on fire.

Judges 1:9 Afterward, the men of Judah marched down to fight against the Canaanites who were living in the hill country, the Negev, and the Judean foothills.

Judges 1:10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (Hebron was formerly named Kiriath-arba). They struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Judges 1:11 From there they marched against the residents of Debir (Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher).

Judges 1:12 Caleb said, “Whoever strikes down and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah to him as a wife.”

Judges 1:13 So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s youngest brother, captured it, and Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to him as his wife.

Judges 1:14 When she arrived, she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

Judges 1:15 She answered him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs also.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

Judges 1:16 The descendants of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law, had gone up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah, which was in the Negev of Arad. They went to live among the people.

Judges 1:17 Judah went with Simeon, his brother, struck the Canaanites who were living in Zephath, and completely exterminated[7] the town. So they named the town Hormah.

Judges 1:18 Judah captured Gaza and its territory, Ashkelon and its territory, and Ekron and its territory.

Judges 1:19 Yahveh was with Judah and enabled them to take possession of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people who were living in the valley because those people had iron chariots.

Judges 1:20 Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, just as Moses had promised. Then Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak who lived there.

Judges 1:21 At the same time the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites have lived among the Benjaminites in Jerusalem to this day.

Judges 1:22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and Yahveh was with them.

Judges 1:23 They sent spies to Bethel (the town was previously named Luz).

Judges 1:24 The spies saw a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Please show us how to get into town, and we will show you covenant loyalty.[8]“

Judges 1:25 When he showed them the way into the town, they struck the town down with the sword but released the man and his entire family.

Judges 1:26 Then the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a town, and named it Luz. That is its name still today.

Judges 1:27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean and Taanach and their surrounding villages, or the residents of Dor, Ibleam, and Megiddo and their surrounding villages; the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land.

Judges 1:28 When Israel became more robust, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely.

Judges 1:29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.

Judges 1:30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor.

Judges 1:31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob.

Judges 1:32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land because they failed to drive them out.

Judges 1:33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor.

Judges 1:34 The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley.

Judges 1:35 The Amorites were determined to stay in Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor.

Judges 1:36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Scorpions’ Ascent, that is from the Sela upward.

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[1] תְּחִלָּה = leading. Judges 1:1; 20:18.

[2] יהוה = Yahveh. Judges 1:1-2, 4, 19, 22; 2:1, 4-5, 7-8, 10-18, 20, 22-23; 3:1, 4, 7-10, 12, 15, 28; 4:1-3, 6, 9, 14-15; 5:2-5, 9, 11, 13, 23, 31; 6:1, 6-8, 10-14, 16, 21-27, 34; 7:2, 4-5, 7, 9, 15, 18, 20, 22; 8:7, 19, 23, 34; 10:6-7, 10-11, 15-16; 11:9-11, 21, 23-24, 27, 29-32, 35-36; 12:3; 13:1, 3, 8, 13, 15-21, 23-25; 14:4, 6, 19; 15:14, 18; 16:20, 28; 17:2-3, 13; 18:6; 20:1, 18, 23, 26-28, 35; 21:3, 5, 7-8, 15, 19.

[3] הִנֵּה = notice. Judges 1:2; 3:24-25; 4:22; 6:15, 28, 37; 7:13, 17; 8:15; 9:31, 33, 36-37; 11:34; 13:3, 5, 7, 10; 14:5, 8, 16; 16:10; 17:2; 18:9, 12; 19:9, 16, 22, 24, 27; 20:7, 40; 21:8-9, 19, 21.

[4] אֶרֶץ = land. Judges 1:2, 15, 26-27, 32-33; 2:1-2, 6, 12; 3:11, 25, 30; 4:21; 5:4, 31; 6:4-5, 9-10, 37, 39-40; 8:28; 9:37; 10:4, 8; 11:3, 5, 12-13, 15, 17-19, 21; 12:12, 15; 13:20; 16:24; 18:2, 7, 9-10, 14, 17, 30; 19:30; 20:1, 21, 25; 21:12, 21.

[5] נָכָה = strike down (kill). Judges 1:4-5, 8, 10, 12, 17, 25; 3:13, 29, 31; 6:16; 7:13; 8:11; 9:43-44; 11:21, 33; 12:4; 14:19; 15:8, 15-16; 18:27; 20:31, 37, 39, 45, 48; 21:10.

[6] רָדָף = chase, follow. Judges 1:6; 3:28; 4:16, 22; 7:23, 25; 8:4, 5, 12; 9:40; 20:43.

[7] חָרָם = exterminate. Judges 1:17; 21:11.

[8] חֶסֶד = covenant loyalty. Judges 1:24; 8:35.

Judges 1 quotes:

“Judges 1 expresses essential ambivalences regarding Israelite identity, tensions in worldview concerning forms of polity and the nature of political power. As in portions of Joshua, conquest is not totalistic, and the author wrestles with a clash between two sorts of polity, one centralized based on common ties to a leader or state (e.g., Judah in the first half of this chapter) and the other decentralized based on perceived kinship bonds. A more tribal orientation dominates the second half of the chapter. A Judah-led duo gives way to a tribe-by-tribe accounting, and “house of Joseph” in vv. 22-26 gives way to a discussion of Manasseh, Ephraim, and the rest of the tribes. The chapter, in microcosm, reflects concerns that run throughout Judges as a whole and is a thoughtful and mature expression of Israelite self-perception. Like all the tales in Judges, Judges 1 reflects not only the voice of a final composer, the “humanist” voice of postexilic times, but layers of tradition that often defy certain disentanglement.”

Niditch Susan. Judges : A Commentary. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 37.

Judges 1 links:

setting the stage – Devotions

The JUDGES shelf in Jeff’s library