Handout #19: Cycle of Sin, Shoftim, Role of Judges,Purpose for Judges, Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, role, purpose of judges, Book of Mormon judges, cycle of righteousness. May 2014

Judges (Heb. Shoftim שופטים רספ) is the 7th book of the Pentateuch. Set between late 14th – early 11th century b.c. This predates and is part of a Deuteronomistic history=from entry into Canaan through destruction of Temple-a.d. 70. Each story concerns a major judge/struggles against the oppression/rebellion of Israelites. Judges is part of the Tanakh in the section called Prophets (Nevi’im).

After Joshua’s death there was lack of strong central government. Tribal infighting. Central theme-compromise, moderation, against idolatry and immorality. Book may have been written by Samuel – failure of Israel to conquer enemies, claim inheritance, relationship with God. In other words there was a repeated cycle throughout the entire book – a cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, devotion, followed by sin and bondage again. Israel would follow the Lord when there was a leader who reminded them of the ways in which they should walk, but with his death they again wandered off following other gods and their own desires. God would then allow an enemy of Israel to conquer the people so that, through desperation (unfortunately) they would again look to Him. Here is the list of characters:

Enemy Years of Bondage Judge

Deliverance, Rest Scripture

Mesopotamia 8 Othniel 40 Judges 3:7-11
Moab 18 Ehud 80 3:12-31
Canaan 20 Deborah 40 4:1-5:31
Midian 7 Gideon 40 6:1-8:28
Ammon 18 Jephthah 6 10:6-12:7
Philistia 40 Samson 20 13:1-16:31

The Role of Judges: (The judges did not function properly. YHWH faithfully delivers his people through weak judges.)

1. One who delivered the people
2. One who ruled in Israel before the time of deliverance (4:4)
3. One who ruled in Israel after the time of deliverance (8:28; 12:7)
4. He/she had several tasks (Dt 16:18; 25:1):
a. To turn the people back from idolatry and thus restore the authority of the law
b. To vindicate YHWH’s righteousness by proving that He always remained faithful to His covenant with His vassal
c. Since YHWH was the King, He utilized the judge to effect His rulership over His vassal, Israel. The judge was invested with YHWH’s power and authority. The judges led Israel from time of elders who outlived Joshua (Yeshua) until days of monarchy.

Purposes for Judges:
• To develop the historical period from the conquest of the land to the time of Israel’s first king
• B. Not simply to present history as it was, but to present a theological perspective on the period of the judges (cf. Joshua 24:14-28; Judges 2:6-13)
• C. To present YHWH as faithful to His covenant to Abraham even through the people break their covenant with Him and never repent of their evil (cf. Deut 11:26-28; 28:15)
• D. To remind the people that YHWH is faithful to His covenant and that He, not a judge or king, is the One ultimately responsible for the welfare of Israel
• E. To stress for Saul (?) the obligation of obedience to YHWH with the understanding that blessing ultimately does not depend upon one’s own personal might or worthiness but upon YHWH’s faithfulness (1 Samuel will underscore this theme)
• F. If God is raising up someone in every generation to do battle with evil (Gen 3:15) then the number of judges may be equal to the number of generations. This would make the book of Judges a complete list but with a theological theme. (by David Malick)

Israelites were a major political power in region by late 13th century b.c. Almost continually at war with Philistines until David subdued them finally. Socioeconomic changes in eastern Mediterranean region. Moved from being pastoral to farming and war.

Intermarrying with Canaanites continued. They and Phoenicians worshipped Ba’al (lord), symbol of fertility, strength.

Othniel – (Judges 3) power of God. Fought valiantly in capturing Kiriath-sepher at request of Caleb (Judges 1:1-12). ‘the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him’. He defeated Cushan! When Israel forgot their need of God, the Lord allowed them to be defeated by their prideful independence then raised up a deliverer to remind them again of the power of God and their constant need to looking and relying upon God for His power in their life.

Ehud – (Judges 3) left handed, a Benjamite, son of Gera and Addar. Sword double-edged used to murder king Eglon, routed the Moabites. Led coalition of tribes from east of Dead Sea, subdued Israelites. Had a palace 39 ft x 48 ft. with cuneiform tablets.

Deborah, Barak (lightning) –( Judges 4). Rallied six Israelite tribes to defeat army of Jabin, king of Canaan at Kishon River. Heads and hands of deities broken off (Deut 12:3). Jabin was a dynastic name, on the same order as Pharaoh. Sisera defeated by Deborah, a Kenite. They brought 40 years of peace.

Gideon- destroyer, feller of trees (Judges 6, Hebrews ll), of Manasseh. Son of Joash, he was unsure of himself and asked God to prove his will by three miracles: sign from angel (6:16), and two signs involving a fleece. When assured, Gideon destroyed the town’s altar to Ba’al and Asherah. Marched with his men around a camp with 300 trumpets and the Midianites retreated. Refused kingship.

Jephthah – ( Judges 10) son of Gilead with prostitute. Of Manasseh. His sons sent him away-dubious racial heritage. Conquered the Ammonites at request of his brothers. Promised to sacrifice his winnings to God. Instead he asked his daughter to remain pure and dedicate herself to God.

Samson – Heb. (Judges 13) A Nazarite (abstains, uncut hair, cannot drink wine, be near a corpse, consecrated to God). Twenty years a judge. Extreme physical strength. Eventually destroyed Philistine temple at Gaza, killing himself as well. His story may be mythical. Zorah, the home of Samson, had been assigned originally to the tribe of Judah (see Joshua 15:33), but was later inhabited by the tribe of Dan, which had been unable to take over the land assigned to it as its inheritance.
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Old Testament vows were not regarded as a religious duty but were considered sacred, binding (Det 23:21-23: J 11:35). Almost anything could be vowed, and all could be redeemed with money, their value determined by a priest.
Nowhere is the cycle of righteousness more apparent in the Book of Mormon than during the reign of the judges. The judges governed from 91 B.C. until A.D. 31, when the chief judge was murdered and the government overthrown. During the reign of the judges, the Nephites constantly fluctuated in their level of righteousness. Other factors, such as degrees of peace, political unity, and prosperity no doubt affected their commitment to the gospel; however, the righteousness of the people affected the other factors in a more direct way. This overview of the Nephite cycle of righteousness can be used to identify general trends in the complex examples presented by the following graphs in this section. Beginning at the top of the chart, the scriptures in each cycle can be followed around the circle clockwise until the final destruction recorded in Mormon 4–6, after which no repentance occurred.

Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon mention rule by kings and judges. The office of judge existed in the time of Moses, who had commanded “the judges of Israel” to slay a group of sinners (Numbers 25:5). The mosaic law provided for judges to “hear the causes between your brethren,” making “diligent inquisition” of witnesses, and settling every “controversy between men” (Deuteronomy 1:5;16:18; 19:17-19; 21:1-2; 25:1-2). Judges in the time of Joshua are listed with the elders and officers (Joshua 8:33; 23:2; 24:1).

The chief Nephite military leaders were “appointed by the chief judges and the voice of the people” (Alma 46:34; 3 Nephi 3:17). From Alma 60:1, it is clear that “the chief judge and the governor over the land” was one of “those who have been chosen by this people to govern and manage the affairs of this war.”

Indeed, of Alma, the first Nephite judge, we read that “being the chief judge and the governor of the people of Nephi, therefore he went up with his people, yea, with his captains, and chief captains, yea, at the head of his armies, against the Amlicites to battle” (Alma 2:16). The actions of the Nephite chief judge Lachoneus in 3 Nephi 3 suggest that he provided leadership in both military and civil affairs.

The Nephite judges were probably patterned after the judges of the Bible, fulfilling the same functions as their predecessors. The only difference between them is chronological. The earlier judges preceded the establishment of the Israelite monarchy, while the Nephite monarch, having seen the bad results of the wicked king Noah (Mosiah 29:18) decided to abolish the hereditary office in favor of the earlier position of judge, allowing the people to select their own leaders.

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