(p. 119) "The 'judges' were not primarily judicial officials; rather, they were military leaders and clan chieftaines who appeared periodically in different areas among the tribes to effect deliverance from enemies threatening parts of Israel."
Time: Judges covers the period from the death of Joshua to the rise of the monarchy.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
This narrative takes place at a time of migrations and change in the Near East.
The author appears to have lived after he start of the monarchy (17.6; 18.1; 19.1; 21.25).
References to a captivity of the land are unclear.
Some political statements suggest a date as late as the early 6th century.
Attempts to pull the documentary hypothesis into Judges have largely proven fruitless.
The Chronology of Judges is difficult.
Rules of judges add up to 410 years, close to the 480 needed to account for the documented time period.
No length of the times of apostasy is noted.
The times may well have overlapped.
The judges may have been regional, indicating possible overlapping times.
LITERARY STRUCTURE
The book easily divides into a prologue (1.1-2.5), a center (2.6-16.31) and an epilogue (17.1-21.25).
The prologue sets the stage for the cycle of apostasy/redemption.
The center provides core stories about each judge.
The quality of judges tends to decline throughout.
THEOLOGICAL MESSAGE
(p. 127) "God's relationship with Israel is at once both conditional and unconditional." Yep, this is kind of self-contradictory, but it does seem to describe the way God has revealed himself.
APPROACHING THE NEW TESTAMENT
The judges are like the apostles in many ways. They are deeply flawed people. They serve to draw our attention to the true God in repentance, rather than to the judges or apostles themselves.
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com
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Dave Spotts
blogging at http://capnsaltyslongvoyage.blogspot.com and http://alex-kirk.blogspot.com
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