The book of Judges contains some of our best-known Bible stories, such as Gideon and his water-lapping soldiers, and Samson and his hair. The book of Judges also contains some rarely-referenced weirdness, such as Shamgar’s oxgoad and Abimelech’s dictatorship. In addition, the book of Judges contains some horrific tales, typically considered inappropriate for polite company, such as Eglon’s feces spilling out, and a Levite’s despicable treatment of his concubine.

This book is heroic, confusing, and quite dark, sometimes all at the same time. How are we to understand its message?

Literary Markers

The book divides into sections according to the lives of its chief protagonists, the “judges,” or military and political leaders of the tribes of Israel. Some judges get complete stories assigned to them, while others get only a summary statement or two. These biographies yield the following list (I’ve indented the minor judges who appear only in summary statements):

• Othniel – Jdg 3:7-11
• Ehud – Jdg 3:12-30
  • Shamgar – Jdg 3:31
• Deborah – Jdg 4:1-5:31
• Gideon – Jdg 6:1-8:35
• Abimelech – Jdg 9:1-57
  • Tola – Jdg 10:1-2
  • Jair – Jdg 10:3-5
• Jephthah – Jdg 10:6-12:7
  • Ibzan – Jdg 12:8-10
  • Elon – Jdg 12:11-12
  • Abdon – Jdg 12:13-15
• Samson – Jdg 13:1-16:31

Most of these stories end with either the death of the leader, or the land having rest from oppression, or both. So they are presented as a set of life-stories that fit together in a literary sequence.

That leaves us with a quite a bit of material at the beginning and end of the book that doesn’t fit within the sequence of life-cycles of the judges. But a closer look shows that this material is still carefully arranged.

Beginning and Ending

The book opens “after the death of Joshua” (Jdg 1:1), but then later describes what happens “when Joshua dismissed the people” (Jdg 2:6). So these scenes must be out of chronological order.

The first scene describes the results of each tribe’s conquest of the promised land, getting progressively less effective, and culminating in the condemnation of the angel of the Lord (Jdg 1:1-2:5). The second scene steps back and offers perspective on why those conquests tended to fail: The people stopped listening to Yahweh and chose instead to pursue false gods (Jdg 2:6-3:6). This second scene lays out a template of sorts, which each judge’s narrative will then follow: the people turn aside, are handed over to an oppressor, cry out to God, have a judge raised up, conquer the oppressor, find rest, and turn again to false gods.

So the opening two scenes describe what happened in the generation following Joshua’s death (scene 1), and why (scene 2).

Jumping to the end of the book, we also find two distinct units. In the first unit (Jdg 17-18), a man sets up a personal shrine with a private priest (who happens to be the grandson of Moses!), which is then robbed by the tribe that executed its conquest most poorly (Dan). In the second unit (Jdg 19-21), a Levite cannot be trusted with his own quasi-bride, civil war erupts, and everything falls to pieces.

So the closing two scenes grant us graphic portraits of why things have gotten so terrible (unit 1), and just what happens when things get so terrible (unit 2)—the same issues as the opening scenes, but in reverse order. By book’s end, we ought to feel utterly repulsed by the behavior and beliefs of the people of God. How did things ever get so out of hand, when God was so faithful to deliver them time and again?

The Refrain

The book’s final lines present a chilling assessment that ought to rattle any clear-thinking society:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 21:25

This statement appears as a refrain multiple times in the closing scenes (Jdg 17:6, 18:1, 19:1, 21:25). It parallels the opening statement of Joshua’s death, leaving the people leaderless (Jdg 1:1). So the book’s conclusion is driven by this piercing assessment.

The Body

So if the book’s introduction and conclusion both unpack what went wrong and why it went wrong, what does the cycle of judges in the book’s body suggest about the narrator’s agenda?

In one sense, we can see the sequence of judges as a linear sequence getting progressively worse.

• Othniel makes quick work of his adversary, fighting in the strength of God’s Spirit.
• Ehud turns to deception, which is not uncommon in military campaigns but stands out by contrast with Othniel.
• Deborah steps up (along with another woman, Jael), when the male military officer refuses to go without her.
• Gideon is full of questions and uncertainty, refusing to become king. But he sets up an unauthorized shrine and names his son “my father is king” (Abimelech).
• Abimelech doesn’t even pretend to be a good guy, but claims kingship for himself, murdering all rivals and falling to a bloody and shameful end.
• Jephthah is a mighty warrior, yet also a known scoundrel and thug. Though Gideon mostly made peace with tribes who complained against him, Jephthah, upon finishing off God’s enemies, makes open war on God’s people who won’t support him.
• Samson performs mighty acts of faith in Yahweh’s name, yet he can’t stop living and grasping for whatever he sees in the moment. He is rewarded with blindness so he can finally, truly see.

In this linear sequence, the judges represent the people of Israel not only politically but spiritually. The life of the judge is a living parable of the spiritual state of the community, descending into chaotic, horrific self-centeredness.

But there is another sense in which the stories of the judges are presented. In addition to the linear descent into madness, we also see a concentric (or chiastic) sequence.

• Othniel
  • Ehud
    • Deborah
      • Gideon
    • Abimelech
  • Jephthah
• Samson

How are the judges placed in parallel?

• Othniel and Samson both do their work in the strength of Yahweh’s Spirit, interacting largely with the tribe of Judah.
• Ehud and Jephthah both have battles (with very different results) at the fords of the Jordan.
• Deborah and Abimelech are both unusual leaders. One is suffering through the appointed leader’s abdication; the other suffers from his own self-aggrandizement. Also, in both stories, the antagonist perishes from a head wound and impalement.

Gideon stands at the book’s center, as the reluctant leader who accomplishes tremendous deeds for Yahweh. Yet even his greatest victory comes tinged with a hint of self-aggrandizement (“A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!” – Jdg 7:18). His story culminates in a critical proposition from the men of Israel: “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also” (Jdg 8:22). While he refuses this offer of a dynasty (Jdg 8:23), he still has the chutzpah to name one of his sons “my father is king” (Jdg 8:31). His story ends with more than a hint of something sinister afoot.

Conclusion

The book’s key question is: Who will lead these people? And its key conclusion is: They need a king. But clearly, not just any king. Someone like Abimelech will never do.

First and foremost, they need Yahweh as their king. Everything goes haywire when then they rebel against him. But perhaps Yahweh will see fit to grant them a human king in his image, after his likeness, according to his own heart. Judges only raises the question, but you have to keep reading into Ruth and 1 & 2 Samuel for an answer.

Interpretive Outline

• What happens without a leader – Jdg 1:1-2:5
  • Why they need a king – Jdg 2:6-3:6
    • Three kingly heroes – Jdg 3:7-5:31
      • The man who would (or would not?) be king – Jdg 6:1-8:35
    • Three very unkingly heroes – Jdg 9:1-16:31
  • Why they need a king – Jdg 17:1-18:31
• What the worst looks like when there is no king – Jdg 19:1-21:25

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This post is part of a series of interpretive overviews of the books of the Bible.