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    Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture
    Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture
    Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture
    Ebook1,375 pages18 hours

    Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture

    By Daniel I. Block

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    About this ebook

    THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBH Publishing Group
    Release dateSep 20, 1999
    ISBN9781433672620
    Judges, Ruth: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture
    Author

    Daniel I. Block

    Daniel I. Block (D.Phil, University of Liverpool) is Gunther H. Knoedler Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College.

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    • 4/5
      "No book in the Old Testament offers the modern church as telling a mirror as this book." So ends Daniel Block's New American Commentary on Judges.* One might very well add, "The book is a telling mirror of American society as a whole." Block takes a biblical book describing events that took place 3,000 years ago and shows how relevant they still are through his solid exegesis of the text.Throughout his commentary, Block reviews and expounds upon the continual decline of Israel after they entered the Promised Land, during the time of the shofetim (traditionally translated "judges," but Block uses the more technically correct term "tribal leaders"). Block traces two main themes of of Judges throughout his commentary. The first is the gradual Canaanization of Israel. In every episode, Israel and her shofetim take on more and more of the characteristics and culture of the surrounding peoples (the Canaanites), which of course is in direct disobedience of God's original command to them to completely and utterly destroy the native peoples. By the end of the book, the only people Israel attempts to destroy in this manner is the tribe of Benjamin--their own brothers and sisters! Block shows that this is the dramatic effect of acquiescence and indeed full acceptance of a sinful culture. The second main theme Block traces throughout the book is God's grace. Israel and her leaders follow and disobey the laws of God in whatever manner is most convenient for them at the moment. Although they cry out to God on multiple occasions, it is always a cry for help and never a cry of repentance. Every judge, save two (Othniel and Deborah), are shown to be poor leaders. And yet God continually saves them from destruction! As Block mentions several times, God is more concerned with redeeming his people than they are!There are several other important topics that Block tackles in his commentary, not the least of which is the narrator's repeated observation that "there was no king in Israel." For those discussions, I would refer you to the commentary itself, which I felt was a good resource overall. Block provides the reader with the usual discussions of grammar, history and so forth that one expects in a quality commentary. I appreciated, too, how he wove the aforementioned themes together to provide his commentary and the biblical book with a good and memorable flow. On the other hand, I felt his "theological and practical implications" sections were rather weak. I would have liked to have seen some of these implications more drawn out, since Judges is so incredibly apropos to today's culture (and indeed, it was all too easy for this reader to find his own implications). I also must sadly admit that the commentary suffered from bad proofing. I have never seen so many basic grammar and punctuation errors in a published book. (I even found some of the Hebrew transliterations to be incorrect!) All in all, though, these negatives did not detract from the overall quality and value of Block's commentary, and it has become a welcome addition to my personal library.*Note: The volume also includes a separate commentary on Ruth, which I have not yet read.
    • 5/5
      muy bueno el comentario y muy cientifico, lo que lo hace ideal para trabajar.

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    Judges, Ruth - Daniel I. Block

    To my children,

    Jason and Carolyn

    and

    Jonelle and Douglas

    May you be richly blessed

    by the LORD

    and may you find refuge under his wings

    Ruth 2:12

    Author Preface

    The books of Judges and Ruth present two drastically different pictures of the Israelite people at the end of the second millennium B.C. On the one hand, the book of Judges declares that if God's people ever forget the grace that he has lavished on them in redemption, covenant relationship, and the revelation of his will, the slide into apostasy is inevitable. Flush from the incredible victories over the Canaanites they had won under the leadership of Joshua, the individual tribes should have made quick work of those who remained in the land allotted to the respective tribes. But how different was the reality from the dream! Unable or unwilling to keep the memory of God's grace alive, by the time we reach the end of the book the Israelites about whom we read are scarcely distinguishable from the Canaanites whom they were to replace. The amazing fact is that Israel survives this dark period—but not because of any merit of their own. As I read this book, I am impressed that God is always far more interested in preserving his people—Israel under the old covenant, the church under the new—than his people are in preserving themselves. Repeatedly in the book, by sheer mercy God rescues his people from the dismal fates they, by their own faithlessness and misconduct, have brought upon themselves. The book of Judges teaches its readers in every age that the darker the human heart the more brilliant the light of God's grace.

    But then there is the book of Ruth. I am grateful to those who were responsible for arranging the biblical books in the canon we use in the church. By placing this delightful little tractate after the depressing accounts of the judges and their compatriots, we are reminded that God's kingdom is built not by might but by his Spirit. Furthermore, we are instructed that the LORD's work is accomplished not so much by powerful and charismatic leaders but by ordinary people, who in their daily affairs display the transforming work of the Spirit of God—people who not only genuinely seek refuge under the wings of God but who view themselves as his wings where others might find shelter and care. The characters in this book inspire the readers to rejoice in the hesed (grace, mercy, kindness, love, faithfulness, etc., all rolled into one beautiful Hebrew word) they experience from God and to embody that same hesed in their family and community relationships.

    These two commentaries were written that God's people today might, on the one hand, be convicted of the extent to which we have been squeezed into the mold of the world (Rom 12:1, Phillips) and, on the other hand, be inspired to live as salt and light in this dark world (Matt 5:3–16). My commentaries here are less technical than my previous work on Ezekiel, but the questions I ask of the authors of Judges and Ruth are the same: (1) What are you saying? (the text critical issue); (2) Why do you say it like that? (the cultural and literary issues); (3) What do you mean? (the hermeneutical and theological issues); and (4) What is the significance of this message for me today? (the practical issue). While I have been wrestling with these issues, I have also tried to anticipate questions that modern readers actually ask of the text. For all these reasons the reader will find considerable variation in the flow, level, and clarity of my comments. In some passages (most of Ruth, for example), the meaning and significance of the text are fairly near the surface. Others, like Judges 5, are among the most difficult in the Bible. I recognize that my interpretation of the book as a whole and my perception of many, if not most, of the characters in the book runs against the grain of popular perceptions. All I ask of readers is that they check my interpretations against the evidence of the Scriptures themselves rather than against traditions that may be ancient, but may also be misled. As evangelicals we affirm the Scriptures as our only authority in all matters relating to faith and practice. My desire and prayer is that having listened to me speak (via the printed page), all who read the books of Judges and Ruth will discover the relevance and power of God's ancient Word in their own lives. Commentaries are never the final word. And commentaries, the works of sinful mortals, must never replace the pure and living word of God. If our work does not drive our readers back to the biblical texts, we have failed.

    This project could not have been completed without the pressure and encouragement of a host of people. The book of Judges had been a special passion of mine for some time when I received the invitation from David Dockery almost a decade ago to participate in the production of a new commentary series for the Southern Baptist Convention. In the meantime the LORD has led us to Kentucky, where we have found a wide open door for our ministry and great encouragement for our work. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Dr. R. Albert Mohler and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for providing a joyful and stimulating context in which to pursue my research. I am especially grateful for a one-half year Sabbatical leave I was granted in 1998 so I might complete this project. I also thank my graduate assistants, Kenneth Turner and Michael Roy, not only for their specific help on this project, but especially for taking care of so many other tasks, freeing me to devote my attention to this commentary.

    I am especially appreciative of the invaluable aid E. Ray Clendenen and the rest of the editors involved in this series have lent me. With their careful and critical reading they have sharpened my pencil and spared me many an embarrassment. In this context I must also express my thanks to my seminary students at Bethel in St. Paul, Minnesota, here at Southern in Louisville, and in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the students at Providence College in Otterburne, Manitoba, for enduring and responding to the perspectives and interpretations offered here. They, and the churches where I have preached and taught from these books, have provided necessary reminders that in this series we write for the church, more than for the academy.

    But special thanks are extended to those closest to me. My wife Ellen has provided daily unwavering support throughout my teaching career. Never has this been more needed than in the past few years as we have wrestled with this project. The publication of this volume also affords me the opportunity to thank my children publicly for the special treasure they are to me. In appreciation for the joy they bring to my life, this book is dedicated to my son Jason, and his wife Carolyn, and my daughter Jonelle, and her husband Douglas. My prayer is that as long as they live they will seek and find refuge under the wings of the LORD and offer themselves as the LORD's wings to those in need.

    Above all we bless the LORD, who has not stopped lavishing his hesed on us. We offer this commentary to him as our sacrifice of praise. May our work be instructive and inspirational for all who read it, and may it bring glory to God, who through Boaz and Ruth has provided for us a savior and redeemer in Jesus Christ.

    Louisville, Kentucky

    May 22, 1999

    Editors' Preface

    God's Word does not change. God's world, however, changes in every generation. These changes, in addition to new findings by scholars and a new variety of challenges to the gospel message, call for the church in each generation to interpret and apply God's Word for God's people. Thus, THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is introduced to bridge the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This new series has been designed primarily to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power.

    In one sense THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is not new, for it represents the continuation of a heritage rich in biblical and theological exposition. The title of this forty-volume set points to the continuity of this series with an important commentary project published at the end of the nineteenth century called AN AMERICAN COMMENTARY, edited by Alvah Hovey. The older series included, among other significant contributions, the outstanding volume on Matthew by John A. Broadus, from whom the publisher of the new series, Broadman Press, partly derives its name. The former series was authored and edited by scholars committed to the infallibility of Scripture, making it a solid foundation for the present project. In line with this heritage, all NAC authors affirm the divine inspiration, inerrancy, complete truthfulness, and full authority of the Bible. The perspective of the NAC is unapologetically confessional and rooted in the evangelical tradition.

    Since a commentary is a fundamental tool for the expositor or teacher who seeks to interpret and apply Scripture in the church or classroom, the NAC focuses on communicating the theological structure and content of each biblical book. The writers seek to illuminate both the historical meaning and contemporary significance of Holy Scripture.

    In its attempt to make a unique contribution to the Christian community, the NAC focuses on two concerns. First, the commentary emphasizes how each section of a book fits together so that the reader becomes aware of the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole. The writers, however, remain aware of the Bible's inherently rich variety. Second, the NAC is produced with the conviction that the Bible primarily belongs to the church. We believe that scholarship and the academy provide an indispensable foundation for biblical understanding and the service of Christ, but the editors and authors of this series have attempted to communicate the findings of their research in a manner that will build up the whole body of Christ. Thus, the commentary concentrates on theological exegesis while providing practical, applicable exposition.

    THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY's theological focus enables the reader to see the parts as well as the whole of Scripture. The biblical books vary in content, context, literary type, and style. In addition to this rich variety, the editors and authors recognize that the doctrinal emphasis and use of the biblical books differs in various places, contexts, and cultures among God's people. These factors, as well as other concerns, have led the editors to give freedom to the writers to wrestle with the issues raised by the scholarly community surrounding each book and to determine the appropriate shape and length of the introductory materials. Moreover, each writer has developed the structure of the commentary in a way best suited for expounding the basic structure and the meaning of the biblical books for our day. Generally, discussions relating to contemporary scholarship and technical points of grammar and syntax appear in the footnotes and not in the text of the commentary. This format allows pastors and interested laypersons, scholars and teachers, and serious college and seminary students to profit from the commentary at various levels. This approach has been employed because we believe that all Christians have the privilege and responsibility to read and seek to understand the Bible for themselves.

    Consistent with the desire to produce a readable, up-to-date commentary, the editors selected the New International Version as the standard translation for the commentary series. The selection was made primarily because of the NIV's faithfulness to the original languages and its beautiful and readable style. The authors, however, have been given the liberty to differ at places from the NIV as they develop their own translations from the Greek and Hebrew texts.

    The NAC reflects the vision and leadership of those who provide oversight for Broadman Press, who in 1987 called for a new commentary series that would evidence a commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture and a faithfulness to the classic Christian tradition. While the commentary adopts an American name, it should be noted some writers represent countries outside the United States, giving the commentary an international perspective. The diverse group of writers includes scholars, teachers, and administrators from almost twenty different colleges and seminaries, as well as pastors, missionaries, and a layperson.

    The editors and writers hope that THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY will be helpful and instructive for pastors and teachers, scholars and students, for men and women in the churches who study and teach God's Word in various settings. We trust that for editors, authors, and readers alike, the commentary will be used to build up the church, encourage obedience, and bring renewal to God's people. Above all, we pray that the NAC will bring glory and honor to our Lord who has graciously redeemed us and faithfully revealed himself to us in his Holy Word.

    SOLI DEO GLORIA

    The Editors

    Contents

    Judges

    Introduction

    I. The Background to the Canaanization of Israel: Israel's Failure in the Holy War (1:1–3:6)

    II. God's Response to the Canaanization of Israel: The Cycles of Apostasy and Deliverance (3:7–16:31)

    III. Climax: The Depths of the Canaanization of Israel (17:1–21:25)

    Ruth

    Introduction

    I. Act 1: The Crisis for the Royal Line (1:1–21)

    II. Act 2: The Ray of Hope for the Royal Line (1:22–2:23)

    III. Act 3: The Complication for the Royal Line (3:1–8)

    IV. Act 4: The Rescue of the Royal Line (4:1–17)

    V. Epilogue: The Genealogy of the Royal Line (4:18–22)

    Selected Bibliography

    Maps

    Syria and Lebanon

    Limits of Israelite Settlement and the Land Yet to Be Conquered

    Abbreviations

    Bible Books

    Apocrypha

    Commonly Used Sources

    Judges

    INTRODUCTION OUTLINE

    1. The Title of the Book

    2. Historical and Religious Background to the Book of Judges

    (1) The Period of the Judges

    (2) Sources for Recovering the History of the Period of the Judges

    (3) The Appearance of Israel in Canaan

    (4) Sociopolitical Conditions in Premonarchic Israel

    (5) Religious Conditions in the Premonarchic Period

    3. The Composition of the Book of Judges

    (1) A Survey of Modern Scholarly Opinion

    (2) The Nature and Design of Judges Genre Sources

    Genre

    Sources

    Theme and Purpose of the Book

    The Chronological Problem of Judges

    (3) Date and Place of Composition

    4. The History of Interpretation of the Book of Judges

    (1) The Old Testament

    (2) Early Judaism

    (3) The New Testament

    (4) The Relevance of the Book of Judges Today

    5. The Text of Judges

    INTRODUCTION

    1. The Title of the Book

    The English name for the Book of Judges derives from the Vulgate, which called this biblical composition Liber Iudicum. Like kritai, , traditionally rendered judges. In contrast to the Pentateuchal books, which derive their titles from the opening words of the respective books, this title has its origin in the activity of some of the major characters in the book. However, this translation is somewhat misleading for several reasons.

    , usually translated as judge. Indeed the title the Judge is only used of a specific individual once, in Jephthah's speech before the Ammonite delegation (11:27), where it applies not to Jephthah but to Yahweh.,to judge (NIV, to lead) is used to describe the activity of four of the primary² judges (Othniel [3:10], Deborah [4:4], Jephthah [12:7], and Samson [15:20; 16:31]) and five of the secondary judges (Tola [10:2], Jair [10:3], Ibzan [12:8,9], Elon [12:11], and Abdon [12:13,14]). Of those usually considered to be judges," only Deborah is said to have served in what might be understood as a judicial capacity (4:4–5). But even here it is doubtful the verb should be understood in the common judicial sense.³ Regardless, this function has little to do with the events that made her famous.

    , to judge, does not appear in all the book's major sections. It is not found either in 1:1–2:5 or in 17:21–21:25, which provide the framework for the narratives of the judges' activity.

    in 1 Samuel suggests the title Book of Judges could extend beyond the present book. Chronologically, the story of Samuel, particularly the accounts of his activities prior to the appointment of King Saul (1 Samuel 1–7), fits into this period, and the judicial and soteriological roles he plays suggest the designation Book of Judges should extend at least this far.⁴ This impression is strengthened by the inclusion of Samuel with Jerubbaal (Gideon), Bedan (Barak), and Jephthah in 1 Sam 12:11 and the narrator's formulaic conclusion to the Eli narrative (1 Sam 4:18), Thus he judged Israel forty years.

    ] them out of the hands of these raiders." This statement announces three important facts. (1) The source of the judges' authority and power was Yahweh., deliverer, liberator, is specifically applied to several judges,⁷ though elsewhere Yahweh is also presented as the deliverer.⁸ (3) These individuals were instruments of deliverance from external enemies;⁹ their purpose was not the settlement of internal disputes.

    , , , means to govern, administer, exercise leadership,¹⁰ and its derived usage may be diagrammed as follows:

    The general, nonjudicial usage found here may also be recognized elsewhere in the Old Testament. Especially telling is 1 Sam 8:5, which occurs in the context of a crisis precipitated by a combination of the Philistine threat and the perversion of Samuel's sons, whom the prophet had appointed to govern Israel (8:1-3). In v. 5 the Israelites explicitly request a king (melek) hammelek in vv. 9-11 has nothing to do with the judicial function of a king.is best understood generally to mean tribal rulers, leaders, governors rather than judges, so the name of the book is better rendered The Book of Tribal Rulers¹⁷

    2. Historical and Religious Background to the Book of Judges

    (1) The Period of the Judges

    the days of the rulers who ruled Israel, in 2 Kgs 23:22 demonstrates that the era of the judges was well defined in Israelite historical thought. The chronological limits of this period are set within the Book of Judges itself. The earliest possible beginning is established by 1:1, after the death of Joshua, and further defined in 2:6–10. Just as the death of the immediate sons of Jacob had marked the end of the patriarchal era (Exod 1:5–6) and the death of Moses had marked the end of the period of exodus and wanderings (Josh 1:1), so the death of Joshua signaled the transition from the period of conquest to the period of settlement in the land of Canaan.

    Scholars are not agreed on the date of commencement for the period of the judges. This question is tightly linked not only with the death of Joshua but also with the date of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. But the evidence for the dates of these events is inconclusive. Those who accept the essential historicity of the biblical account of the exodus go in two different directions. Relying on 1 Kgs 6:1,¹⁸ and Judg 11:26,¹⁹ American evangelicals have traditionally dated the exodus and the conquest in the latter half of the fifteenth century B.C.²⁰ But many British evangelicals think the issue is not as clear-cut as it first seems. As we will see, Judg 11:26 should not be used as evidence in the discussion, for Jephthah exaggerates the length of time to attack his enemies' reputation. They also interpret the reference to 480 years in 1 Kgs 6:1 symbolically, perhaps twelve generations of forty years each.²¹ Combining these questions with the problematic references to the storage cities of Pithom and Rameses in Exod 1:11, they tend to favor a thirteenth century date.²² For them the latest possible date for the entry into the promised land would be 1208 B.C., the date of a stela erected by Pharaoh Merneptah (1213–1203 B.C.) to commemorate his campaign in Canaan in his fifth year.²³

    Regardless when one fixes the beginning of the settlement,²⁴ the latest possible ending for the period is set by the refrain, In those days Israel had no king, variations of which are repeated in 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25. As noted earlier, technically this period extends through Eli's and Samuel's tenures, or at least until the coronation of Saul, which occurred in the last half of the eleventh century B.C.²⁵

    (2) Sources for Recovering the History of the Period of the Judges

    The Book of Judges itself is obviously the most helpful source for reconstructing the history of this period. Even scholars who date the book late accept that the stories of the deliverers are rooted in historical reality.²⁶ Though the Book of Ruth is often wrongly dismissed by critical scholars as a fanciful tale, it provides helpful information on life during this period in a specific community, the town of Bethlehem. References to this period are rare in later historiographic writings. From Samuel's farewell speech in 1 Sam 12:9–11 it is apparent he and the author of this book knew of the oppressions of Sisera, the Philistines, and Moab, as well as the deliverances provided by Jerubbaal (Gideon), Bedan (Barak), and Jephthah, and that Samuel puts himself in this same class of people. In fact, these verses sound so familiar one may suppose that the author was aware at least of the Book of Deliverers (Judg 3:7– 16:31). In 2 Sam 11:21, Joab warns against the dangers of siege warfare by referring to the death of Abimelech at the hands of the woman who threw the upper millstone on him from on top of the wall (Judg 9:53–54).

    Of the prophets, only Isaiah and Hosea allude to this premonarchic period. The former's reference to the day of Midian in 9:4[Hb. 3] reflects an awareness of Yahweh's defeat of the Midianites by the hand of Gideon. For Hosea the outrage of the Benjamites of Gibeah (Judges 18–19) represents the ultimate in corruption and depravity (Hos 9:9; 10:9). Earlier (6:7–9) he had alluded to Gilead and Ephraimite Shechem. In keeping with his North Israelite roots, but unlike the author of Judges, this prophet displays a distinctly anti-Gileadite and pro-Ephraimite stance.

    Allusions to the period of the judges are also scarce in the Psalter. The references to a theophany and to sheepfolds in Ps 68:7–14[Hb. 8–15] are reminiscent of the Song of Deborah (Judg 5:16). The naming of Zalmon in v. 14[15] recalls the Abimelech account (Judg 9:48). Outside the Book of Judges, Psalm 83 provides the most complete survey of the premonarchic era, as the psalmist lists a series of Israel's oppressors: Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarites, Gebal (and Sidon), Ammon and the Amalekites, Philistia and Tyre, as well as Assyria. If A. Malamat is correct in dating this psalm during or shortly after the period of the judges, the reference to Assyria probably recalls the appearance in the west of Tiglath Pileser I (1114–1076 B.C.), the first Assyrian emperor to reach the Mediterranean.²⁷ This psalmist also knows of the defeat of Midian, Sisera and Jabin (even the flooding of the Kishon), Oreb and Zeeb (Judg 7:25), and Zebah and Zalmunnah (Judg 8:21).

    Extrabiblical sources for the period of the judges are scarce. The Merneptah Stela, celebrating the victories of Rameses II's successor in Canaan, has yielded the earliest extrabiblical reference to an entity called Israel. At the end of the document the author breaks out into poetry:

    The princes are prostrate, saying Mercy!

    Not one raises his head among the Nine Bows.

    Desolation is for Tehenu; Hatti is pacified;

    Plundered is the Canaan with every evil;

    Carried off is Ashkelon;

    Seized upon is Gezer;

    is made as that which does not exist;

    Israel is laid waste, his seed is not;

    Hurru is become a widow because of Egypt!

    All lands together are pacified;

    Everyone who was restless has been bound

       by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt.²⁸

    In a context in which all the other place names are preceded by the foreign land determinative, Israel is preceded by the foreign people determinative. This change suggests that in the late thirteenth century B.C. the Egyptians either recognized Israel primarily as an ethnic rather than geographic designation or that they did not yet link the people who went by this name with a particular territory. Their settlement seemed tenuous at best.

    The Amarna Letters provide another source for the cultural and political history of Canaan in the second half of the second millennium B.C.²⁹ These fourteenth century B.C. documents, written in cuneiform, contain diplomatic correspondence between Canaanite city-kings and their Pharaonic overlords, Amenhotep III and Akhenaten. The Amarna tablets are especially valuable for the social, economic, and political picture they provide of the land of Canaan prior to the Israelite occupation. The territory was divided into a series of small city-states (many with familiar names), whose relationships tended to be turbulent and competitive. Indeed, the account of Abimelech in Judges 9 looks like a page from a Canaanite history textbook.

    (3) The Appearance of Israel in Canaan

    The reconstruction of the history of premonarchic Israel is extremely difficult. In their understanding of this period scholars divide into several different camps.

    THE VIOLENT CONQUEST INTERPRETATION. Traditionally readers of the Old Testament have accepted as essentially historical the accounts of an entire national group escaping the slavery of Egypt, suddenly appearing in Canaan, and displacing the original Canaanite population by violent conquest. Accordingly, Judges 1 reflects the period of consolidation of Israelite control of the territory after the backbone of Canaanite resistance had been broken through the leadership of Joshua. Today many scholars find this reconstruction of Israel's premonarchic history too simplistic and have replaced it with a series of alternative theories of the nation's origins. Space limitations prevent a full presentation and evaluation of the options, but three principal alternative proposals deserve mention.³⁰

    INDEPENDENT MIGRATIONS AND SETTLEMENT BY SEPARATE TRIBAL GROUPS. The occupation of Palestine was supposedly a gradual process, as separate groups of people entered the land, usually from the east, over an extended period of time. Only later, when they joined to form the nation of Israel, were individual conquest traditions combined and telescoped within the lives of Moses and Joshua. Not all, or even most, of the tribal groups constituting the later nation of Israel came out of Egypt, but those that did so came in several waves, mostly during the thirteenth century B.C.³¹

    GRADUAL PEACEFUL PENETRATION IN SEARCH OF PASTURAGE. The occupation of Palestine supposedly occurred gradually as nomadic and seminomadic tribes moved into unsettled regions in search of pasture. Initially relations between the native population and the newcomers were peaceful, since the latter's search for pasture for their flocks posed no threat to the Canaanite agricultural settlements in the fertile lowlands. Conflicts between the groups arose later, at the end of the period of the judges, as the Israelite tribes gained a foothold in the hill country and began to encroach upon the arable plains and river valleys. These groups were united around the worship of Yahweh at a central shrine, first at Shechem, then at Shiloh.³²

    INTERNAL REVOLT AND CLASS WARFARE. Imposing Marxist ideology on the biblical records, N. Gottwald reinterprets the supposed conquest of Palestine as a revolt of the peasants (known as Israelites) against the overlords (referred to as Canaanites). The revolution may have been initiated by slave labor captives who escaped from Egypt and provided in their covenant religion, the worship of Yahweh, the unifying bond for the oppressed lower classes of Palestine.³³

    Those who have developed these theories have contributed greatly to our understanding of the world of Palestine in the premonarchic era, but each proposal depends on a subjective manipulation of the text to suit the theory. The traditional view, that the Israelites who came from Egypt under the leadership of Moses were the descendants of Abraham and that under the command of Joshua they engaged the Canaanite population, is not only reasonable; it lets the Hebrew authors say what they want to say. After all, the ancient writers were much nearer to the original events than we are and in a much better position to know what happened. There is no doubt the Israelite authors who wrote these accounts perceived what they wrote to be factually based and not merely fiction.³⁴

    (4) Sociopolitical Conditions in Premonarchic Israel

    Taking the ancient Greek league of city-states as a model, a previous generation of scholars tended to view premonarchic Israel as united around the worship of Yahweh in a twelve-tribe confederation, or amphictyony.tribes of Israel, in the last two chapters (20:2,10,12; 21:5,8,15; see also 18:1), and the frequent naming of the tribes making up the nation.³⁹ In fact, to lose Benjamin would render the nation incomplete.⁴⁰ In response to those who would perceive these expressions as retrojections of later perceptions, it may be noted that the above expressions appear in all segments of the book, not just the narrator's deuteronomistic comments; the definition of the land of Israel as from Dan to Beersheba derives from a time no later than the early monarchy;⁴¹ the archival judge lists (10:1–5; 12:8–15), which appear to be based on early sources, refer to Israel this way;⁴² the Song of Deborah, which dates back at least to the eleventh century B.C., uses the national name similarly (5:1,3,5,7,9),⁴³ even to the extent of listing many of the tribes.⁴⁴ It may be safely concluded, therefore, that the Israel that confronts us in the Book of Judges is the Israel mentioned in the Merneptah Stela cited earlier and that this Israel viewed itself as one nation.

    Although critical scholarship tends to question the reliability of Israel's traditions, the author of the Book of Judges assumes that common descent from an eponymous ancestor provides the basis for Israel's ethnic unity., , brother, may denote an ally in some contexts,⁴⁸ in the opening annalistic summary of the conquest of the land, Judah and Simeon are treated as brothers (1:3,17). Similarly, in the concluding episodes the sons of Israel treat the Benjamites as brothers (20:23,28) and vice versa (20:13). In the crisis described in these chapters, the loss of the tribe of Benjamin is treated as the loss of a member of the family (21:6; see also 14:3; 18:14).

    The Israelites of the premonarchic era rightly perceived themselves as one large extended kinship group. The hierarchy of the nation's genealogical social structure, reflected in Josh 7:14–18, may be represented diagrammatically as follows:

    people. This social structure determined the shape of Israel's religious, economic, and political life until the time of Solomon (1 Kings 4).

    Judges indicates that in premonarchic times tribal and national forces often competed against each other. The absence of political unity is reflected in the fact that the term g y, nation,⁴⁹ is applied to Israel only once in this book and never in 1 Samuel. The single occurrence in the former (2:20) occurs in a divine speech in which Yahweh rejects Israel's special status. Since the nation has abandoned her covenant deity, she has become a g y, nation, like all the other g yim, . Judges 21:16 reports a gathering of elders from all the tribes to determine the appropriate response to the decimation of the Benjamites.⁵³ Especially instructive is the role of the elders in Samuel's request for a king who would be responsible for military leadership against a foreign enemy and assume their governing roles (1 Sam 8:4-5,19-20).

    is applied to military leaders in this and later contexts,clerks (Josh 8:33), a type of minor judge or subordinate civil officer.⁵⁷ This office probably continued into the period of the judges, but it does not figure in the narratives.

    . The meaning of the term has already been considered, but the role of those who held the office demands further comment. On first sight the Book of Judges appears to deal with two types of judges, often classified by scholars as minor and major judges. Five of the former are named in two short lists on either side of the Jephthah account (Judg 10:1-5; 12:8-15): Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. Except for Tola, who is also identified as a deliverer (10:1), these do not seem to fit the pattern of the main characters in the Book of Deliverersadministering justice (1 Sam 7:15–17) and defending the population from external threats.

    The human impulses thrusting the judges into their office are largely unknown. The occasional references to gibb r which may be translated either mighty men of valor or mighty men of wealth, may suggest they rose from the aristocratic ruling classes,⁶² but this interpretation treats the expression too technically. The divine messenger's identification of Gideon as such in Judg 6:12 represents a flattering and/or prospective characterization of the man as a mighty warrior⁶³ The narrator applies the same expression to Jephthah, certainly not because he is a noble man, but as a retrospective characterization (11:1). Since the epochal work of M. Weber,⁶⁴ the judges (especially the primary ones) have been commonly characterized as charismatic leaders⁶⁵ Unfortunately, to modern readers this expression is generally applied to individuals with an engaging personality and endowed with extraordinary talent, who emerge in times of distress to bring relief to a weary people. The Hebrew expression gibb r mighty man of valor/wealth, could conceivably apply to a person we would characterize as charismatic, except that prior to the engagement of the persons called to this office, the judges tended to represent the antithesis of our charismatic leader: Othniel is not a native Israelite; as left-handed, Ehud is considered handicapped; Barak is unmanly; Gideon is a skeptic; Jephthah is a brigand. Samson also falls short, even though his extraordinary strength might have qualified him for our definition. Nowhere does the narrative suggest that his strength was the basis of his judgeship; he had no following at all in Israel; he wasted his energy in self-indulgent philandering with foreign women; and in the end he accomplished more in his death than in his life. None of these men would be characterized as a charismatic leader as we understand the idiom today.

    Even if they had possessed the natural gifts needed for judgeship in exceptional measure, qualification for the office must be distinguished from authorization. In the preface to the Book of Deliverers (2:16,18), the author declares emphatically that the authorization to serve as deliverer for each of the primary judges (save Shamgar, who appears not to have been an Israelite) was a divine decision. Yahweh raises up judges/deliverers;; Yahweh's Spirit comes upon the judges (3:10; 11:29; 14:6,19; 15:14) and/or clothes them (6:34). Indeed, apart from the Spirit of Yahweh, Samson has neither the authority nor the power to act (16:20). If the authorization and qualification for judgeship are perceived as supernaturally endowed charismata, gifts of grace, rather than natural gifts, then the characterization of the judges as charismatic leaders applies.⁶⁷ But there can be no question that for the narrator, the deliverer/judge, and the citizenry, the official was an agent of God, imbued with and empowered by the divine Spirit to go out and gain the victory over the enemy, always against incredible odds.⁶⁸ Later this same gift would empower kings (1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 16:13-14).

    In the Book of Judges one may detect tendencies toward the centralization and standardization of political power: judges are described as having jurisdiction over Israel; Gideon is offered the rule over all Israel; they all worship his ephod (8:22-28); and the chiefs of all the people gather at Mizpah to discuss the fate of Benjamin (20:1-2). However, pan-Israelite political aspirations were not achieved until the reign of David. Indeed the final editor of this book associates the deterioration of Israelite society with the absence of centralized authority.⁶⁹ It took a severe military crisis to challenge the people to overcome this centrifugal tendency and demand a king for the whole nation (1 Sam 8:4-9). Unlike the convocation of all the elders of Israel before Samuel at Ramah, the meeting at Mizpah to discuss how to deal with the Benjamite outrage described in 20:1-2 was an ad hoc gathering whose ultimate aim became military. This convocation could hardly be classified as a typical or customary political assembly of the nation's leaders.

    The Book of Judges describes a nation in transition and crisis. In spite of the Israelites' consciousness of ethnic and religious unity, the nation seemed determined to destroy itself. Having failed to deal decisively with the Canaanites at the beginning of the settlement period, her men hesitated to assume leadership even when it was thrust upon them. At the tribal level individual tribes and clans hesitated to get involved in national crises (5:17; 21:9). On the other hand, if they were not asked to participate, jealousy tended to precipitate self-destructive responses.⁷⁰ When strong leadership did emerge, it patterned itself after the worst aspects of Canaanite city-state despotism,⁷¹ was preoccupied with personal advantage (11:8–11, Jephthah), or treated power as a private plaything, provoking the ire of the nation's enemies and alienating the ruler's countrymen (14:10–15:16, Samson). Israel's drive to self-destruct reached its climax (or nadir) at the end of the book, when the holy war that should have been waged against the Canaanites was directed at one of their own tribes.

    (5) Religious Conditions in the Premonarchic Period

    In view of Israel's political debacle in the premonarchic era, the narrator's negative evaluation of Israelite society in the absence of kingship, and the circumstances of the demand for a king in 1 Samuel 8, it is not surprising that many scholars, if not most, have understood the Book of Judges as an apology for the monarchy.⁷² But even if the books of Samuel and Kings that follow display a pro-Davidic stance, it is doubtful the compiler of the Judges material was concerned chiefly with political structures.⁷³ And even if the book provides a great deal of information on the political situation in Israel during the period of settlement, it is unwise hermeneutically to use the book primarily for the reconstruction of political structures. Writing from a deuteronomic/prophetic perspective, the narrator was much more concerned about Israel's spiritual state.

    the people of God (20:1).YHWH, 2:12); (2) his role as Israel's deliverer from the bondage of Egypt (2:10,12); and (3) his covenant with Israel at Sinai (2:20). The passion with which Yahweh treasured his relationship with his people is reflected in the narrative itself in a triad of divine visitations in which he and/or his divine agent remind the Israelites of their obligation to exclusive allegiance to himself (2:1-2; 6:10; 10:13-14). It is evident also in his repeated direct involvement in the affairs of the nation, burning with rage over their infidelity, handing them over to the enemy, responding to their cries of pain, raising up deliverers, and providing victory over the enemies.⁷⁷

    before Yahweh in Mizpah at

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