15 Judges of Israel

About 3000 years ago, the land of Israel was ruled by a succession of judges,
rather than kings. There were 15 people who served as judges
1. Othniel
2. Ehud
3. Shamgar
4. Deborah
5. Gideon
6. Abimelech
7. Tola
8. Jair
9. Jephthah
10. Ibzan
11. Elon
12. Abdon
13. Samson
14. Eli
15. Samuel

Othniel
Othniel [th'nel]. The name means "powerful one" or "lion of God." Othniel
was from the tribe of Judah, and was the son of Kenaz, and younger brother
of Caleb. Othniel was one of the Judges of Israel, perhaps the first. He ruled
in that capacity for 40 years before his death.
After Joshua died at the age of 110, and Israel had no leader, "the Israelites
had offended the Lord by forgetting the Lord, their God, and serving the
Baals and the Asherahs, the anger of the Lord flared up against them, and He
allowed them to fall into the power of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram
Naharaim, whom they served for eight years." (Judges 3:7-8).
A pattern set up after this where the Lord raised up Judges to deliver Israel
from their oppressors, when the Israelites cried out to Him for help. Othniel
was the first of the Judges.
Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, and "The Spirit of the
Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the
Lord delivered Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram, into his power, so that he
made him subject. The land was at rest for 40 years, until Othniel, son of
Kenaz, died." (Judges 3:10-11).
Othniel's defeat of Cushan-rishathaim was a great victory. But Othniel had
another victory years earlier. When the Judahites were marching against the
Canaanites, they came up against the inhabitants of Debir.
Caleb vowed to give his daughter, Achsah, in marriage to the one who
attacks Debir and captures it. Responding to his uncle Caleb's challenge,
Othniel captured Debir and restored it to the Israelites. And then wed
Achsah.
Ehud
Ehud was the second Judge of Israel. He followed Othniel. He was a left
handed man from the tribe of Benjamin. Israel was subjected to king Eglon of
Moab at the time, for 18 years. The Israelites cried out to the Lord for help,
and the Lord helped them by raising up Ehud. It was by Ehud the Israelites
sent their tribute to Eglon.
Ehud made himself a double edged dagger a foot long and wore it under his
clothes on his right thigh. He gave the tribute to Eglon, and then told Eglon
that he had a message from God for him. The king had all the attendents
leave the room and stood up to hear the message. Then Ehud drew the
dagger from his right thigh with his left hand, and thrust it into Eglon's belly.
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Eglon was so overweight, the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed
over the blade.
Ehud left the dagger in Eglon, and escaped back to Israel. Ehud then raised an
army, attacked, and beat the Moabites. "Thus was Moab brought under the
power of Israel at that time: and the land had rest for eighty years." (Judges
3:12-30)
Shamgar
The third Judge of Israel. He delivered the nation from oppression by the
Philistines. Shamgar slew 600 Philistines with an oxgoad, and rescued Israel.
The Bible does not state how long he ruled as a Judge (Judges 3:31).
Deborah, Rebekah's nurse
There are two women in the Bible named Deborah. One is Rebekah's nurse
and the other was Deborah, Judge of Israel.
Deborah the nurse administered to Rebekah, the wife of Isaac. She
accompanied Jacob, who was Rebekah's son, and others to Bethel, which
was in the land of Canaan, the land that later would become Israel.
In Gen. 35:8, we are told that Deborah died during that time and was buried
under an oak tree near Bethel, and that the tree became known as Allon
Bakuth, or "oak of weeping."
The name Deborah means "bee."
Gideon
Gideon was the son of Joash the Abiezrite from the town of Ophrah. He was
Israel's fifth Judge. During Gideon's time, a large army of Midianites and
other nations had gathered against Israel. The Lord told Gideon that he
would be made strong and that he was to save Israel from the Midianites.
Gideon raised an army of 32,000, but after several tests by the Lord, the army
was whittled down to 300 men. God did this so that the people of Israel
would not boast to him that they saved themselves by their own strength. At
night, Gideon and his 300 men lit torches, blew trumpets and shouted. Then
they stood by and watched as the enemy panicked and began fighting and
killing each other.
Midian never recovered from this defeat, and there was peace for 40 years
during Gideon's lifetime. Gideon lived to be an old man. After he died he was
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buried near his father in the town of Ophrah. His victory over the Midianites
was remembered for many generations as the "Day of Midian" (Isaiah 9:4).
The story of Gideon is found in Judges, chapters 6-8. The name Gideon means
"he who casts down."
Midian never recovered from this defeat, and there was peace for 40 years
during Gideon's lifetime. Gideon lived to be an old man. After he died he was
buried near his father in the town of Ophrah. His victory over the Midianites
was remembered for many generations as the "Day of Midian" (Isaiah 9:4).
The story of Gideon is found in Judges, chapters 6-8. The name Gideon means
"he who casts down."
Abimelech (Abimelek), the judge
Abimelech (Abimelek), the judge, was the son of Gideon and became a Judge
of Israel, but it was not by God's will. He was Gideon's son by a concubine
from Shechem.
He tried to become king, and he did reign over Israel for three years (Judges
9:22). Abimelech was one of 70 sons of Gideon's many wives. With a great
desire to lead Israel, and with the help of his mother's clan in Shechem, he
assassinated all his brothers but one.
Only his youngest brother, Jotham, escaped. The people of Shechem got tired
of their king once he moved his residence south to Arumah, and they turned
to Gaal son of Ebed, who stirred up a rebellion against Abimelech. Abimelech
retaliated with a strike at Shechem, and razed the city. He then fought the
rebels at Thebez.
There was a strong tower in the middle of the city, in which all the men and
women of Thebez fled and shut themselves in, going up to the roof of the
tower. Abimelech came right up to the door of the tower to set it on fire. But
a woman dropped part of a millstone down on Abimelech's head, and it
fractured his skull.
He immediately called his armor bearer and told him to kill him, so that no
one would be able to say that he had been killed by a woman. His servant
then killed him with a sword. These events are described in Judges 9:50-56,
which is in the Old Testament of the Bible

Tola
"After the death of Abimelech there rose to save Israel the Issacharite Tola,
son of Puah, son of Dodo, a resident of Shamir in the mountain region of
Ephraim. When he had judged Israel twenty-three years, he died and was
buried in Shamir" (Judges 10:1-2). Thats all the Bible says about Tola, the
seventh Judge of Israel.
Jair
"Jair the Gileadite came after him (Tola) and judged Israel twenty-two years.
He had thirty sons who rode on thirty saddle-asses and possessed thirty cities
in the land of Gilead; these are called Havvoth-jair to the present day. Jair
died and was buried in Kamon." (Judges 10:3-5).
That's all the Bible says about Jair, the eigth Judge of Israel.
Jephthah
Jephthah was the ninth Judge of Israel. Being an illegimate child, he was
kicked out of the family by his half brothers to prevent him from sharing in
the inheritance. He fled to "the land of Tob", and gathered a group of
"worthless men" and engaged in raids throughout the surrounding area. The
elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to free them from the oppression of the
Ammonites. He insisted on a position of leadership in Gilead if he succeeded
in fighting the Ammonites. He was assured of this, and went to war. He
launched an attack through Mizpah of Gilead and defeated the Ammonites
"with a very great slaughter."
Jephthah had made a vow to God, that if he was able to return home in
triumph from war, he would sacrifice whoever first appeared at the door of
his house. Unfortunately, it was his daughter, his only child, who greeted his
victorious return "with timbrels and with dances." Jephthah tore his clothing
in distress as he realized the terrible rashness of his vow. The following
verses seem to indicate he followed through on his vow, but some scholars
believe the verse means she was kept as a virgin dedicated to special service
to the Lord for the rest of her life.
Before his six years of judging had ended, Jephthah had to put down an
uprising by the men of Ephraim, his fellow Israelites, who were angry by his
failure to ask them to join the fight against the Ammonites. The two armies
went to battle, and Jephthah's army, the Gileadites, killed 42,000
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Ephraimites. Although, his weakness was his rash, thoughtless behavior, he's
listed in the Book of Hebrews as one of the heros of faith (Heb. 11:32). After
his death, he was buried in a city of Gilead. Jephthah's story is found in
Judges chapter 11, and chap. 12:1-7.
Ibzan
Ibzan was the tenth Judge of Israel. "After him (Jephthah) Ibzan of
Bethlehem judged Isral. He had thirty sons. He also had thirty daughters
married outside of the family, and he brought in as wives for his sons thirty
young women from outside the family. After having judged Israel for seven
years, IBzan died and was buried in Bethlehem." (Judges 12:8-10).
Elon
Elon was the eleventh Judge of Israel. "After him (Ibzan) the Zebulunite Elon
judged Israel. When he had judged Israel for ten years, the Zebulunite Elon
died and was buried in Elon in the land of Zubulun. (Judges 12:11-12).
Abdon
Abdon was the twelfth Judge of Israel. "After him (Elon) the Pirathonite
Abdon, son of Hillel, judged Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons
who rode on seventy saddle-asses. After having judged Israel for eight years,
the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, died and was buried in Pirathon in the
land of Ephraim on the mountain of the Amalekites." (Judges 12:13-15).
Samson
Samson, a member of the tribe of Dan, was one of the Judges of Israel. He
Judged Israel for 20 years. Samson's mother received a visit from an angel,
who told her she would give birth to an unusual son, a Nazirite, and not to
cut his hair. Samson had great strength, he killed a lion with his bare hands,
and later killed 1,000 Philistines with a jawbone of a donkey. He had
romantic encounters with three Philistine women.
He fell in love with one of the women, Delilah. The five leaders of the
Philistine nation went to Delilah, and demanded that she find out from
Samson what made him so strong, so they could subdue him. She eventually
found out it was because his hair had never been cut. While asleep, Samson's

hair was cut off. Losing his strength, he was captured by the Philistines, who
gouged out his eyes, and made him grind grain in prison.

Later, the Philistines stood Samson in the center of a temple during a

celebration, his hair had now grown back. Samson was placed between the
two main pillars of the temple. He asked God to strengthen him one more
time "so that I may pay back the Philistines for the loss of at least one of my
eyes." Then Samson pushed against the pillars with all his might. "Let me die
with the Philistines," he prayed.
The temple crashed, killing more Philistines at the time of his death, than
during his entire lifetime. His brothers brought him back home and buried
him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah was buried. The
story of Samson is found in the Book of Judges, chapters 13-16. The name
Samson means "Little Sun."
Eli
Eli was High Priest, in the line of Ithamar. He was also Judge of Israel, at
Shiloh, for 40 years. It was to him that Hannah entrusted her son, Samuel, to
be raised (1 Samuel 1:21). Although he was High Priest, Eli failed to curb the
sinful behavior of his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who were priests.
God told Samuel that Eli's family would be punished for blaspheming God.
Samuel told Eli about this and Eli said that the Lord should do what He thinks
is best (1 Samuel 3:18). Later, Eli's sons were killed as they accompanied the
Ark of the Covenant into a battle against the Philistines. When Eli had heard
the news, he fell backwards while seated in a chair, broke his neck and died.
He was 98-years old at the time.
Eli's descendants continued in the office of High Priest up until the time of
Solomon. At that time, Abiathar, who had supported Adonijah's bid for the
throne, was replaced by Zadok, thus bringing an end to Eli's line (1 Kings 2:22,
35). This event is mentioned in 1 Kings 2:27 as the fulfillment of the prophecy
against the house of Eli. The name Eli means "The lord is exalted."

Samuel
Samuel, the son of Elkanah, and his wife Hannah, was a prophet and the last
of Israel's Judges. Samuel grew up under Eli, who was the priest at Shiloh. He
served a variety of roles in Israel. He was a prophet, a judge and a military
leader. He was widely recognized throughout the country (1 Samuel 3:20).
His home was in Ramah, were he headed groups of prophets.
At this time in Israel's history, about 3000 years ago, the nation was ruled by
judges who settled disputes, not kings. But the people demanded to have a
king, like other nations. Samuel was opposed to having a king rule over Israel
because he interpreted that as an act of apostasy and a rejection of the
Kingship of God. God told Samuel to anoint Saul, son of Kish, as king, and so
the people got what they wanted.
However, in time, the relationship between Saul and Samuel deteriorated
and Saul took over certain functions that had belonged to a priest, not a king.
In addition, Saul disobeyed God after the battle with the Amalekites (1
Samuel 15:1-23). God had Samuel anoint young David to be the next king.
King Saul grew jealous of David. David fled from Saul and was given refuge by
Samuel in his home in Ramah. David eventually succeeded Saul as king, but
Samuel did not live long enough to see that. The story of Samuel is found in
the book named 1 Samuel, chapters 1-25.
The Bible's book of 1 Samuel and the book of 2 Samuel are named after
Samuel, and contain many details about his life. Some Bibles combine 1
Samuel and 2 Samuel into a singular book called Samuel.
Goliath
A giant soldier in the Philistine army that challenged the Israeli army under
King Saul, to send a man against him in single combat to decide which side
would claim victory. This went on for 40 days until young David arrived,
bringing food for his three older brothers in the ranks.
When David heard Goliath's challenge, he accepted, and armed with only a
slingshot and five stones, he met Goliath at the battlefield between the two
armies, and killed Goliath with a single stone from the slingshot. The stone
imbedded in Goliath's forehead.
The Philistine army was routed by the Israelis after this, and this event began
the career of David, who later became Israel's most famous King. Goliath's
height was listed at six cubits and a span. If a cubit is about 18 inches as some
think, Goliath would have been over nine feet tall.
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The story of Goliath is found in 1 Samuel 17:4-51. Note: In 2 Samuel 21:15-22

there are four more giants killed by the Israelis in battle, they were all from
the tribe of giants in Gath. Some people believe, the five stones David picked
up to kill Goliath, was a forecast of the five giants that were eventually killed
by David and his men.
Eglon
Eglon was a Mobite king who was grossly overweight, during the time of the
Judges. In the 12th century king Eglon allied with Ammonites and Amalekites
and attacked Israel.
He captured Jericho and subjected the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin for 18
years.
When the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help, He raised up Ehud, a
Benjaminite. It was by Ehud the Israelites sent their tribute to Eglon.
Ehud hid a dagger under his clothes on his visit to king Eglon, and during a
private audience with Eglon, Ehud drew the dagger and killed the king. Ehud
escaped and got back into Israel, where he raised an army and defeated the
Moabites (Judges 3:12-30).