Dict: smith - JUDGES

smith:

JUDGES - J>@ - The judges were temporary and special deliverers, sent by God to deliver the Israelites from their oppressors; not supreme magistrates, succeeding to the authority of Moses and Joshua. Their power only extended over portions of the country, and some of them were contemporaneous. Their first work was that of deliverers and leaders in war; they then administered justice to the people, and their authority supplied the want of a regular government. Even while the administration of Samuel gave something like a settled government to the south, there was scope for the irregular exploits of Samson on the borders of the Philistines; and Samuel at last established his authority as judge and prophet, but still as the servant of Jehovah, only to see it so abused by his sons as to exhaust the patience of the people, who at length demanded a king , after the pattern of the surrounding nations. The following is a list of judges, whose history is given under their respective names:
First servitude, to Mesopotamia
8 years. First judge: Othniel. 40 years. Second servitude, to Moab
18 years. Second judge: Ehud; 80 years. Third judge: Shamgar.
- Third servitude, to Jabin and Sisera
20 years. Fourth judge: Deborah and Barak. 40 years. Fourth servitude, to Midian
7 years. Fifth judge: Gideon; 40 years. Sixth judge: Abimelech; 3 years. Seventh judge: Tola; 23 years. Eighth judge: Jair. 22 years. Fifth servitude, to Ammon
18 years. Ninth judge: Jephthah; 6 years. Tenth judge: Ibzan; 7 years. Eleventh judge: Elon; 10 years. Twelfth judge: Abdon. 8 years. Sixth servitude, to the Philistines
40 years. Thirteenth judge: Samson 20 years. Fourteenth judge: Eli; 40 years. Fifteenth judge: Samuel. More than likely some of these ruled simultaneously. On the chronology of the judges, see the following article.

JUDGES, BOOK OF - J>@ - of which the book or Ruth formed originally a part, contains a history from Joshua to Samson. The book may be divided into two parts:
Chs. 1-16. We may observe in general on this portion of the book that it is almost entirely a history of the wars of deliverance. Chs. 17-21. This part has no formal connection with the preceding, and is often called an appendix. The period to which the narrative relates is simply marked by the expression, "when there was no king in Israel." ch. kjv@Judges:19:1 kjv@Judges:18:1) It records
(a) The conquest of Laish by a portion of the tribe of Dan, and the establishment there of the idolatrous worship of Jehovah already instituted by Micah in Mount Ephraim. (b) The almost total extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. Chs. 17-21 are inserted both as an illustration of the sin of Israel during the time of the judges and as presenting a contrast with the better order prevailing in the time of the kings. The time commonly assigned to the period contained in this book Isaiah:299 years. The dates given in the last article amount to 410 years, without the 40 years of Eli; but in (Kings:6:1) the whole period from the exodus to the building of the temple is stated as 480 years. But probably some of the judges were contemporary, so that their total period Isaiah:299 years instead of 410. Mr. Smith in his Old Testament history gives the following approximate dates: Periods...Years
Ending about B.C.: From the exodus to the passage of Jordan...40
1451. To the death of Joshua and the surviving elders...40
1411. Judgeship of Othniel...40
1371. 4-5. Judgeship of Ehud (Shamgar included)...80
1291. Judgeship of Deborah and Barak...40
1251. Judgeship of Gideon...40
1211. 8-9. Abimelech to Abdon, total...80
1131. Oppression of the Philistines, contemporary with the judgeships of Eli, Samson (and Samuel?)...40
1091. Reign of Saul (including perhaps Samuel)...40
1051. Reign of David...40
1011. Total...480. On the whole, it seems safer to give up the attempt to ascertain the chronology exactly.