Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Jephthah becomes the leader of the Gileadites. When the Ammonites cause trouble, he vows to sacrifice the first person he sees when he returns from war. After lecturing and defeating the Ammonites, his daughter is the first person to greet him. Jephthah offers his daughter as a sacrifice.

II. Photo
Jephthah does the unthinkable: “And Jephthah made the following vow to the LORD: ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering.’… When Jephthah arrived at his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him, with timbrel and dance! She was an only child; he had no other son or daughter.“ (vv 30-31, 34)

III. Important Verses
vv 24-25: Do you not hold what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So we will hold on to everything that the LORD our God has given us to possess. “Besides, are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he start a quarrel with Israel or go to war with them?
vv 30-31, 34: Jephthah has to do the unthinkable: “And Jephthah made the following vow to the LORD: ‘If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, then whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me on my safe return from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s and shall be offered by me as a burnt offering.’… When Jephthah arrived at his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him, with timbrel and dance! She was an only child; he had no other son or daughter.
vv 35-40: On seeing her, he rent his clothes and said, “Alas, daughter! You have brought me low; you have become my troubler! For I have uttered a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract.”  “Father,” she said, “you have uttered a vow to the LORD; do to me as you have vowed, seeing that the LORD has vindicated you against your enemies, the Ammonites.” She further said to her father, “Let this be done for me: let me be for two months, and I will go with my companions and lament upon the hills and there bewail my maidenhood.” “Go,” he replied. He let her go for two months, and she and her companions went and bewailed her maidenhood upon the hills. After two months’ time, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She had never known a man. So it became a custom in Israel for the maidens of Israel to go every year, for four days in the year, and chant dirges for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

IV. Outline
1-3. Jephthah is driven out from the house of Gilead
4-11. When the Ammonites attack Jephthah is made chief of Gilead
12-28. Jephthah lectures the Ammonite king about Israel’s right to the land
29-31. Jephthah’s vow
32-33. The Ammonites are routed
32-39a. Jephthah kills his daughter to fulfill his vow
39b-40. Israelite practice

V. Comment
Chapter 11 has two simultaneous plots: Jepthah’s defeat of the Ammonites, and Jephthah’s vow. In regards to the latter, Collins writes: “Jephthah makes a vow to the Lord that ‘whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return victorious from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up as a burnt offering’ (11:31). There is no doubt in the context that human sacrifice is meant. It would have been absurd to offer the first animal he met, whether fit for sacrifice or not. In the context of ancient Israel, such a vow was an extreme measure, indicating both the extremity of the crisis and the intensity of Jepththah’s devotion to [the Lord]. He evidently did not anticipate that the person in question would be his only daughter. Unlike Abraham, he is given no reprieve. Jephthah is often criticized for making a rash vow, but this criticism is not made in the text, where he appears to act under the influence of the spirit of the Lord… The text is unambiguous that he ‘did with her according to the vow that he had made’ (Judg 11:39). The medieval commentator David Kimhi [Radaq] held that Jephthah did not kill his daughter, but dedicated her to a life of virginity (she asks for a time to bewail her virginity, not her early death). A small minority of scholars still holds to this view, but most accept that the daughter’s fate is all to clear. While the story in Judges certainly appreciates the tragedy of the outcome, there is no hint that Jephthah did wron either by making the vow (for which he was rewarded victory) or in fulfilling it.” (210) For another case of child sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible, see Jeremiah 7:31: “And they have built the shrines of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in fire — which I never commanded, which never came to My mind.”

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://www.southasianlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/20-second-chances.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Two chiefs, Tola and Jair, rule over Israel one after the other. After their deaths the Israelites worship other gods. God is incensed and gives them over to the Amorites and the Ammonites.

II. Photo
The Israelites continue to stray: “The Israelites again did what was offensive to the LORD. They served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines; they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.” (v 6)

III. Important Verses
v 6: The Israelites again did what was offensive to the LORD. They served the Baalim and the Ashtaroth, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines; they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him.
vv 7-8: And the LORD, incensed with Israel, surrendered them to the Philistines and to the Ammonites. That year they battered and shattered the Israelites — for eighteen years — all the Israelites beyond the Jordan, in [what had been] the land of the Amorites in Gilead.
vv 10-14:  Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, “We stand guilty before You, for we have forsaken our God and served the Baalim.” But the LORD said to the Israelites, “[I have rescued you] from the Egyptians, from the Amorites, from the Ammonites, and from the Philistines. The Sidonians, Amalek, and Maon also oppressed you; and when you cried out to Me, I saved you from them. Yet you have forsaken Me and have served other gods. No, I will not deliver you again. Go cry to the gods you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress!”
vv 15-16: But the Israelites implored the LORD: “We stand guilty. Do to us as You see fit; only save us this day!” They removed the alien gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could not bear the miseries of Israel.

IV. Outline
1-2. Tola leads Israel for twenty-three years
3-5. Jair leads Israel for twenty-two years
6. The Israelites stray
7-9. God delivers them to the Amorites and Ammonites
10. The Israelites cry out to God
11-14. God rebuffs their plea
15-16. A second plea; The Israelites remove their idols
17-18. Preparations for war

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://www.syriatoday.ca/images/Ugarit/130px-Baal_Ugarit_Louvre_AO17330.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Abimelech takes control of Shechem and kills his seventy brothers. When a rebellion led by Gaal precipitates, Abimelech kills the entire city. He also attacks Thebaz, but a woman kills him by dropping a millstone on his head.

II. Photo
Gaal is tricked by a friend of Abimelech: “Gaal saw the army and said to Zebul, ‘That’s an army marching down from the hilltops!’ But Zebul said to him, ‘The shadows of the hills look to you like men.’” (v 36)

III. Important Verses
vv 1-2: Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers in Shechem and spoke to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family. He said,  “Put this question to all the citizens of Shechem: Which is better for you, to be ruled by seventy men — by all the sons of Jerubbaal — or to be ruled by one man? And remember, I am your own flesh and blood.”
vv 26-27: Then Gaal son of Ebed and his companions came passing through Shechem, and the citizens of Shechem gave him their confidence. They went out into the fields, gathered and trod out the vintage of their vineyards, and made a festival. They entered the temple of their god, and as they ate and drank they reviled Abimelech.
vv 36-39: Gaal saw the army and said to Zebul, “That’s an army marching down from the hilltops!” But Zebul said to him, “The shadows of the hills look to you like men.” Gaal spoke up again, “Look, an army is marching down from Tabbur-erez, and another column is coming from the direction of Elon-meonenim.” “Well,” replied Zebul, “where is your boast, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him’? There is the army you sneered at; now go out and fight it!” So Gaal went out at the head of the citizens of Shechem and gave battle to Abimelech.
vv 48-49: Abimelech and all the troops he had with him went up on Mount Zalmon. Taking an ax in his hand, Abimelech lopped off a tree limb and lifted it onto his shoulder. Then he said to the troops that accompanied him, “What you saw me do — quick, do the same!” So each of the troops also lopped off a bough; then they marched behind Abimelech and laid them against the tunnel, and set fire to the tunnel over their heads. Thus all the people of the Tower of Shechem also perished, about a thousand men and women.
vv 53-54: But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head and cracked his skull. He immediately cried out to his attendant, his arms-bearer, “Draw your dagger and finish me off, that they may not say of me, ‘A woman killed him!’” So his attendant stabbed him, and he died.

IV. Outline
1-4a. Abimelech becomes ruler of Shechem
4b-6. Abimelech kills all of Jerubbaal’s sons except Jotham
7-21. Jotham’s parable and rebuke of the Shechemites
22-29. The beginnings of rebellion
30-41. Abimelech takes first strike
42-49. Abimelech kills the Shechemites
50-52. Abimelech lights fire to the tower of Thebez
53-54. A woman drops a millstone on Abimelech and he dies
55. The troops return home
56-57. Postscript about divine retribution

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Gideon requests bread from two towns, but the townspeople send him away. He kills the kings of Midian and takes revenge on the people who spurned his request by destroying the two towns. Gideon rejects an offer to be king, and the Israelites worship other gods after he dies.

II. Photo
Gideon takes revenge on the people who deny him bread: “And he took the elders of the city and, [bringing] desert thorns and briers, he punished the people of Succoth with them.” (v 16)

III. Important Verses
vv 1-3: And the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why did you do that to us — not calling us when you went to fight the Midianites?” And they rebuked him severely. But he answered them, “After all, what have I accomplished compared to you? Why, Ephraim’s gleanings are better than Abiezer’s vintage! God has delivered the Midianite generals Oreb and Zeeb into your hands, and what was I able to do compared to you?” And when he spoke in this fashion, their anger against him abated.
vv 15-17: Then he came to the people of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you mocked me, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give your famished men bread?’” And he took the elders of the city and, [bringing] desert thorns and briers, he punished the people of Succoth with them. As for Penuel, he tore down its tower and killed the townspeople.
vv 18-21: Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “Those men you killed at Tabor, what were they like?” “They looked just like you,” they replied, “like sons of a king.”  “They were my brothers,” he declared, “the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had spared them, I would not kill you.” And he commanded his oldest son Jether, “Go kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was timid, being still a boy.  Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, you slay us; for strength comes with manhood.” So Gideon went over and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
vv 22-23: Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us — you, your son, and your grandson as well; for you have saved us from the Midianites.” But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you myself, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD alone shall rule over you.”

IV. Outline
1-3. Gideon appeases the angry men of Ephraim
4-9. The towns of Succoth and Penuel deny Gideon’s request for bread
10-12. Gideon defeates the remaining Midianites and captures the kings
13-17. Gideon exacts revenge on the residents of Succoth and Penuel
18-21. Gideon kills the kings of Midian
22-23. Gideon rejects a request to be made king
24-27. Gideon makes an Ephod in Ophrah that causes the Israelites to go astray
28-32. Gideon’s family and death
33-35. The Israelites stray after other gods

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://www.alicewebb.com/ThroughTheThornsTmp18.JPG

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
In order to emphasize His own role in the victory, God tells Gideon to diminish the troop number from 32,000 to 300. Gideon is given a sign of success, and he routs the Midianites.

II. Photo
Gideon faces a formidable foe: “Now Midian, Amalek, and all the Kedemites were spread over the plain, as thick as locusts; and their camels were countless, as numerous as the sands on the seashore.” (v 12)

III. Important Verses
vv 2-3: The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many troops with you for Me to deliver Midian into their hands; Israel might claim for themselves the glory due to Me, thinking, ‘Our own hand has brought us victory.’ Therefore, announce to the men, ‘Let anybody who is timid and fearful turn back, as a bird flies from Mount Gilead.’” Thereupon, 22,000 of the troops turned back and 10,000 remained.
v 12: Now Midian, Amalek, and all the Kedemites were spread over the plain, as thick as locusts; and their camels were countless, as numerous as the sands on the seashore.
vv 21-22: They remained standing where they were, surrounding the camp; but the entire camp ran about yelling, and took to flight. For when the three hundred horns were sounded, the LORD turned every man’s sword against his fellow, throughout the camp, and the entire host fled as far as Beth-shittah and on to Zererah — as far as the outskirts of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
v 25: They pursued the Midianites and captured Midian’s two generals, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the Rock of Oreb and they killed Zeeb at the Winepress of Zeeb; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb from the other side of the Jordan to Gideon.

IV. Outline
1-8a. God decreases the number of Israelite troops from 32,000 to 300
8b-15. Gideon is given a sign of success
16-25. The Midianites are routed

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6414384,00.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
The Midianites oppress the Israelites. An angel appears to Gideon and tells him to destroy his father’s idols. Gideon destroys the idols and is given a sign that he will succeed at war.

II. Photo
Gideon is sent on a divine mission: “That night the LORD said to him… ‘Pull down the altar of Baal which belongs to your father, and cut down the sacred post which is beside it.’” (v 25)

III. Important Verses
vv 2-4: The hand of the Midianites prevailed over Israel; and because of Midian, the Israelites provided themselves with refuges in the caves and strongholds of the mountains. After the Israelites had done their sowing, Midian, Amalek, and the Kedemites would come up and raid them; they would attack them, destroy the produce of the land all the way to Gaza, and leave no means of sustenance in Israel, not a sheep or an ox or an ass.
vv 14-16: When the Israelites cried to the LORD on account of Midian, the LORD sent a prophet to the Israelites who said to them, “Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: I brought you up out of Egypt and freed you from the house of bondage. I rescued you from the Egyptians and from all your oppressors; I drove them out before you, and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I the LORD am your God. You must not worship the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.”
vv 30-31: The townspeople said to Joash, “Bring out your son, for he must die: he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the sacred post beside it!” But Joash said to all who had risen against him, “Do you have to contend for Baal? Do you have to vindicate him? Whoever fights his battles shall be dead by morning! If he is a god, let him fight his own battles, since it is his altar that has been torn down!”
v 32: That day they named him Jerubbaal, meaning “Let Baal contend with him, since he tore down his altar.”
vv 36-40: And Gideon said to God, “If You really intend to deliver Israel through me as You have said — here I place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If dew falls only on the fleece and all the ground remains dry, I shall know that You will deliver Israel through me, as You have said.” And that is what happened. Early the next day, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew from the fleece, a bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I speak just once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece: let the fleece alone be dry, while there is dew all over the ground.” God did so that night: only the fleece was dry, while there was dew all over the ground.

IV. Outline
1-6a. Midianite Oppression
6b. The Israelites call out to God
7-10. Report of theophany
11-24. Gideon meets the angel and is presented with a miracle
25-32. Gideon destroys the statue of Baal and is named Jerubbaal
33. The Enemy assembles
34-40. Gideon is presented with a second miracle

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://iaxe.net/images/axe/axe_385x261.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
Deborah and Barak sing about their victory over the Canaanites. They praise God, the Israelite warriors, and Jael, but scold the tribes that desisted from the fight.

II. Photo
Deborah and Barak scold the tribes of Dan and Asher: “And Dan — why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained at the seacoast and tarried at his landings!” (v 17)

III. Important Verses
v 7: Deliverance ceased, Ceased in Israel, Till you arose, O Deborah, Arose, O mother, in Israel!
v 8: When they chose new gods, Was there a fighter then in the gates? No shield or spear was seen Among forty thousand in Israel!
vv 15b-17: Among the clans of Reuben Were great decisions of heart. Why then did you stay among the sheepfolds And listen as they pipe for the flocks? Among the clans of Reuben Were great searchings of heart! Gilead tarried beyond the Jordan; And Dan — why did he linger by the ships? Asher remained at the seacoast And tarried at his landings.
v 20: The stars fought from heaven, From their courses they fought against Sisera.
v 23: “Curse Meroz!” said the angel of the LORD. “Bitterly curse its inhabitants, Because they came not to the aid of the LORD, To the aid of the LORD among the warriors.”
vv 28-30: Through the window peered Sisera’s mother, Behind the lattice she whined: “Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why so late the clatter of his wheels?” The wisest of her ladies give answer; She, too, replies to herself: “They must be dividing the spoil they have found: A damsel or two for each man, Spoil of dyed cloths for Sisera, Spoil of embroidered cloths, A couple of embroidered cloths Round every neck as spoil.”

IV. Outline
1. Introduction
2-3. Blessing/Call to praise
4-5. Hymnic praise
6-8. Historical information
9-11. Praise of the simple Israelites
12-15a. Praising God and the victors
15b-18. Scolding the Israelites who didn’t join in battle
19-23. Enigmatic war account
24-27. Jael kills Sisera
28-30. Sisera’s mother
31ab. Imprecation/Blessing
31c. Forty years of peace

V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://planterhill.com/images/ships_wheel.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God sends Deborah the prophetess and Barak the warrior to destroy the Canaanite army. The glory, however, goes to Jael the Kenite for killing the Canaanite general with a tent peg.

II. Photo
Jael saves the day: “Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent pin and grasped the mallet. When [Sisera] was fast asleep from exhaustion, she approached him stealthily and drove the pin through his temple till it went down to the ground. Thus he died.” (v 21)

III. Important Verses
vv 4-5: Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess; she led Israel at that time. She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions.
vv 8-9: But Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; if not, I will not go.”  “Very well, I will go with you,” she answered. “However, there will be no glory for you in the course you are taking, for then the LORD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.
v 18: Jael came out to greet Sisera and said to him, “Come in, my lord, come in here, do not be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.
v 21: Then Jael wife of Heber took a tent pin and grasped the mallet. When he was fast asleep from exhaustion, she approached him stealthily and drove the pin through his temple till it went down to the ground. Thus he died.
v 24:  The hand of the Israelites bore harder and harder on King Jabin of Canaan, until they destroyed King Jabin of Canaan.

IV. Outline
1. The Israelites sin
2. God delivers them to the king of Canaan
3a. The Israelites call out to God
3b. Description of the enemu
4-5. Description of Deborah
6-16. Deborah and Barak defeat the Canaanite army
17-22. Jael kills Sisera, the fleeing Canaanite general
23-24. The Israelites destroy the king of Canaan

V. Comment
Chapter 4 tells the story of four main characters: Deborah the prophetess, Barak the God-sent warrior, Jael the Kenite, and Sisera the Canaanite general. While the Israelites defeat the Canaanites, it is interesting that this is not the focus of the chapter. Rather, the question is who gets the credit for the victory, and the answer is Jael – not Barak. Collins make several important points about this aspect of the story: “Since the Kenites were not an Israelite tribe (they are identified in Judg 4:11 as ‘the descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses’), Jael is a marginal figure on two accounts – she is a woman and not an Israelite. Yet she becomes the heroine of the battle by luring Sisera into her tent and killing him with a tent peg while he is asleep… For this she is pronounced the ‘most blessed of women’ in 5:24. The morality of her action, however, is problematic on several counts. Her clan was at peace with the Canaanites, so she was not trying to liberate it. She simply seems to have decided to back the winners in the battle. Moreover, the violation of a guest was regarded as a particularly heinous crime in the ancient world. (Compare the story of Sodom in Gen 19:8, where Lot’s host offers his virgin daughters to the mob so that they will not molest the men, ‘for they have come under the shelter of my roof.’) Since Jael’s opportunism works to the benefit of Israel, however, no questions are raised about its morality. As in some stories in Genesis, the end (the benefit of Israel) justifies even dastardly means.” (207)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f241/buhdydharma/hammer-nail.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
God sends Othniel to save the Israelites from the king of Aram. God then sends Ehud to kill the king of Moab. Finally, Shamgar kills 600 Philistines with an ox goad.

II. Photo
Ehud deceives the enemy: “Reaching with his left hand, Ehud drew the dagger from his right side and drove it into [Eglon’s] belly.” (v 21)

III. Important Verses
vv 1-4: These are the nations that the LORD left so that He might test by them all the Israelites who had not known any of the wars of Canaan, so that succeeding generations of Israelites might be made to experience war — but only those who had not known the former wars: the five principalities of the Philistines and all the Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites who inhabited the hill country of the Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath. These served as a means of testing Israel, to learn whether they would obey the commandments which the LORD had enjoined upon their fathers through Moses.
vv 5-6: The Israelites settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites; they took their daughters to wife and gave their own daughters to their sons, and they worshiped their gods.
v 9: The Israelites cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised a champion for the Israelites to deliver them: Othniel the Kenizzite, a younger kinsman of Caleb.
v 31: After him came Shamgar son of Anath, who slew six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too was a champion of Israel.

IV. Outline

1-4. Theological explanation for war and suffering
5-11a. Othniel the Kenizzite
    5-7. The Israelites sin
    8. God delivers them to the king of Aram
    9a. The Israelites call out to God
    9b-10. Othniel the Kenizzite saves the Israelites
    11a. Forty years of peace
11b-30. Ehud the son of Gera
    11b-12a. The Israelites sin
    12b-14. God hands the Israelites to the king of Moab
    15a. The Israelites call out to God
    15b. Ehud is chosen
    15c-26. Ehud’s mission
    27-30a. The Israelites defeat the Moabites
    30b. Eighty years of peace
31. Shamgar son of Anath defeats six hundred Philistines.

V. Comment
Chapter 3 tells the story of three judges, two of whom are “major” (i.e. treated with detail) and one who is “minor.” All three save the Israelites from their oppressors: Othniel saves them from the king of Aram, Ehud saves them from the Moabites, and Shamgar saves them from the Philistines. Modern scholars question the historicity of this account. For example, Butler writes: “The three nations represented here provoke questions. Moab represents the arch enemy from Transjordan, while Aram-Naharaim represents the Syrian threat under David and his successors. D. C. Browning notes, ‘The rise of Aram-Damascus’ power was facilitated by the division of Israel following the death of Solomon” (HIBD, 1548). The Philistines remained the strongest threat among the peoples living in Cisjordan after the division of the monarchy. The narrator probably collected his materials and edited them in this period shortly after the kingdoms divided and placed the three major powers of his day as the victims of the three judges who passed God’s test.” (75)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://www.lawofficermagazine.com/Images/373knife-hand_tcm22-177307.jpg

Hebrew-English Text
I. Summary
An angel reprimands the people for forsaking God. Joshua’s death is recounted, and the people’s sinfulness is described.

II. Photo

The Israelites stray: “And the Israelites did what was offensive to the LORD. They worshiped the Baalim.” (v. 11)

III. Important Verses
v. 7: The people served the LORD during the lifetime of Joshua and the lifetime of the older people who lived on after Joshua and who had witnessed all the marvelous deeds that the LORD had wrought for Israel.
vv. 8-9: Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten years, and was buried on his own property, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
vv. 11-13: And the Israelites did what was offensive to the LORD. They worshiped the Baalim and forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed down to them; they provoked the LORD. They forsook the LORD and worshiped Baal and the Ashtaroth.
vv. 18-19: When the LORD raised up chieftains for them, the LORD would be with the chieftain and would save them from their enemies during the chieftain’s lifetime; for the LORD would be moved to pity by their moanings because of those who oppressed and crushed them. But when the chieftain died, they would again act basely, even more than the preceding generation — following other gods, worshiping them, and bowing down to them; they omitted none of their practices and stubborn ways.
vv. 22-23: For it was in order to test Israel by them — [to see] whether or not they would faithfully walk in the ways of the LORD, as their fathers had done — that the LORD had left those nations, instead of driving them out at once, and had not delivered them into the hands of Joshua.

IV. Outline
1-5. Angelic theophany
6-7. The situation under Joshua
8-9. The death of Joshua
10a. The death of Joshua’s generation
10b-13. The Israelites worship idolatry
14-15. God punishes them
16-17. The people do not listen to the chieftains
18-23. The sins of the people and God’s response

V. Comment
Whereas chapter 1 describes the military/political situation of Israel, chapter 2 describes the religious situation. Butler summarizes the chapter as follows: ”Chap. 2 pictures the religious rebellion of the covenant people. They do not learn the lessons that Joshua’s life and actions should have taught them. They do not remember God’s works or words. They weep and sacrifice for a moment but renege on covenant promises for centuries. God’s presence with the judges and compassion for the oppressed, groaning people do not sway Israel to return to the God of their fathers and the commandments that the Joshua generation obeyed. Instead, they let fascination with the gods of the country’s history – the gods of fertility and crops, the gods of sexuality and weather – lure them into worship that infuriates the God of their history. How could a people so quickly transform themselves from covenant servants of [the Lord] to fascinated worshipers of Baal and his cohorts? The following stories will illustrate how that happens and will justify [the Lord’s] destructive actions against a disobedient people of the covenant.” (49)

VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Trent C. Butler, “Judges” (Word Biblical Commentary vol. 8; Nashville: Nelson, 2009).
Collins, John J. “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” Word Biblical Commentary vol. 15 (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004).
Photo taken from http://santitafarella.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/16a-asherah-goddesses.jpg