What is the purpose of the book of judges?

Answer 1

A:The Book of Judges forms part of the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings) written in Judah by an anonymous author, now known as the Deuteronomist, during the seventh-century-BCE reign of King Josiah. The History was clearly an attempt to inform the people of Judah of their nation's history, as far as he knew it.

The number of years of peace brought about by each of the major judges, or the number of years of their ruling, is a multiple of 20, except only in the case of Jephthah, who is said to have ruled Israel for only 6 years and in this way bridges the major and minor judges. These easy multiples must have served the purpose of making it easy for story-tellers to remember the details, long before their stories were put down in writing. The order in which the individual judges are mentioned also seems to have assisted in recalling the important details. While this does not tell us whether much of the Book of Judges is historical, it does tell us that the story outline already existed long before the time attributed to the Deuteronomist. And this confirms that this book was a genuine effort to record the early history of the nation.

Jewish Answer

The book of Shoftim traces the history of Jews from the year 2516 (1244 BCE) until 2830 (930 BCE). The book goes by two parallel tracks, the first being the details of what happened to the nation and the second describing the leader of each generation.

Please see the related link for an article on this subject.

Answer 2

No. The Book of Judges, as well as both 1 and 2 Samuel, was written by an anonymous author now known as the Deuteronomist, during the seventh century BCE. There is no firm evidence that Samuel even existed.

Answer 3

A:The Book of Judges forms part of the Deuteronomic History (Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings) written in Judah by an anonymous author, now known as the Deuteronomist, during the seventh-century-BCE reign of King Josiah. The History was clearly an attempt to inform the people of Judah of their nation's history, as far as he knew it.

The number of years of peace brought about by each of the major judges, or the number of years of their ruling, is a multiple of 20, except only in the case of Jephthah, who is said to have ruled Israel for only 6 years and in this way bridges the major and minor judges. These easy multiples must have served the purpose of making it easy for story-tellers to remember the details, long before their stories were put down in writing. The order in which the individual judges are mentioned also seems to have assisted in recalling the important details. While this does not tell us whether much of the Book of Judges is historical, it does tell us that the story outline already existed long before the time attributed to the Deuteronomist. And this confirms that this book was a genuine effort to record the early history of the nation.

Answer:The Talmud (Bava Batra 14b) states that Samuel was the prophet who wrote the book of Judges. In addition to its historic information, this book serves as a permanent call to repentance and a warning against idolatry, since its chapters relate how the Israelites were dominated by neighboring nations whenever they began to indulge in idolatry; and had their independence restored through Divine intervention when they repented and returned to the worship of God alone.

Answer 4

The judges in the Book of Judges were much more similar to the Arab Tribal concept of a Hakam or Arbiter than the modern term "Judge". The Judges in the Old Testament would hear disputes and give resolutions, in a capacity similar to modern judges, but they would not have a jurisdiction nor could their opinions be appealed. More importantly, the judges would coordinate military strikes and defend the tribes over which he served as an arbiter, similar to a modern warlord. The unification of the judicial and military in one God-fearing individual is what the judge did.

Answer 5

The broad overview of Judges is given explicitly in chapter 2 of that Book. The Israelites prospered when they all obeyed God, but when any of them slid into idolatry, God subjected the nation to the depredations of its neighbors (until the Israelites repented). This had been predicted in Numbers 33:50-56 and elsewhere. See also the Related Links.

Link: More about the Judges

Link: Israelite loyalty and disloyalty

Answer 6

Answer

Judges contrasts God's faithfulness with Israel's unfaithfulness as a culture of a new land proves more enticing than the promises of God's covenant.