| Judges in the Hebrew Bible שופטים |
|---|
| Italics indicate individuals not explicitly described as judges |
| Book of Exodus |
| Book of Joshua |
| Book of Judges |
| First Book of Samuel |
Thejudges (sing.Hebrew:שופט,romanized: šōp̄ēṭ, pl.שופטיםšōp̄əṭīm) whose stories are recounted in theHebrew Bible, primarily in theBook of Judges, were individuals who served as military leaders of thetribes of Israel in times of crisis, in the period before themonarchy was established.
A cyclical pattern is regularly recounted in theBook of Judges to show the need for the various judges:apostasy of the Israelite people, hardship brought on asdivine retribution, and crying out toYahweh for rescue.[1][2] Consequently, God chooses a judge from a certain tribe of Israel who rescues the people from the divine retribution, usually enemies, and establishes justice.
Whilejudge is a literalistic translation of the termshophet used in theMasoretic Text (as well as by otherCanaanitic-speaking societies), the position as described inJudges 12:7–15 is an unelected non-hereditary leadership rather than a position of legal pronouncements.Cyrus H. Gordon argued the shophetim may have come from among the hereditary leaders of the fighting, landed, and ruling aristocracy, like thebasileis or kings ofHomer.[3] Coogan says that they were most likely tribal or local leaders, contrary to the Deuteronomistic historian's portrayal of them as leaders of all of Israel,[4] but Malamat pointed out that in the text, their authority is described as being recognized by local groups or tribes beyond their own.[5] The term is sometimes rendered as "chieftain", althoughRobert Alter cautions that this misrepresents shophetim as a normal leadership structure.[6]
The biblical scholarKenneth Kitchen argues that from the conquest ofCanaan byJoshua until the formation of theKingdom of Israel and Judah (c. 1150–1025 BCE), theIsraelite tribes may have formed a loose confederation. No central government would have existed in this conception, but in times of crisis, the people would have been led byad hoc chieftains known as shophetim.[7] However, some scholars are uncertain whether such a role existed in ancient Israel.[8] Others doubt about any historicity of the Book of Judges.[9]
The book is generally too problematic to use as a historical source. [...] Two points relating to history, however, can be made about the book of Judges: first, the picture of a tribal society without a unified leadership engaging in uncoordinated local actions seems to fit the society of the hill country inIA I, as evidenced by the archaeology ... Secondly, perhaps the one exception to the historical ambiguity of the text is the Song of Deborah inJudges 5. [citation omitted][10]
Working with the chronology inJudges, Payne points out that although the timescale of Judges is indicated by Jephthah's statement (Judges 11:26) that Israel had occupied the land for around 300 years, some of the judges overlapped one another. Claiming that Deborah's victory has been confirmed as taking place in 1216 from archaeology undertaken atHazor, he suggests that the period may have lasted fromc. 1382 toc. 1063.[11]Bill T. Arnold andHugh G. M. Williamson wrote:
all the figures given in Judges (years of oppression, years the judges led Israel, years of peace achieved by the judges) are treated as consecutive, then the total duration of the events described in Judges is 410 years. If we accept a date of 1000 BCE for the beginning of David's reign over all Israel, which puts the beginning of Eli's leadership of Israel at about 1100 BCE, then the judges period would begin no later than 1510 BCE—impossible even for those who date the conquest to the fifteenth century BCE.[12]
In theHebrew Bible,Moses is described as a shophet over the Israelites and appoints others to whom cases were delegated following the advice ofJethro, hisMidianite father-in-law.[13] TheBook of Judges mentions twelve leaders who are said to "judge" Israel:Othniel,Ehud,Shamgar,Deborah,Gideon,Tola,Jair,Jephthah,Ibzan,Elon,Abdon, andSamson. On the basis of the length of the biblical narrative referring to them, the six of them (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah and Samson) are regarded as the major judges, with the rest being the minor judges.
TheFirst Book of Samuel mentionsEli andSamuel, as well as Joel and Abiah (two sons of Samuel). TheFirst Book of Chronicles mentions Kenaniah and his sons. TheSecond Book of Chronicles mentionsAmariah andZebadiah (son of Ishmael).
The Book of Judges also recounts the story ofAbimelech, an illegitimate son of Gideon, who was appointed as a judge-like leader by the citizens of the city ofShechem. He was later overthrown during a local conflict, and the classification of Abimelech as a judge is questionable.[14]
The biblical text does not generally describe these leaders as "a judge", but says that they "judged Israel", using the verb שָׁפַט (š-f-t).[15][page needed] Thus, Othniel "judged Israel forty years" (Judges 3:11), Tola "judged Israel twenty-three years" (Judges 10:2), and Jair judged Israel twenty-two years (Judges 10:3).
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah (Hebrew:דְּבוֹרָה,romanized: Dəḇorā,lit. 'Bee') was afemale prophet of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge ofpre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible.
