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Judges 3:9,10,15
And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them,even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother…

Judges 4:5
And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

Judges 6:14
And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them
The phrase highlights the primary role of the judges: to deliver Israel from foreign oppressors. The "plunderers" were often neighboring nations that God allowed to oppress Israel as a consequence of their idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. These oppressors included the Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines, and others. The deliverance by the judges is a foreshadowing of the ultimate deliverance through Jesus Christ, who saves humanity from the bondage of sin. The cyclical nature of Israel's sin and deliverance underscores the need for a permanent solution, which is fulfilled in the New Testament through Christ's redemptive work.

- This simple word marks a turning point. After Israel’s cycle of idolatry and oppression described inJudges 2:11-15, “then” signals God’s merciful response.

- Similar pivot moments appear inJudges 3:9 and 3:15, where “the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and He raised up” a deliverer. Each time, God’s grace interrupts judgment.

- The covenant name stresses that the initiative comes from Yahweh Himself. He is personally involved, faithful to promises made to Abraham (Exodus 2:24) and steadfast in love (Psalm 103:8).

- Even when His people abandon Him, He remains “the LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious” (Exodus 34:6). Their rescue starts and ends with Him.

- “Raised up” shows divine appointment. The judges—Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Samson, and others—were not elected or self-chosen; God put them in place (Judges 3:9; 3:15; 6:14).

- They functioned as military leaders, spiritual reformers, and arbiters of disputes (Judges 4:4-5).

-1 Samuel 12:11 later summarizes this era: “Then the LORD sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side.”

- The salvation was literal—freedom from foreign domination. Yet the text keeps the focus on God: the judges were instruments, but “salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8).

-Psalm 44:3 echoes the thought: “For it was not by their sword that they took the land… it was Your right hand.”

- This pattern anticipates the ultimate Deliverer (Luke 1:68), pointing ahead to Christ while remaining rooted in historical events.

- “Hand” in Scripture pictures power and control. Israel was under the “hand” of Mesopotamia (Judges 3:10), Moab (3:12-14), Midian (6:1-6), and others.

- God repeatedly promises to snatch His people “out of the hand of” oppressors (Exodus 3:8;2 Kings 13:5). Each rescue affirms His sovereignty over every human power.

- The oppressors ravaged crops, livestock, and security (Judges 6:3-6). Plunder was a covenant curse for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:29-33), vividly fulfilled inJudges 2:14.

- By overturning the plunderers, God proves both His justice—disciplining sin—and His mercy—restoring what was lost (Joel 2:25).

Judges 2:16 records a gracious intervention: after Israel’s rebellion and resulting oppression, the LORD Himself acted. He, the covenant-keeping God, raised up divinely appointed judges to bring real, historical salvation, pulling His people from the crushing grip of plundering enemies. The verse showcases God’s faithfulness, His sovereign choice of imperfect human instruments, and His power to rescue—patterns that repeat throughout Judges and ultimately point to the greater deliverance found in Christ.

The Lord raised up judges.--Acts 13:20;1Samuel 12:10-11. This is the key-note to the book. (SeeJudges 3:10;Judges 4:4;Judges 10:2;Judges 12:7, &c.; 15:20.) The word forJudgesisShophetim.The ordinary verb "to judge," in Hebrew, is notShaphat,butdayyan.Evidently their deliverers (comp.Deuteronomy 17:8-9;Psalm 2:10;Amos 2:3) are of higher rank than the mere tribe-magistrates mentioned inExodus 18:26;Deuteronomy 1:16,&c. Artemidorus (Judges 2:14) says that to judge (Krinein) signified among the ancients "to govern." Of the judges in this book some--e.g.,Tola, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon--are not said to have performed any warlike deeds. Theymay,however, have been warriors, like Jair, whose exploits are only preserved in tradition. Samuel, though not himself a fighter, yet roused the military courage of his people. They received no salary, imposed no tributes, made no laws, but merely exercised, for the deliverance of Israel, the personal ascendency conferred upon them by "the Spirit of God." Perhaps they find their nearest analogy in the GreekAisymnetai(elective princes) or the RomanDictators.The name is evidently the same as that of the Ph?nicianSuffetes,who succeeded the kings and were the Doges of Tyre after its siege by Nebuchadnezzar. (Jos.100 Ap. i. 21.) Livy tells us that the Suffetes of Carthage had a sort of consular power in the senate (Liv. 30:7; 28:57; 33:46; 34:61). So, too, in the Middle Ages, Spanish governors were called "judges," and this was the title of the chief officer of Sardinia. The judges of Israel, at any rate in their true ideal, were not only military deliverers (Judges 3:9), but also supporters of divine law and order (Genesis 18:25). The abeyance of normally constituted authority during this period is seen in the fact that one of the judges is the son of a "stranger" (Judges 11:2), another a woman (Judges 4:4), and not one of them (in this book) of priestly or splendid birth. . . .