Provan, Ian. Old Testament Foundations lectures.Judges+2018.pdfexperienced exile by outlining the downfall of Israel and Judah. Mark Throntveit, Joshua, EnterTheBible.com * * In groups,

Sources:

Provan, Ian. Old Testament Foundations lectures.

Regent College

Satterthwaite, Philip E. and J. Gordon McConville.

Exploring the Old Testament, Volume 2: A Guide to

the Historical Books

Mark Throntveit, Joshua, EnterTheBible.com

*

*The book of Judges presents the story of:

*the individual tribes that became the nation Israel

*from the death of Joshua to the birth of Samuel.

*Its title comes from the individuals called by God to

be "judges" (charismatic leaders) of Israel.

*Within the framework of the

Deuteronomistic History, Judges illustrates:

*the consequences of the lack of faithful leadership

and

*prepares the way for the discussion of monarchy.


**A collection of older stories about tribal heroes

is structured around a repeated pattern of:

1. apostasy (abandonment of faith in God),

2. oppression, and

3. deliverance.


**The editorial comment with which the book closes,

"In those days there was no king in Israel; all the

people did what was right in their own eyes" (21:25)

demonstrates Israel's failure. (compare 17:6; 18:1; 19:1)

*Therefore, the book is a rationale for the monarchy.


*

*The period of the judges

*from the settlement/conquest of Canaan

*up to the monarchy,

*roughly 1200-1030 B.C.E.

*From a wandering affiliation of 12 tribes

that settling in the Promised Land…

*To an established national identity as

the people of Israel.


Period of the Judges

cir

.1032►

◄722 /

721

587 /

586 ►

539 /

538 ►

6 /

4 ►

*

*The message of the book is summarized in

Joshua's closing exhortation (förmaning):

*"If you transgress the covenant of the LORD your

God, which he enjoined on you, and go and serve

other gods and bow down to them, then the anger

of the LORD will be kindled against you, and you

shall perish quickly from the good land that he

has given to you" (Joshua 23:16).


*

*Judges makes it very clear that

everything depends upon faithful

obedience to the Lord.

*We also see God repeatedly offering the

people a fresh start.

*Tension between God's justice

and God's mercy


**The Hebrew word shophet means something like

"one who brings vindication, who sets things right."

*Only Deborah is shown as administering justice.

*In Judges, military and political leadership are far

more important.

*Surprisingly, none of the 12 leaders are actually called

"judge" after the introduction (2:16-19).


*

*The 7 major judges

Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon,

Jephthah, and Samson

*The 5 minor judges

Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

*appear as leaders in lists (10:1-5; 12:8-15).

*Shamgar is often considered a minor judge.

*

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOYy8iCfIJ4

*

*Jewish tradition identifies Samuel as the

author of Judges, but there is no evidence

to support this claim.

*Various older traditions have been

gathered together and edited by the

writers of the Deuteronomistic History.


*

In 1943, Old Testament scholar Martin Noth

*argued that the books from Joshua

through Kings (excluding Ruth) formed

a single literary and theological work

presenting the history of Israel from

the exodus from Egypt to the Babylonian exile

*based upon the theological perspectives

of the book of Deuteronomy.

*The history was written to explain why Israel had

experienced exile by outlining the downfall of Israel

and Judah.


**In groups, read the following texts and look for

characteristics of Deuteronomistic History.

1. Deut 5

2. Deut 17

3. Deut 28

4. Josh 23

5. I Sam 12

6. 2 Ki 17

A. Covenant faithfulness as the source

for God’s blessing

B. Disaster due to disobedience to God

C. Requires centralized sanctuary(worship only at tabernacle/temple)

D. Depicting Joshua as grand

E. Sees prophecy as superior

F. Divinely guided conquest

**While the debate continues regarding the date and

editing of these books, many scholars think there

were at least 2 separate editions:


7th century B.C.E. 6th century B.C.E.

When during the reign of

Josiah

during the exile

Covenant emphasized the

unconditional nature

of the promise

emphasized the

conditional nature

of the covenant

King positive view of

kingship;

negative view of the

monarchy due to the

failure of Israel's kings

**Contains some of the oldest material in the Bible. The

"Song of Deborah" (Judges 5) may be as old as 1125 B.C.E.

*However, the words of the narrator indicate a later time.

*"In those days there was no king in Israel"

(17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25), and

*The mention of the captivity of Israel (18:30) and

*The destruction of Shiloh (18:31)

*Thus, Judges contains very old traditional material as well

as later theological reflection and came together over a

period of several centuries

*A final editing perhaps in the 7th or 6th century B.C.E.


*

*When the years judged (256) are added to the years of

enemy oppression (144), they total 400 years from the

settlement of the land to Samson's death.

*early date for the exodus: 1446 B.C.E.15th century B.C.E. or fjortonhundratalet

*Some have argued that this figure is reasonably

close to the 480 years between the exodus and the

construction of the temple (1 Kings 6:1)

* late date for the exodus

13th century B.C.E. or tolvhundratalet

*archaeological evidence suggests the reign of

Rameses II


*

*Unfortunately, we do not know if some of the

judges were contemporaries (at the same time),

which would reduce the final total.

*The exact figure of 400 years arouses suspicion

*with frequent use of 20, 40, and 80 years

*that is, 1/2 a generation, 1, and 2 generations.


*There are more than 20 different lists of the tribes of

Israel in the Old Testament. Significant variations are:

*Genesis 49 lists all 12 tribes and does not separate

Joseph into Ephraim and Manasseh.

*This is the standard listing.

*See Genesis 35:22-26; Deuteronomy 27:12-13;

1 Chronicles 2:1-2; Ezekiel 48:1-7

*Deuteronomy 33 excludes Simeon but arrives at 12

tribes by counting the tribe of Joseph as two, Ephraim

and Manasseh (see Genesis 48:8-20).

*Judges 5, among the oldest material in the OT

(12th century B.C.E.) excludes Judah and Simeon


*

*The tribes that appear in the book of Judges were

not known by the name "Israel" at this time.

*That was a later name that developed in the time

of the united monarchy.

*Nevertheless, the name "Israel" appears

anachronistically (out of time sequence)

throughout the book.


*

1. Introduction (Judges 1:1-3:6)

2. The Judge-deliverers (Judges 3:7-16:31)

3. Epilogue (Judges 17:1-21:25)

*See chiastic structure in Provan p. 160

*

*Judges 3:7—16:31The acts of local charismatic heroes are collected

to show the downward spiral of the people due to

their apostasy (turning away from faith in God).


*

*The judges were human beings raised up by God to

deal with the oppression of the surrounding peoples.

*At times, they did display faithful obedience to God

(Gideon, for example, in 6:23-28), and this probably

accounts for the positive view of Gideon, Barak,

Samson, and Jephthah found in Hebrews 11:32.

*But the general portrait of the judges tells of their

sinful character as an example of this period in

Israel's history.


*

Very few of the judges were models to be copied.

*Gideon's promising start quickly declines

*repeated requests for a sign (6:36-40)

*the making of an ephod that may have become an idol

(compare 17:4-5)

*eventual apostasy (turn from faith) for him, his family,

and all Israel (8:24-27)

*Samson broke all of the Nazirite vows

(13:7; compare Numbers 6).

*contact with corpses (14:8-9)

*feasting (including wine) at his wedding (14:10)

*cutting his hair (16:17-19)


*

*Othniel versus Cushan-rishathaim (Judges 3:7-11)

*The first judge from the tribe of Judah

*demonstrates the circular pattern with little extra detail

*Ehud versus the Moabites (Judges 3:12-30)

*a Benjaminite

* left-handed, tricks and defeats the Moabite king, Eglon

*Shamgar versus the Philistines (Judges 3:31)

*not assigned to a tribe

* interrupts the story, fails to follow the circular pattern

*has a non-Semitic name


**Deborah and Barak against the Canaanites

(Judges 4:1—5:31)

*A narrative account of the exploits of the Naphtalites:

Deborah and Barak, possibly at Esdraelon

*Chapter 5, possibly the oldest biblical text we have, is a

poetic version of the same story.

*Deborah is shown here as a prophet rather than a judge.

*Gideon against the Midianites (Judges 6:1—8:35)

*from the tribe of Manasseh,

*raised up to deliver Israel from the Midianites but becomes a

sign of the decline to come.

*Abimelech, Gideon's Son (Judges 9:1-57)

*tries to become king of Shechem, but fails.


*

*Work in pairs

*Read all the texts from

Judges

1. 3:10

2. 6:34

3. 11:29

4. 13:25

5. 14:6

6. 14:19

7. 15:14

*How is the spirit of the

Lord shown?

*What verbs are used to

describe the acting of

the spirit?

*How are these accounts

similar/dissimilar?

*

*In Othniel's case, a good man is empowered to do good

(3:7-11).

*Gideon's less-than-model behavior begins after the

coming of the spirit in Judges 6:34, and Jephthah's

tragic vow is made immediately after the arrival of the

spirit (11:29-30).

*Again, the realistic view of Judges refuses to leave us

in our preconceived notions of what God's spirit

"does."

*In the case of the other three, the coming of the spirit

has brought out that which was in their hearts.

*

*Tola and Jair, Minor Judges (Judges 10:1-5)

Little information is given about these minor judges

from Issachar and Manasseh in Transjordan.

*Jephthah against the Ammonites (Judges 10:6--12:7)

The tragic story of Jephthah, from Manasseh in

Transjordan, ends in his rash vow resulting in the

sacrifice of his daughter.

*Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, Minor Judges (Judges 12:8-

15) Another brief group of minor judges from Zebulun

and, in Abdon's case, Ephraim is listed.


*

*Samson against the Philistines

(Judges 13:1—16:31)

Samson, from the tribe of Dan, is unlike the

other judges whom God raised up to deliver

the people from oppression.

*Samson is, rather, a "hero" (or antihero) who

exercises a personal fight against his opponents.


*

*Samson against the Philistines

(Judges 13:1--16:31)

Samson, from the tribe of Dan, is

unlike the other judges whom God

raised up to deliver the people

from oppression. Samson is,

rather, a "hero" (or antihero) who

exercises a personal vendetta

against his opponents.

*

*Judges is surprisingly rich in women. At least 22

women (or groups of women) appear in these pages.

*The majority of these women participate fully in their

passages, either through action or dialogue.

*The fact that many of their actions consist of

faithlessness, deceit, and even murder, simply

reflects the pessimistic message of Judges as a whole.


*

*Achsah (1:12-15)

*Deborah (chapters 4-5)

*Jael (4:17-22; 5:6, 24-27)

*Sisera's mother (5:28-30)

*Sisera's mother's "wisest ladies" (5:29-30)

*Gideon's concubine (8:31)

* the "certain woman" who murders Abimelech (9:53)

*Jephthah's mother (11:1); Gilead's wife (11:2)

*Jephthah's daughter (11:34-40)

*her "companions" in mourning (11:37-38)

* the "daughters of Israel" (11:40)

*Samson's mother (13:2-24)

*Samson's wife (14:1-15:8)

*Samson's Gaza prostitute (16:1-3)

*Delilah (16:4-22)

*the Philistine women (16:27)

*Micah's mother (17:1-6)

*the Levite's concubine (19:1-30)

*the "virgin daughter" of the Levite's host (19:24)

*the "four hundred young virgins" of Jabesh-gilead (21:12)

*and the "young women of Shiloh" (21:21)

**Two Supplements (Judges 17:1—21:25)

Judges closes with two horrible incidents that illustrate the

anarchy that characterized the people when "there was no king

in Israel, and all the people did what was right in their own eyes"

(17:6; 21:25). As such, they prepare the way for the books of

Samuel.

*The Origin of the Sanctuary at Dan (Judges 17:1—18:31)

The migration of part of the tribe of Dan to the north is retold

through the story of the Danites' theft of Micah's idol to

account for the establishment of the sanctuary at Dan.

*Civil War (Judges 19:1—21:25)

Outrage at the rape and murder of a Levite's concubine erupts

into the near elimination of the tribe of Benjamin by the other

tribes.


*

**

**It unlikely that any of the characters in this troubling tale

are meant to be understood in an entirely positive light.

*The story is placed in a section of Judges (chaps. 17–21)

illustrating the social and religious chaos that was prior

to the Israelite kingship.

*The horror of the tale represents extreme disorder, to be

corrected only by the establishment of monarchic rule.

*The fate of the concubine is particularly gruesome,

however, and the story has appropriately been called a

“text of terror” by one feminist commentator (Trible).

Ken Stone http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/concubine-of-levite-bible

*

*In the book, the people are seen participating in:

*idolatry (for example, 6:25-32; 8:33-9:6),

*violence (for example, 8:13-17), and

*even murder (9:4-5).

*Especially telling in this regard is the description

of Shiloh as still "in the land of Canaan" (21:12).


*

*What features do these

passages have in common?

*How does the “messenger”

relate to YHWH?

*Do the texts allow you to

form any clear understanding

of angels? If so how?

*Work in pairs

*Read all the texts from

Judges

1.2:1-5

2.5:23

3.6:11-24

4.13:3-23

*

*Of the 59 occurrences of "the angel [messenger] of

the Lord" in the Old Testament, 18 appear in Judges,

or nearly one-third.

*These appearances cluster around four events:

1. Judges 2:1, 4

2. Judges 5:23

3. Judges 6:11, 12, 21 (twice), 22 (twice)

4. Judges 13:3, 13, 15, 16 (twice), 18, 20, 21 (twice).

*Seems to be an ambassador from God's heavenly

council (6:11; 13:3) whose primary purpose is to

prepare for God's immediate appearance.

**The corrupt description of Israel may overshadow

God's provision.

*Time after time, God raises up deliverers who

rescue Israel from oppression because of God's

compassion.

*Sometimes God’s rescue is prompted by Israel's cries

for help, confession, or repentance (for example,

3:9; 4:3; 6:6; 10:10), but not always.

*Even when Israel fell back into idolatry, God's angry

response was to turn them over to the various

peoples of the land of Canaan, but always as a time

of testing, never as abandonment (2:22—3:4).


*

*All the parts of the Deuteronomistic History

struggle with the question of God's

relationship with Israel.

*Both unconditional promises of commitment

and demands of obedience play large roles.

*Time and again, we see God sending

deliverers to free Israel from oppressors.

Yet, the oppressors were sent by God in

response to Israel's failure to obey.


Documents

Provan, Ian. Old Testament Foundations lectures.Judges+2018.pdfexperienced exile by outlining the downfall of Israel and Judah. Mark Throntveit, Joshua, EnterTheBible.com * * In groups,