The biblical judges ''šōp̄êṭ''/''shofet'', pl. ''šōp̄əṭîm''/''shoftim'') are described in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdo ...

, as people who served roles as military leaders in times of crisis, in the period before an

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stel ...

monarchy was established.

Role

A cyclical pattern is regularly recounted in the

Book of Judges The Book of Judges (, ') is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdo ...

to show the need for the various judges:

apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...

of the Israelite people, hardship brought on as punishment from God, crying out to the Lord for rescue. The story of the judges seems to describe successive individuals, each from a different tribe of Israel, described as chosen by God to rescue the people from their enemies and establish justice. While ''judge'' is a literalistic translation of the Hebrew term used in the

Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

, the position as described is more one of unelected non-hereditary leadership than that of legal pronouncement. However,

Cyrus H. Gordon Cyrus Herzl Gordon (June 29, 1908 – March 30, 2001) was an American scholar of Near Eastern cultures and ancient languages. Biography Gordon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Lithuanian emigrant and physician Benjamin Gordon. H ...

argued that they may have come from among the hereditary leaders of the fighting, landed and ruling aristocracy, like the kings ( ''basileis'') in

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

. 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, but Malamat pointed out that in the text, their authority is described as being recognized by local groups or tribes beyond their own.

Historicity and timeline

The biblical scholar Kenneth Kitchen argues that, from the conquest of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel and Judah (), the Israelite tribes may have formed a loose confederation. In this conception, no central government would have existed but in times of crisis, the people would have been led by ''ad hoc'' chieftains, known as judges (''shoftim''). However, some scholars are uncertain whether such a role existed in ancient Israel. Working with the chronology in ''Judges'', 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 at Hazor, he suggests that the period may have lasted from to . Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson wrote that if There is also doubt among some scholars about any historicity of the Book of Judges.

Judges mentioned in the Hebrew Bible

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Moses is described as a ''shofet'' over the Israelites and appoints others to whom cases were delegated in accordance with the advice of Jethro, his Midianite father-in-law. The

mentions twelve leaders who are said to "judge" Israel:

Othniel Othniel (; he, עָתְנִיאֵל בֶּן קְנַז, ''ʿOṯnīʾēl ben Qenaz'') was the first of the biblical judges. The etymology of his name is uncertain, but may mean "God/He is my strength" or "God has helped me". Family The Hebr ...

, Ehud,

Shamgar Shamgar, son of Anath ( he, ''Šamgar''), is the name of one or possibly two individuals named in the Book of Judges. The name occurs twice: #at the first mention, Shamgar is identified as a man who repelled Philistine incursions into Israelit ...

, Deborah, Gideon, Tola,

Jair In the Biblical Book of Judges, Jair or Yair ( he, יָאִיר ''Yā’īr'', "he enlightens") was a man from Gilead of the Tribe of Manasseh, east of the River Jordan, who judged Israel for 22 years, after the death of Tola, who had ruled ...

, Jephthah,

Ibzan Ibzan or Ivtzan ( he, אִבְצָן ''’Īḇṣān''; grc, Ἀβαισσάν; la, Abesan, meaning "illustrious") appears in the Hebrew Bible as the ninth of the Judges of Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِس� ...

, Elon, Abdon, and Samson. Ehud, described in the text between

and

, is usually included as a judge because the history of his leadership follows a set pattern characteristic of five of the others. The First Book of Samuel mentions Eli and Samuel, as well as Joel and Abiah (two sons of Samuel). The First Book of Chronicles mentions Kenaniah and his sons. The

Second Book of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

mentions Amariah and Zebadiah (son of Ishmael). The Book of Judges also recounts the story of

Abimelech Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, ...

, an illegitimate son of Gideon, who was appointed as a judge-like leader by the citizens of the city of

Shechem Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first c ...

. He was later overthrown during a local conflict, and the classification of Abimelech as a judge is questionable.

Judges 9 Judges 9 is the ninth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel,Gilad, ElonWho Really Wrote the Biblical Books of Kings and the Prophets? '' ...

:1-57. 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''). Thus, Othniel "judged Israel" ( Judges 3:10), Tola "judged Israel twenty-three years" ( Judges 10:2), and Jair judged Israel twenty-two years (

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

10:3). According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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