Book of Judges (Hebrew: Sefer Shoftim ספר שופטים) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. It appears in the Hebrew Bible (Judaism's Tanakh) and in the Christian Old Testament. Its title refers to its contents; it contains the history of Biblical judges (not to be confused with modern judges), and of their times. who helped rule and guide the ancient Israelites. Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the concept of a New Testament. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin), also called The First Book of Moses, is the first book of Torah (five books of Moses), and is the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of... Exodus is the second book of the Torah (the Pentateuch) and also the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), and the Christian Old Testament. ... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ... The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally written in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ... The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally written in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ... The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). ... The Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew Tanakh. ... The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanakh and to Christians as the Old Testament. ... The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. ... The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ... Ecclesiastes, Qohelet in Hebrew, is a book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Song of Solomon is also the title of a novel by Toni Morrison. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For jer, an alternate spelling for the reduced vowels in Common Slavic, see yer. ... The Book of Lamentations (Hebrew מגילת איכה) is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... This article is about the Book of Ezekiel. ... The Book of Daniel, written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is a book in both the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament. ... The Book of Hosea is a book of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament written by Hosea. ... // Overview of Contents The book of Joel (MEW) is part of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, and also the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... // Who wrote it? Amos was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam ben Joash (Jeroboam II), ruler of Israel from 793 BCE to 753 BCE, and the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, at a time when both kingdoms (Israel in the North and Judah in the South) were peaking... The Book of Obadiah is found in both the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long. ... In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jonah is the 5th book in a series of books called the Minor Prophets (itself a subsection of the Nevi’im or Prophets). ... // Who wrote it? Micah wrote the book in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, roughly 735-700 BC Few Old Testament scholars today would defend Micahs authorship of the entire book. ... The book of Nahum is a book in the Bibles Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... // The Prophet There is not much biographical information on the prophet Habakkuk; in fact less is known about this prophet than any other. ... // Who wrote it? The superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah” (1:1, NRSV). ... The Book of Haggai is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament, written by the prophet Haggai. ... Zechariah or Zecharya (זְכַרְיָה Renowned/Remembered of/is the LORD, Standard Hebrew Zəḫarya, Tiberian Hebrew Zəḵaryāh) was a person in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... Malachi (or Malachias, מַלְאָכִי, Malʾaḫi, Málakhî) is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh, written by the prophet Malachi. ... Tobias and the Angel, by Filippino Lippi The Book of Tobit (or Book of Tobias in older Catholic Bibles) is a book of scripture that is part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Carthage of 397 and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the... Judith with the Head of Holophernes, by Christophano Allori, 1613 (Pitti Palace, Florence The Book of Judith is a parable, or perhaps the first historical novel according to Jewish authorities, who do not place it among the writings of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. ... 1 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible which was written by a Jewish (pre-Christian) author, probably about 100 BC, after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom. ... 2 Maccabees is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible which focuses on the Jews revolt against Antiochus and concludes with the defeat of the Syrian general Nicanor in 161 BC by Judas Maccabeus, the hero of the work. ... Wisdom, also known as the Wisdom of Solomon, is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible that are not translations of Hebrew originals. ... The Wisdom of Ben Sira, (or The Wisdom of Yeshua Ben Sira or merely Sirach), called Ecclesiasticus (not to be confused with Ecclesiastes) by Christians, is a book written circa 180–175 BCE. The author, Yeshua ben Sira, was a Jew who had been living in Jerusalem, who may in... The Book of Baruch is a deuterocanonical book, found in the Greek Bible (LXX) and in the Vulgate Bible, but not in the Hebrew Bible, although it was included in Theodotions version¹. ... Letter of Jeremiah is an Apocryphal book consisting of a letter ascribed to Jeremiah to the Jews in exile in Babylon warning them against idolatry by demonstrating its unreasonableness. ... The additions to Daniel comprise of three additional chapters appended to the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel from the Greek Septuagint. ... Some editions of the Bible contain elements that dont appear in Hebrew or Protestant editions, and which are therefore termed Apocryphal. ... 1 Esdras is a deuterocanonical book accepted by most Orthodox Christians, but rejected as apocryphal by Jews, Catholics, and Protestants. ... The Biblical book 3 Maccabees is found in most Orthodox Bibles as a part of the deuterocanonical books. ... The book of 4 Maccabees is a homily or philosophic discourse praising the supremacy of pious reason over the passions. ... Odes is a book of the Bible found in the Septuagint manuscript, but not in Catholic or Protestant Bibles. ... Prayer of Manasseh is a prayer included in the certain editions of the Greek Septuagint and in an appendix to the Latin Vulgate, but considered apocryphal by much of Jews, Catholics and Protestants alike. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... 2 Esdras is a Jewish Christian apocalypse written toward the end of the first century AD. It is not accepted as scriptural by most Christians; therefore, they count it among the apocrypha. ... The Book of Jubilees (ספר היובלים), sometimes called the Lesser Genesis (Leptogenesis), is an ancient Jewish religious work. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Books of Samuel (Hebrew: Sefer Shmuel ספר שמואל), are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaisms Hebrew Bible) and also of the Old Testament (of Christianity). ... The Books of Kings (Hebrew: Sefer Melachim ספר מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For jer, an alternate spelling for the reduced vowels in Common Slavic, see yer. ... This article is about the Book of Ezekiel. ... A minor prophet is a book in Minor Prophets section of the Hebrew Bible also known to Christians as the Old Testament. ... The Book of Hosea is a book of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament written by Hosea. ... // Overview of Contents The book of Joel (MEW) is part of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, and also the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... // Who wrote it? Amos was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam ben Joash (Jeroboam II), ruler of Israel from 793 BCE to 753 BCE, and the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, at a time when both kingdoms (Israel in the North and Judah in the South) were peaking... The Book of Obadiah is found in both the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, where it is the shortest book, only one chapter long. ... In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Jonah is the 5th book in a series of books called the Minor Prophets (itself a subsection of the Nevi’im or Prophets). ... // Who wrote it? Micah wrote the book in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, roughly 735-700 BC Few Old Testament scholars today would defend Micahs authorship of the entire book. ... The book of Nahum is a book in the Bibles Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... // The Prophet There is not much biographical information on the prophet Habakkuk; in fact less is known about this prophet than any other. ... // Who wrote it? The superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah” (1:1, NRSV). ... The Book of Haggai is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament, written by the prophet Haggai. ... Zechariah or Zecharya (זְכַרְיָה Renowned/Remembered of/is the LORD, Standard Hebrew Zəḫarya, Tiberian Hebrew Zəḵaryāh) was a person in the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh. ... Malachi (or Malachias, מַלְאָכִי, Malʾaḫi, Málakhî) is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh, written by the prophet Malachi. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... The canonical list of the Books of the Bible differs among Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, and Greek Orthodox Christians, even though there is a great deal of overlap. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article discusses usage of the term Hebrew Bible. For the article on the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach, IPA: or ) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh, but not Old Testament, because it does not recognize the concept of a New Testament. ... Biblical judges are not to be confused with modern legal judges. ... A judge or justice is an official who presides over a court. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ...

As it stands today, the last judge mentioned in Judges is Samson, and although there are two further stories, the traditional view is that Samson's exploits probably synchronise with the period immediately preceding Eli, who was both high priest and judge. Both academic views and traditional thought hence views the narrative of the judges as ending at Samson and picking up again at 1 Samuel 1:1 to consider Eli, and continuing through to 1 Samuel 7:2. As for the stories at the end of the Book, which are set in the same time period as the judges, but discuss people other than the judges, there is much affinity between these and the Book of Ruth, and many people believe Ruth originally belonged amongst them. Samson or Shimshon (שִׁמְשׁוֹן Of the sun (perhaps proclaiming he was radiant and mighty) or [One who] Serves [God], Standard Hebrew Å imÅ¡on, Tiberian Hebrew Å imšôn) is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Children of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... Eli (אלי) (IPA: ) is a variant on the name of God (see El (god)) as spoken in Hebrew and Aramaic. ... (Redirected from 1 Samuel) The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally writtten in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ... The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...

Structure and content

Academics treat the text of Judges as having three distinct sections:

• The Introduction (1:1-3:10 and 3:12) giving a summary of the book of Joshua
• The Main Text (3:11-16:31), discussing the five Great Judges, Abimelech, and providing glosses for a few minor Judges
• The Appendices (17:1-21:25), giving two stories set in the time of the Judges, but not discussing the Judges themselves.

The introduction

The introduction summarises much of the material discussed in Joshua, in some cases giving additional details:

• The choosing of Judah to lead the attack (Judges 1:1-3)
• The capture of Adonibezek, and destruction of Jerusalem, (Judges 1:4-8) differing materially from the account of Adonibezek in Joshua (Joshua 10)
• The story of Othniel (Judges 1:11-15) almost identical to its mention in Joshua (Joshua 15:15-19)
• A list of the successes and failures of Judah and Simeon's campaigns (1:17-20)
• The descendants of Moses' father-in-law (either Hobab or Raguel/Reuel/Jesse - this is unclear) move to the Negev (Judges 1:16)
• Caleb driving away the sons of Anak from Hebron (Judges 1:10 and 1:20) as mentioned in Joshua (Joshua 15:14)
• The destruction of Luz and sparing of an individual who aided the Israelite spies (1:22-26)
• A list of the failures of the campaigns by the northern tribes (1:21-36)
• A threat by an angel at Bochim (2:1-5)
• The death of Joshua (Judges 2:6-9) similar to the account in Joshua (Joshua 24:28-31)
• An introduction to the role of Biblical judges (2:10-3:6)
  • The falling of the Israelites into heathen practices (2:10-14)
  • A very brief overview of the main part of the Book of Judges (2:15-19)
  • An explanation of why God allowed some Canaanites to remain (2:20-3:4)
  • A recap of the Israelites falling into heathen practices, as the start of the main part of the book (3:5-6)
• The story of Othniel (Judges 3:7-10) again, presented differently to the earlier mention (Judges 1:11-15)

The main text

The main text mostly consists of six stories each concerning a major judge and their struggles against an oppresive foreign overlord: The Tribe of Judah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה, Praise; Standard Hebrew Yəhuda, Tiberian Hebrew Yəhûḏāh) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by Judah, son of Jacob. ... In the Book of Judges (1:4 - 7), Adonibezek, (simply lord of Bezek), was a Canaanite king who, having subdued seventy of the chiefs that were around him, made an attack against the armies of Judah and Simeon. ... The list of destroyed and surviving Canaanite cities at Judges 1:17-36 is an account of the failures and successes of the military campaigns of the Israelites in their attempt to conquer Canaan. ... Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى Mūsa, Geez ሙሴ Musse) is a legendary Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian. ... Hobab was the son of Jethro and thence the brother-in-law of Moses. ... Raguel (Raguil, Rasuil, Rufael, Suryan, Akrasiel) is one of the 7 archangels mainly of the Judaic and Islamic traditions. ... Reuel or Raguel - רְעוּאֵל Friend of/is God, Standard Hebrew Rəʿuʾel, Tiberian Hebrew Rəġûʾēl, also דְּעוּאֵל, Standard Hebrew Dəʿuʾel, Tiberian Hebrew Dəġûʾēl. ... Jesse or Yishai (Hebrew יִשַׁי / יֵשַׁי, Standard Hebrew Yíšay / Yéšay, Tiberian Hebrew Yíšay / Yēšay) is the father of the Biblical King David mentioned in the Books of Samuel of the Hebrew Bible. ... Ruins in the Negev desert The Negev (Hebrew נֶגֶב;, Tiberian Hebrew Néḡeḇ; Arabic النقب an-Naqab) is the desert region of southern Israel. ... Caleb, the son of Jephunneh is an important figure in the Hebrew Bible, noted for his faith in God when the Hebrew nation refuses to enter the promised land of Canaan. ... During the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, Anak was a well known figure, and a forefather of the Anakites (aka. ... Hebron (Arabic al-Ḫalīl; Hebrew , Standard Hebrew Ḥevron, Tiberian Hebrew Ḥeḇrôn: derived from the word friend) is a town in the Southern Judea region of the West Bank, in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. ... The ancient name of a royal Canaanite city, connected with Bethel (Gen. ... The list of destroyed and surviving Canaanite cities at Judges 1:17-36 is an account of the failures and successes of the military campaigns of the Israelites in their attempt to conquer Canaan. ... Biblical judges are not to be confused with modern legal judges. ...

• Ehud (3:11-29) vs. Eglon of Moab
• Deborah the prophetess and Barak the army leader (4-5) vs. Jabin of Hazor (in Canaan) and Siserah, his captain
• Gideon (6-8) vs. Midian, Amalek, and the children of the East
• Abimelech (9) (who is traditionally counted as a king not a judge, and is considered evil) vs. all the Israelites who opposed him
• Jephthah (11-12:7) vs. the Ammonites
• Samson (13-16) vs. the Philistines

There are also brief glosses of the rule of lesser judges, often only giving their name and the number of their sons. Ehud Ben Gera (אֵהוּד Union, Standard Hebrew Ehud, Tiberian Hebrew ʼĒhûḏ), in the biblical Book of Judges (3:12-4:1) was the judge who fought against the Moabites, which were ruled by King Eglon. ... A Biblical name, Eglon refers to either: A Canaanite city, whose king Debir joined a confederacy against Gibeon when that city made peace with Israel. ... Moab (מוֹאָב, Standard Hebrew Moʾav, Tiberian Hebrew Môʾāḇ Greek Μωάβ; Assyrian Muaba, Maba, Maab; Egyptian Muab) is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in modern-day Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. ... Deborah or Dvora (דְּבוֹרָה Bee, Standard Hebrew DÉ™vora, Tiberian Hebrew Dəḇôrāh) was a prophetess and the fourth Judge and only female Judge of pre-monarchic Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh). ... Barak (בָּרָק Lightning, Standard Hebrew Barak, Tiberian Hebrew Bārāq) is one of the Judges from the Book of Judges in the Bible. ... Jabin (ja-bin) may refer to A king of Hazor, at the time of the entrance of Israel into Canaan (Joshua 11:1-14), whose overthrow and that of the northern chief with whom he had entered into a confederacy against Joshua was the crowning act in the conquest of... Hazor - courtyyard or settlement Name of several places in ancient Israel: One of the most important Caananite towns. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... Gideon (גִּדְעוֹן, Standard Hebrew Gidʿon, Tiberian Hebrew Giḏʿôn) is a character who appears in the Bibles Book of Judges. ... According to the Bible, Midian (מִדְיָן Strife; judgment, Standard Hebrew Midyan, Tiberian Hebrew Miḏyān,Arabic مدين) was a son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6). ... According to the Book of Genesis and 1 Chronicles, Amalek (עֲמָלֵק; Standard Hebrew , Tiberian Hebrew ) was the son of Eliphaz and the grandson of Esau (Gen. ... pages edit history. ... Jephtha יפתח -- one of the so called Judges in Israel between the conquest of Canaan and the first king. ... For the extinct mollusc see Ammonite. ... Samson or Shimshon (שִׁמְשׁוֹן Of the sun (perhaps proclaiming he was radiant and mighty) or [One who] Serves [God], Standard Hebrew Å imÅ¡on, Tiberian Hebrew Å imšôn) is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Children of Israel mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. ... The historic Philistines (Hebrew plishtim פלשתים) (see other uses below) were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ...

• Shamgar (3:31)
• Tola (10:1-2)
• Jair (10:3-5)
• Izban (12:8-10)
• Elon (12:11-12)
• Abdon (12:13-15)

The appendices

There are two appendices, with no apparent narrative connection to each other, or the remainder of the text: The Philistines from the maritime plain had made incursions into the Hebrew upland for the purposes of plunder, when Shamgar, the son of Anath, otherwise unknown, headed an uprising for the purpose of freeing the land from this oppression. ... For tola, an Indian unit of mass, see Tola (measure) Tola (תּוֹלָע Worm; grub, Standard Hebrew Tolaʿ, Tiberian Hebrew Tôlāʿ) was one of the judges of Israel whose career is documented in Judges 10:1-2. ... JAIR: Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research (ISSN 1076-9757) covers all areas of artificial intelligence (AI), publishing refereed research articles, survey articles, and technical notes. ... In the Bible, Elon (Hebrew אֵילֹן Oak, Standard Hebrew Elon, Tiberian Hebrew ʾÊlōn) was a judge of Israel. ... Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, the tenth judge of Israel mentioned in the Book of Judges. ...

• Dan and the Idols of Micah (17-18)
• Gibeah and the Levite Concubine (19-21)

Authorship

While the authorship of Judges has traditionally been ascribed to Samuel, the great majority of modern scholars have come to a much more complex conclusion, regarding the work as having hardly any literary unity at all. Many suspect the brief Book of Ruth to have originally been part of the Appendices of Judges, owing to its style, linguistic features and the time period in which its contents are set, it somehow becoming disconnected and misplaced at a later date. This article is about the Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. ... The Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...

According to textual criticism, the majority of Judges was originally part of a continuous work known as the Deuteronomic History stretching from Deuteronomy to 2 Kings, which was later broken up, in accordance with the documentary hypothesis, when the Torah was constructed by its redactor from the early parts of the Deuteronomic History and other writings such as JE and the Priestly source. It is for this reason that many textual critics also treat 1 Samuel 1:1-7:2, which discuss Eli and Samuel, as having originally been part of the Judges section of the Deuteronomic History narrative. Textual criticism or lower criticism is a branch of philology or bibliography that is concerned with the identification and removal of errors from texts. ... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ... The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... Many historians and academics in the fields of linguistics and source criticism have proposed the theory known as the documentary hypothesis: that the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) represent a combination of documents from different sources rather than a single text authored by one individual. ... The Torah redactor (R) is, according to the documentary hypothesis, the figure who assembled hypothetical source texts of the Torah—the Deuteronomist text (D), the Priestly text P, and JE (an earlier joining of the Jahwist text [J] and the Elohist text [E])—into a single work. ... JE is an intermediate source text postulated by the documentary hypothesis for the torah. ... The Priestly Source (P) is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis. ... (Redirected from 1 Samuel) The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally writtten in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ... Eli (אלי) (IPA: ) is a variant on the name of God (see El (god)) as spoken in Hebrew and Aramaic. ... This article is about the Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. ...

The introduction

Some passages (1:12-15, 2:6-9 and 3:7-11) of the introduction are almost identical to ones in the Book of Joshua. On the other hand, part of the text which surrounds them (1:1-11, 1:16-2:5) instead presents a summarised overview of the events in Joshua, recording differing traditions, such as that concerning Adonibezek (c.f. Joshua 10), or those concerning the continuing presence of Jebusites in Jerusalem to this day (1:21) or not (1:8). For those who support Hexateuch-like theories, where the sources that the documentary hypothesis ascribes to the Torah extend through the Book of Joshua, these passages are often seen as deriving from such sources parallel to the corresponding ones of Joshua. Hexateuch is a term used by historians and theologians to refer to the first six books of the Bible (the Torah or Pentateuch, and the book of Joshua). ...

The majority of critical scholars believe that that first part of the introduction (1:1-2:5) was a late addition to the text, added after the Deuteronomist version of Judges was constructed. Hence 2:6-3:7 is viewed as the original introduction by the Deuteronomist to the Judges period, spinning the later stories to imply that the history of the period involved the Israelites repeatedly turning to worship of other gods, suffering for it, and being alleviated of their suffering by five great leaders, and Abimelech; whereas the original source texts were independent and without the Deuteronomist's alterations, some could be regarded as parallel local events rather than sequential national ones. The Deuteronomist (D) is one of the sources of the Torah postulated by the documentary hypothesis that treats the texts of Scripture as products of human intellect, working in time. ...

The main text

The text is believed under textual criticism to contain further compositional structure. The Deuteronomist here is believed to have combined together six earlier separate texts, one for each of the five Great Judges and one for Abimelech - Ehud (3:11, and 3:13-29), Deborah (4:1b-5:31), Gideon (6-8), Abimelech (9:1-57), Jephthah (11:1-12:7), and Samson (13:2-16), adding passages to join them together (4:1a, 8:29-31, 10:17-18, and 13:1), sometimes interrupting the narrative to do so.

The text is believed to have been further altered by the (possibly later) addition of passages concerning Minor Judges (10:1-5 and 12:8-15) in order to make the total number of Judges a more religiously significant number, harmonizing them chronologically so that the total number of years of their reign (71) is close to the number of years of oppression under the Great Judges (70). The presence of 3:31, placing Shamgar in the list of Judges, is believed to be a later recension, created in order to remove Abimelech from being counted amongst the Judges without disturbing the total number, in order that someone so apparently wicked not taint the role, the name coming from 5:6.

Three of these six earlier texts each contain partly duplicate accounts:

• Judges 4 is believed to be based on two separate stories, one based on the ancient Song of Deborah (Judges 5) concerning Sisera, the other a story concerning Jabin, which had merged together when Barak of Issachar (identified at 5:15 as the one who defeats Sisera) was confused with Barak of Naphtali (identified at 4:5 as the one who defeats Jabin), and consequently Sisera is reinterpreted in Judges 4 as Jabin's general rather than as the chief of a confederation (as in Judges 5)
• Although difficult, to a degree, to separate, there are considered to be two distinct interwoven narratives about Gideon; the first narrative (which includes at least 6:2-6, 6:11-24, 6:33-35, 7:1, and 7:9-25) describing a surprise assault on the Midianites on Mount Gilboa with the fugitive Kings Oreb and Zeeb being killed, and the second narrative (which includes at least 6:7-10, 6:25-32, and 6:36-40, and 8:4-27) discussing Gideon capturing the fugitive Kings Zebah and Zalmunna.
• The narrative of Judges 9, concerning Abimelech, is thought not to have originally contained the parable of Jotham (9:7b-20), it being inserted into the story at a later date. However, the parable itself is believed to be earlier than the rest of the narrative, which is thought to be at least partly based upon it.

In addition, the Samson narrative (13-16) contains two distinct cycles; the first a series of tableaux concerning his romance of a Philistine woman and subsequent problems arising from it; the second is the tale of his relationship with Delilah, which begins with him standing between two gateposts at dawn, and ends with him standing between two temple pillars in the evening. Though these two cycles may have been collected separately from each other, textual criticism favours the view that the whole Samson narrative originates from one author. That the narrative of Samson is easily broken into 12 episodes is considered to be a deliberate literary conceit, owing to the significance of the number 12 to the Israelites. For information on the nurse of Rebeccah, mentioned in Genesis, see Deborah (Genesis) Deborah or Dvora (דְּבוֹרָה Bee, Standard Hebrew Dəvora, Tiberian Hebrew Dəḇôrāh) was a prophetess and the fourth Judge and only female Judge of pre-monarchic Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh). ...

In addition to such parallel narratives, the story of Jephthah (11:1-12:7) is often suspected to have been subject to later editing in three locations, though the reasons for the first two are not at all clear

• According to 11:1-2, it is Jephthah's own brothers which expelled him, whereas according to 11:7 it is the elders of Gilead
• The message to the Ammonites at 11:12-27 is written as if directed at Moabites.
• 11:35-40 has the appearance of abridging a more extensive original text, glossing over the existence in the text of human sacrifice to Yahweh, which is mentioned fairly obviously at 11:31

The appendices

The Appendices cover two stories from the time of the Judges, rather than Judges themselves, and so only have contextual relationship in passing with the remainder of the work. Perhaps the most unusual aspect of the Appendices is that they cover events occurring at the start of the period of Judges not at its end, and so, chronologically, belong before the remainder of the book, not after it. Even more noticeable is that the narrative preceding the Appendices continues in 1 Samuel, as if the interruption due to the narrative of the Appendices were simply not present. Hence scholars view the Appendices as texts that were not originally present but later added due to the shared time frame, though the reason they were inserted at the end rather than the beginning is fairly unknown.

The story of Micah and his Idols (17-18) is thought by some scholars (e.g. Ernst Bertheau, Karl Budde, Rudolf Kittel, and Carl Heinrich Cornill) to be composed from two distinct accounts, one recording Micah making an Ephod and Teraphim and hiring a Levite to be "father and priest", the other recording Micah making a graven image and a molten image and hiring a Levite as a priest who he treated as a son. Were this to be the case, it may indicate that at least part of the Appendices could be considered further continuations of the Jahwist, Elohist, or Priestly sources, hence explaining their origin. However, other critical scholars have proposed that such discrepencies may simply be due to later scribal interpolations. The story is significantly notable as it describes a cult and priesthood at Dan which is mentioned nowhere else in the entire Hebrew Bible, and hence is considered to be based on a particularly early source, prior to later recensions glossing over cult centres of Yahweh outside Jerusalem and Shiloh. Rudolf Kittel (28 March 1853 Eningen, Württemberg - 20 October 1929 Leipzig) was a German Old Testament scholar. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article discusses usage of the term Hebrew Bible. For the article on the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh. ...

The other story of the appendices (19-21), concerning the Levite and his concubine, is thought to date from a similarly early era based on linguistic similarities to the first appendix. However, as everyone in the story is anonymous, except Phinehas, has lead many Biblical critics to regard the story as fictional. Nevertheless, Hosea (10:9) says that "...since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel...", evidencing at least the presence of traditions resembling parts of the story, though some scholars, beginning with Noldeke, believe the story is actually based on something from a slightly later time period - the ruining of the tribe of Benjamin by the war between David and the son of Saul.

See also

• Tanakh
• Bible
• Biblical canon
• Documentary hypothesis
• Deuteronomic Cycle

Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach, IPA: or ) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos) (sometimes The Holy Bible, The Book, Work of God, The Word, The Good Book or Scripture), from Greek (τα) βίβλια, (ta) biblia, (the) books, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their... The Biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may... Many historians and academics in the fields of linguistics and source criticism have proposed the theory known as the documentary hypothesis: that the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) represent a combination of documents from different sources rather than a single text authored by one individual. ... The Deuteronomic Cycle is a recurring theme of the Book of Judges in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ...

External links

• Original text:
  • שֹּׁפְטִים - Shoftim - Judges (Hebrew - English at Mechon-Mamre.org)
• Jewish translations:
  • Judges at Mechon-Mamre (Jewish Publication Society translation)
  • Shoftim - Judges (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
  • Online Bible at GospelHall.org
  • Judges at The Great Books (New Revised Standard Version)
  • Judges at Bible Gateway (Various versions)
  • Judges at Wikisource (Authorised King James Version)
• Articles:
  • Book of Judges article (Jewish Encyclopedia)
  • The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran (Chronology for Israel's Period of the Judges 1412 BCE to 1039 BCE)

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Rashi Rashi רשי, an acronym for Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (Hebrew: רבי שלמה בן יצחק) or Shlomo Yitzchaki, (February 22, 1040 – July 17, 1105) is one of Judaisms classic meforshim (Bible and Talmud commentators), and wrote the first comprehensive commentaries on the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) and Talmud. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ whom they believe is the saviour of the world. ... Eastons Bible Dictionary generally refers to the Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition, by Matthew George Easton M.A., D.D. (1823-1894), published three years after Eastons death in 1897 by Thomas Nelson. ...