Biblical Judges - wikipedia Biblical Judges Biblical judges The judge Shamgar slaughters 600 men with an ox goad. From a medieval German manuscript. A Biblical judge ( Hebrew : שופט ‎ šōp̄êṭ / shofet, pl. שופטים ‎ šōp̄əṭîm / shoftim ) was `` a ruler or a military leader as well as someone who presided over legal hearings. '' These judges appear most often in the Book of Judges, which is named after them. Contents 1 Historicity of Biblical Judges 2 Judges mentioned in the Hebrew Bible 3 Role 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography Historicity of biblical Judges Biblical scholar Kenneth Kitchen argues that, from the conquest of Canaan by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel and Judah ( ca. 1150 -- 1025 BC ), the Israelite tribes formed a loose confederation. No central government existed in this confederation ; in times of crisis, the people were led by ad hoc chieftains, known as judges ( shoftim ). However, other scholars have abandoned the idea that Joshua carried out a conquest of Canaan similar to that described in the Book of Joshua. Likewise, there is doubt among scholars that a period resembling the one described in the Book of Judges existed in ancient Israel. Judges mentioned in the Hebrew Bible שופטים ‎ Judges in the Bible Italics indicate individuals not explicitly described as judges Book of Joshua Joshua Book of Judges Othniel Ehud Shamgar Deborah Gideon Abimelech Tola Jair Jephthah Ibzan Elon Abdon Samson First Book of Samuel Eli Samuel Moses was a shofet over the Israelites and appointed others to whom cases were delegated in accordance with the advice of Jethro, his Midianite father - in - law. The Book of Judges mentions twelve leaders who judged Israel : Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson. 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 mentions Amariah and Zebadiah ( son of Ishmael ). The biblical text does not generally describe these leaders as `` a judge '', but says that they `` judged Israel ''. Thus, Othniel `` judged Israel '' ( Judges 3 : 10 ), Tola `` judged Israel twenty - three years '' ( Judges 10 : 2 ), and Jair judged Israel twenty - two years ( Judges 10 : 3 ). Role A cyclical pattern is regularly recounted in the Book of Judges to show the need for the various judges : apostasy of the Israelite people, hardship brought on as punishment from God, crying out to the Lord for rescue. The story of the judges seem to be successive individuals, each from a different tribe of Israel, chosen by God to rescue the people from their enemies and establish justice and the practice of the Torah amongst the Hebrews. This is most likely not the case though as if `` 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 ''. While judge is the closest literal translation of the Hebrew term used in the Masoretic text, the position is more one of unelected non-hereditary leadership than that of legal pronouncement. However, Cyrus H. Gordon argued that they were normally from among the hereditary leaders of the fighting, landed and ruling aristocracy, like the kings ( basileis ) in Homer. The shoftim many times played the role as an official with the authority to administer justice but not always. Most shoftim acted primarily as military leaders in times of war. The leaders were thought of as being sent by God to deliver the people from a threat. After the threat had passed, shoftim were generally expected to give up their position as military leaders. They were most likely tribal or local leaders, contrary to the Deuteronomistic historian 's portrayal of them as leaders of all of Israel, but their authority was recognized by local groups or tribes beyond their own. In accordance with the needs of the time, their functions were primarily martial and judicial but not comparable to those of a king. All biblical Judges performed judicial duties and the institution of Judges was separated from the institute of King ( 1 Samuel 10 : 25 ). See also Shophet Moses Book of Judges Book of Samuel References Jump up ^ Coogan, A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament, Glossary, pg. 426 Jump up ^ Kitchen, Kenneth A. ( 2003 ), On the Reliability of the Old Testament ( Grand Rapids, Michigan. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company ) ( ISBN 0 - 8028 - 4960 - 1 ) Jump up ^ Lester L. Grabbe ( 1 January 2000 ). `` Writing Israel 's History at the End of the Twentieth Century ''. International Organization for the Study of the Old Testament : Congress Volume Oslo 1998. Supplements to Vetus testamentum. BRILL. p. 210. ISBN 90 - 04 - 11598 - 6. Retrieved 15 January 2017. Jump up ^ For a bibliography of scholars who doubt anything like the period of the Judges ever occurred, see John C. Yoder ( 1 May 2015 ). Power and Politics in the Book of Judges : Men and Women of Valor. FORTRESS Press. p. 5. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4514 - 9642 - 0. Jump up ^ Marc Zvi Brettler ( 2002 ). The Book of Judges. Psychology Press. p. 107. ISBN 978 - 0 - 415 - 16216 - 6. Jump up ^ Thomas L. Thompson ( 1 January 2000 ). Early History of the Israelite People : From the Written & Archaeological Sources. BRILL. p. 96. ISBN 90 - 04 - 11943 - 4. Jump up ^ Hjelm, Ingrid ; Thompson, Thomas L, eds. ( 2016 ). History, Archaeology and The Bible Forty Years After `` Historicity '' : Changing Perspectives. Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 978 - 1 - 317 - 42815 - 2. Jump up ^ Philip R. Davies ( 1995 ). In Search of `` Ancient Israel '' : A Study in Biblical Origins. A&C Black. p. 26. ISBN 978 - 1 - 85075 - 737 - 5. Jump up ^ Exodus 18 : 13 - 26 Jump up ^ Hauser, A.J., `` The ' Minor Judges ' - a Re-evaluation '', Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 94, No. 2, June 1975 Jump up ^ The Easy - to - Read Version uses the word `` judge '' as a noun rather than as a verb Jump up ^ Boling, Robert G., revised by Richard D. Nelson, Harper Collins Study Bible : The Book of Judges Jump up ^ Arnold, Bill T. ; Williamson, H.G.M. ( 2005 ). Dictionary of the Old Testament. InterVarsity Press, USA. p. 590. Jump up ^ Judges 12 : 7 -- 15 Jump up ^ Cyrus H. Gordon, Greek and Hebrew Civilizations ( 1962 ) Ch. VIII, pp. 296 -- 297 Jump up ^ Wolf, C.U., The Interpreter 's Dictionary of the Bible, pg 1012 Jump up ^ Coogan, pg 178 Jump up ^ Malamat, 129 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. ( 1913 ). `` Judges ''. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York : Robert Appleton. Bibliography Boling, Robert G., revised by Richard D. Nelson, The Harper Collins Study Bible : Book of Judges, Harper Collins Publishers, 2006 Malamat, A. Judges. Ed. Benjamin Mazor. Givatayim, Israel : Rutgers University Press, 1971. 129 -- 63. Print. Coogan, Michael D., A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament, Oxford University Press, 2009 Wolf, C.U., The Interpreter 's Dictionary of the Bible : Judge, Abingdon Press, 1962 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Biblical_judges&oldid=794332651 '' Categories : Heads of government Heads of state Judges of ancient Israel Titles of national or ethnic leadership Book of Judges Hidden categories : Articles containing Hebrew - language text Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Brezhoneg Català Čeština Ελληνικά Esperanto 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Latviešu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский தமிழ் Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 August 2017, at 10 : 20. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: what did a judge do in the old testament
Answer: ruler or a military leader