What Is the Background of the Book of Judges?

Judges is included in the larger corpus of material often called the “Primary History”—Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Ezra-Nehemiah—all probably written by prophets, and distinguished from the chronicler’s history. This constitutes a well-planned metanarrative behind the entire history of Israel, written by multiple authors who used a wide variety of literary sources from about 1500 to 400 BC.

In this larger historical framework the story of heroes and prophets, deliverers and judges, kings and conquerors is one of frequent tragedy. Moses, the man of God, was unable to enter the promised land. Joshua, the conqueror, was unable to lead the people to nearly complete victory over the land of Canaan. Judges, one after another, staved off defeat for decreasing periods of time. Saul was a failure. David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered. Solomon acquired numerous wives and horses, and slid into idolatry. Many of the kings of Israel and Judah were a rogues’ gallery with occasional bright moments on the way to the increasingly predictable destruction of the kingdom.

The metanarrative, then, tells a broader story, of which Judges is merely a part. Biblical theologians speak of the “center” or “theme” of biblical theology. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is designed to reveal God in His glory. For this overarching glory of God, two great parallel themes develop: the kingdom program and the redemption program, intertwined from Gn 3:15 (the “protoevangelium”; see the comments there) to eternity.

The author of Judges despaired of the possibility of a mere earthly kingdom providing the foundation for lasting godliness. God knew that no earthly king could ever solve Israel’s problems. The massive sin problem of mankind demands a King who is also the Redeemer.

The book of Judges is a story of warfare, assassinations, treachery, and general mayhem.

For this reason it is best to see the metanarrative of the primary history as a messianic prelude. The messianic “seed” predicted in Gn 3:15 and followed through the kingly line is picked up by the prophets as the great King who would suffer for sin and ultimately rule on the earth and in heaven for all eternity.

The King who was “not in Israel” (Jdg 18:1) in the time of the judges was not merely a temporal head of state. The great King is Messiah the Prince, Jesus Christ. Judges is then part of an overall biblical narrative with a trajectory pointing to Christ and eternity. Jesus, whose name is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew “Joshua,” is the great “Deliverer.”

The period from the death of Joshua to the establishment of the monarchy was roughly 300 years. Judges recounts the turmoil of the tribes during the years following the failure to occupy the land completely. The surrounding world was also in turmoil. Significantly, the Egyptians were in disarray during the Amarna Age (15th century BC), followed by the resurgence of the Nineteenth Dynasty pharaohs Ramses II and Mernepthah. The Hittites were in mortal confrontation with the Mesopotamian Mitanni, and minor regional powers jockeyed for position. The Philistines, part of a larger Aegean people group sometimes called “Sea-Peoples,” were migrating into the region during this period, and posed a threat to Israel.

The years of the judges’ rulership and the years of rest, when added together, comes to a total of between 410 and 490 years. Most interpreters allow for an overlapping of judgeships to account for this chronological problem. Samson and Jephthah, for example, were possibly contemporaries, with Samson in the West and Jephthah in the East.

Most conservative scholars believe the exodus occurred in 1446 BC, and the conquest under Joshua was from 1405 to 1400. In Jdg 11:26 Jephthah indicated that Israel had occupied the region of Heshbon and Aroer for 300 years. Since Jephthah (and Samson) were at the end of the line of judges, this means the period of the judges extended from about 1400 to at least 1100. The period may have extended another 49 or 50 years (for a total of 349 or 350) because Saul began his reign in 1051. Or more likely, the period of the judges may have begun in 1351 and ended 300 years later in 1051.

The book of Judges is a story of warfare, assassinations, treachery, and general mayhem. Ehud’s secretive stabbing of Eglon, Jael’s tentpeg exploit, and Gideon’s execution of the kings all may seem somewhat less than ethical today. In many ways the treatment of these issues is like that of the imprecatory psalms (e.g., 109:613) in which the enemies of Israel are viewed as the enemies of God, and their cruel punishment is a means of glorifying God.