But though we cannot determine the authorship ot the book of Judges, still its age may be deter mined from internal evidence. The first sixteen chapters must have been written under Saul, whom the Israelites made their king in the hope of im proving their condition. Phrases used in the period of the Judges may be traced in them, and the author must consequently have lived near the time when they were yet current. He says that in his time the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem' (ch. i. 21) ; now this was the case only before David, who conquered the the town and drove out the Jebusites. Conse quently, the author of the first division of the book of Judges must have lived and written before David, and under king Saul. If he had lived under David, he would have mentioned the cap ture of Jerusalem by that monarch, as the nature of his subject did not allow him to pass it over in silence. The omission, moreover, of the history, not only of Sainuel but also of Eli, indicates an author who, living in an age very near that of Eli, considered his history as generally known, because so recent. The exact time when the appendix was added to the book of 'fudges cannot indeed be de termined, but its author certainly lived in an age much later than that of the recorded events. In his time the period of the events which he relates had been long forgotten : which may be inferred from the frequent chronological formula, in those days there was no king in Israel' (ch. xvii. 6) ; and certain particulars of his narrative could no longer be ascertained, which caused him to omit the name of the Levite whose history is given in ch. xix. In his time also the house of God was no longer in Shiloh (ch. xviii. 31) ; and it will be recollected that it was David who brought the ark to Jerusalem. The author knew also that the posterity of Jonathan were priests of the graven image in Dan, or Laish, until the day of the captivity of the land,' 13,/ 14-1Nr1 cl+ (ch. xviii. 3o). This latter cir cumstance proves, as already observed by Le Clore and others, that the appendix was not pub lished until after the Babylonian captivity, or at least until after that of Israel by Shalmaneser and Esar-haddon. It cannot be understood of the domination of the Philistines over the Israel ites, which would very improperly be called n6 ruvi, this expression always implying the deport ation of the inhabitants of a country. The circum stance that the author in mentioning Shiloh, adds, which is in the land of Canaan ' (ch. xxi. i2), and that the topographical description of the site of Shiloh is given (ch. xxi. 19), has led some inter prcters to assert that the author of the appendix must have been a foreigner, as to an Israelite such remarks would have appeared trivial (see Briefe einlger Halle ndischen Gottesgelehrten iiher R. Si111021'S kritische Geschichte des A. T., edited by Le Clerc at Zurich, p. 490). The inference is certainly specious, but to judge of it duly we must look at the context. The first passage runs thus : And they found among the inhabitants of Yabesh-gllead four hundred young virgins that had known no man, and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.' The second passage is: There is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly, in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechern, and on the south of Lebonah.' It appears that in the first passage Shiloh is opposed to Jabesh in Gilead, a town without the land of Canaan, and that this led the author to add to Shiloh that it was in Canaan. The second passage describes not the site of Shiloh, but of a place in its neighbourhood, where an annual feast was celebrated, when the daughters of Shiloh came out to dance, to sing, and to play on instruments of music. The author thus enabled his readers, and all those who had never been at Shiloh, to form a distinct idea of the festival, and to find its scene without the employment of a guide ; his topographical observation was calcu lated to raise the interest of his narrative, and was consequently very proper and judicious. It cannot, therefore, authorize us to infer that he was a foreigner.
3. Character of the Book. —Parts of the work are undoubtedly taken from ancient records and genealogies, others from traditions and oral in formation. From ancient authentic documents are probably copied the song of Deborah (ch. v.), the beautiful parable of Jotham (ch. ix. S-15), and the beginning of Samson's epinician, or triumphal poem (ch. xv. 16). In their genealogies the IIebrews usually inserted also some historical accounts, and from this source may have been derived the narrative of the circumstances that preceded the conception of Samson, which were given as the parents related them to others (ch. xiii.) These genealogies were sometimes further illustrated by tradition, and several incidents in the history of Samson appear to have been derived from this kind of information. But on many points tradition offered nothing, or the author rejected its information as not genuine, and un worthy of belief. Thus it is that of Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, the author gives only the number of years that they governed and the ninnber of their children, but relates none of their transactions (ch. x. 1-5 ; xii. 8, 9, t, 13). In some instances the very words of the ancient docu ments which the author used seem to have been preserved ; and this proves the care with which he composed. Thus in the first division of our book, but nowhere else, rich and powerful men are described as men riding on ass-colts vo:11 n+17 (ch. x. 4 ; xii. 14, etc.) It is remark • able that this phrase occurs also in the song of Deborah, which is supposed to have been written out in her time (ch. v. 9, to) : My heart is towards the governors of Israel, that offered them selves willingly among the people. Speak ye Mai ride on 7cdzite asses, ye that sit in judgment.' ln the appendix also of this book, but nowhere else, a priest has the honorary title of father given him (ch.
xvii. ; xviii. 19). But though the author some times retained the words of his sources, still the whole of the composition is written in a parti cular style, distinguishing it from all other books of the O. T. The idea of the Israelites being overcome by their enemies, he expresses often in this way : The anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies,' -op m7.11v) inn nrn,iN (ch. ii. 14.; iii..8; iv. 2 ; X. 7). A cour ageous and valiant warrior is described as a person upon whom rests the spirit of Jehovah, 'r11711 riirr rin or as a person whom the spii7it of Jehovah clothed, iiru rIR ritgm rim+ min, (ch. vi. 34; xi. 29 ; xiv. 6, 19 ; xv. 14, etc.) 4. d4uazorily of Me Book. —lt was published at a time when the events related were generally known, and when the veracity of the author could be ascertained by a reference to the original documents. Several of its narratives are confirmed by the books of Samuel (comp. Judg. iv. ; vi. 1.4 ; xi., with t Sam. xii. 9-12 ; Judg. ix. 53 with 2 Sam. xi. 21). The Psalms not only allude to the book of Judges (comp. Ps. lxxxiii. It with Judg. vii. 25), but copy from it entire verses (comp. Ps. lxviii. 8, 9 ; xcvii. 5 with Judg. v. 4, 5). Philo and Josephus knew the book, and made use of it in their own compositions. The N. T. alludes to it in several places (comp. Matt. ii. 13-23 with Judg. xiii. 5 ; xvi. 17 • Acts xiii. 2o ; Heb. xi. 32). This external evid'ence in support of the au thority of the book of Judges is corroborated by many internal proofs of its authenticity. All its narratives are in character with the age to which they belong, and agree with the natural order of things. We find here that shortly after the death of Joshua the IIebrew nation had, by several vic tories, gained courage and become valorous (ch. i. and xix.); but that it afterwards turned to agricul ture, preferred a quiet life, and allowed the Ca naanites to reside in its territory in consideration of a tribute imposed on them, when the original plan was that they should be expelled. This changed their character entirely ; they became effeminate and indolent—a result which we find in the case of all nations who, from a nomadic and warlike life, turn to agriculture. The intercourse with their heathen neighbours frequently led the uncultivated Hebrews to idolatry ; and this, again, further prepared them for servitude. They were conse quently overpowered and oppressed by their heathen neighbours. The first subjugation, indeed, by a king of Mesopotamia, they endured but eight years ; but the second, more severe, by Eglon, lasted longer : it was the natural consequence of thepub lic spirit having gradually more and kmre declined, and of Eglon having removed his residence to Jericho with a view of closely watching all their movements (Joseph. Antiq. v. 4). When Ehud sounded the trumpet of revolt, the whole nation no longer rose in arms, but only the inhabitants of Mount Ephraim (ch. iii. 4) ; and when Barak called to arms against Sisera, many tribes remained quietly with their herds (ch. v. 14, 15, 26, 28). Of the 32,000 men who offered to follow Gideon, he could make use of no more than 3oo, this small number only being, as it would seem, filled with true patriotism and courage. Thus the people had sunk gradually, and deserved for forty years to bear the yoke of the Philistines, to whom they had the meanness to deliver Samson, who, however, loosed the cords with which he was tied, and killed a large number of them (ch. xv.) It is impossible to consider such an historical work, which per fectly agrees with the natural course of things, as a fiction : at that early period of authorship, no writer could have, from fancy, depicted the charac ter of the Hebrew's so conformably with nature and established facts. All in this book breathes the spirit of the ancient world. Martial law we find in it, as could not but be expected, hard and wild. The conquered people are subjected to rough treatment, as is the case in the wars of ail uncivilized people ; the inhabitants of cities are de stroyed wholesale (ch. viii. 16, ; xx.) Hospi tality and the protection of strangers received as guests is considered the highest virtue : a father will rather resign his daughter than allow violence to be done to a stranger who stops in his house for the night (ch. xix. ; comp. Gen. xix.) In the state of oppression in which the Hebrews often found themselves during the period from Joshua to Eli, it was to be expected that men, filled with heroism, should now and then rise up and call the people to arms in order to deliver them from their enemies. Such valiant men are introduced by our author, and he extols them indeed, highly ; but, on the other hand, he is not silent respecting their faults, as may be seen in the instances of Ehud, whom he reports to have murdered a king to recover liberty for his country (ch. iii. 16, sq.); of Gideon, who is recorded to have punished the inhabitants of Succoth and Penuel cruelly, for having refused bread to his weary troops (ch. viii. 16, 17) ; and of Jephthah, who vows a vow tbat if he should return home as a conqueror of the Ammonites, he would offer as a burnt-offering whatever should first come out of the door of his house to meet Min : in consequence of this inconsiderate vow, his only daughter is sacrificed by a savage father, who thus becomes a gross offender against the Mosaic law, which ex pressly forbids human immotations (ch. xi. 34). This cannot be a fiction ; it is no panegyric on Israel to describe them in the manner the author has done. And this frank, impartial tone pervades the whole work. It begins with displaying the Israelites as a refractory and obstinate people, and the appendix ends with the statement of a crime committed by the Benjamites, which had the most disastrous consequences. At the same time due praise is bestowed on acts of gene rosity and justice, and valiant feats are carefully recorded.