JUDGES, THE BOOK OF : uprrai, Acts xiii. 20), a book of the Old Testament, which gives an account of the history of the Israelites from the death of Joshua to that of Samson. Joshua did not exterminate according to divine commandment all the nations of Canaan, but allowed each tribe to settle in the district of land allotted to it before the termination of the war. Since the tribes were not united by any national league, and were surrounded by powerful enemies, they were frequently conquered by the neighbouring nations and obliged to pay tribute. But they seldom remained in subjection for any length of time; they still retained much of the valour by which they were originally distinguished ; and their patriotic efforts were usually directed or supported by a series of individuals, who were remarkable either for craft, bodily strength, or daring valour. These persons were called Shophctim, which is not very well translated by our English word "Judges," since, with the exception of Deborah (Judges, iv. 4, 5), none of them appeared to have exercised the judicial office till the time of Eli, who was also high-priest. After they had delivered their countrymen from their oppressors, they usually retired into private life. (Judges, viii. 23, 29.) The word would be better translated Governors, or Rulers. The most prominent duty of Oriental rulers is to be judges. The Carthaginians called their nou-regal governors by the same title, modified by the Latins into Suffete.
The book of Joshua consists of two distinct parts. The first, after an introduction on the state of the Israelites after the death of Joshua (ch. I. ii.), gives an account of the exploits of the different judges from ()timid to Samson (ch. iii.-xvi.) There were thirteen judges, excluding Abhnelech, who was made king by the men of Shechern (ix. 6), namely : Othniel (iii. 9) ; Ehud 15) ; Shamgar 31); Deborah (iv. 4) Barak (iv. 6); Gideon (vi. 1I) ; Tola (x. 1); Jair (x. 3); • Jeplithal (xii. 7) ; Ibzan (xii. 9); Elon (xii. 11); Abdon (xii. 13); Samson (xv. 20). The second part of the book (ch. xvii.-xxi.) gives an account of an idol that was worshipped first in the family of Micah (ch. xvii.), and afterwards in the tribe of Dan (ch. xviii.); and also a history of a bar barous act committed by the Benjamites of Gibeah, which led to a war between the tribe of Benjamin and all the other tribes, iu which the former was nearly extirpated.
The author of the book and the time in which it was written are equally uncertain. Among the Jews there were many prophets whose names are not mentioned in Scripture, and the book was probably con tributed to by more than one, though it is commonly ascribed to Samuel. Some have argued, from Judg. xviii. 30, that it could not have been written till the time of the Babylonish captivity ; but, com paring this passage with 1 Sam. iv. 11, and Psalm lxviii. 60, 61, it is most likely that it refers only to the captivity of the Ark, and of a part of the tribe of Dan, who were subjected to the Philistines. The last five chapters, also, are clearly supplementary, and were probably added about the time of Solomon. The book does not give a continuous history of the people, and contains many things which could hardly have been written by the same individual. Many of its narratives are repeated in other books of the Old Testament. Compare Judg. iv, 2, vi. 14, xi. 2, with 1 Sam. xii. 9-12 ; Judg. ix. 53, with 2 Sam. xi. 21 ; Judg. vii. 21, with Is. ix. 4; Judg. vii. 25, with Ps. lxxxiii. 11. Two or three verses in the song of Deborah are copied almost word for word in some of the Psalms. Compare Pa. lxviii. 8, 9, xcvii. 5, with Judg. v. 4, 5.
The chronology of this book has occasioned considerable difficulty. The period of the Judges is usually estimated at 299 years, in conse quence of a passage iu the book of Kings (1 Kings vi. 1), in which it is said that 480 years elapsed from the departure of the Israelites from Egypt to the foundation of the Temple by Solomon; though the ancient versions are not all agreed, and the present Septuagint has 440 years. St. Paul, on the contrary, gives 450 years as the period of the Judges. (Acts, xiii. 20.) The canonical authority of this book has never been disputed. It is placed in all the Hebrew manuscripts immediately after the book of Joshua. It is quoted by Philo and Josephus, and also in Acts, xxxii. 20, and in the Epistle to the Hebrews, xi. 32.
(The Introductions of Eichhorn, Jahn, De Wette, Augusti, and I lorne • Einleitung in des Bach der Richter; Studer, Das Much der Richter, grammatisch and historisch erkldrt, 1835.)