Answers for a study in the book of Judges” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “apologetics” posts on the weekend where the original questions can be found at the bottom of the study, and then answers appear here during the week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.
Note: The answers will focus on what the text of the Bible says, and commentaries and speculative answers will be noted as such. There are many scholarly commentaries out there but it will be important, as students of the Bible, to keep the text of the Bible as our first source. Commentaries can be used, keeping in mind that they are human thoughts about God’s Word (and we should check into who those humans are and what they believe). Scripture references here are taken from the NASB, unless otherwise noted.
The Goal for the notes, questions and answers: Share and reuse to lead your own Bible study!
Note: Class presentation, videos, reflections and Bible study questions are posted on the weekend – Bible study answers (like these) are posted during the week.
Bible Study: The Book of Judges: Chapters 9 through 12
Chapter 9: Abimelech’s Conspiracy; Shechem and Abimelech Fall
Abimelech, who was the son of Gideon by a concubine in Shechem (Gideon had 70 sons), when to his relatives in Shechem and proposed to them that he would be their ruler (judge) and they accepted. He then hired “bad men” and went to Ophrah and killed all his brothers except one, Jotham, who escaped. Jotham made a prediction and shouted a curse from the top of Mount Gerizim to the people (which will come to pass at the end of this chapter). Jotham then fled to Beer and remained there.
In the second half of the chapter we read about the fulfillment of what Jotham had said, and after three years of ruling Israel, Abimelech and Shechem went to war against each other. Shechem enlisted Gaal as their leader, but Zebul, the ruler of the city, deceitfully sent word to Abimelech and he was able to drive out Gaal. Then Abimelech attack and killed most of the people of Shechem and then burned leaders in the tower of Shechem. But, when Abimelech went to Thebez and tried to do the same to them, a woman threw a milestone down and killed him (he actually had his amor bearer run him through so it would not be said that a woman killed him). Thus, God allowed for the repayment of the wickedness enacted upon the family of Gideon to both Abimelech and the people of Shechem. Note: This fulfilled the curse of Jotham.
C = Mosaic Covenant is in view with God’s protection clause, and lack thereof, based on the people’s actions and relationship with God and His commands.
J = Most of the Judges will model, or foreshadow, Jesus in one aspect or another. But Jesus will be our ultimate and final Judge and Deliverer.
Guiding Questions:
- Who was Abimelech, what was his family history and what did he end up doing? (See summary notes above)
- What was Jotham’s curse and how did it come to pass? (See summary notes above)
- Going Deeper: What do we know about Shechem from Biblical history up to this point in time? (See the books of Genesis and Joshua)
From gotquestions.org:
“Shechem was an ancient biblical city in Israel. Today, the area of Shechem is known as Tell Balata, an archaeological site near Nablus in the West Bank. The town was located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim in central Israel, just southeast of Samaria. The name Shechem means “shoulder” in Hebrew, which is appropriate considering its location as a pass between two mountains.
Shechem was a place of promise. First mentioned in Genesis 12:6–7, Shechem was the location where Abram stopped at the tree of Moreh and received God’s promise of the land. Shechem became part of the Promised Land of Israel, was given to the Kohathites, and served as a Levitical city of refuge (Joshua 21:20–21). Shechem was the place where Joseph’s remains were buried (Joshua 24:32). During the time of the divided kingdom of Israel, Shechem was the capital of the northern kingdom for a while (1 Kings 12:1).
Shechem was a place of commitment. In the area of Shechem, the Israelites were reminded of God’s covenantal relationship to them, which He had first made to Abraham. Before they entered Canaan, the Israelites had been instructed to pronounce the blessings and the curses of the law on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, respectively (Deuteronomy 11:26–30). They did this under Joshua’s leadership after the battle of Ai (Joshua 8:33). Later, a renewal of the covenant also occurred at Shechem, when Joshua gathered the Israelites to challenge them to follow the Lord (Joshua 24:1, 14–15).
Shechem was a place of worship. When the Lord appeared to him at Shechem, Abram built an altar to God at the site (Genesis 12:7). Abram’s grandson, Jacob, also built an altar at Shechem, calling it “El Elohe Israel,” or “mighty God of Israel” (Genesis 33:18–20). Even in the time of Joshua, the altar at Shechem was a holy site of the Lord (Joshua 24:26).
Shechem was a place of man’s sin. A Hivite chieftain named Hamor was the father of a man named Shechem, who lived in the city that bore his name. Shechem raped Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, and two of Jacob’s sons avenged their sister by slaughtering all the men in the city, including Shechem and Hamor (Genesis 34:1–29).
In the time of the judges, the Shechemites sided with Abimelek, a son of one of Gideon’s concubines (Judges 9:1–6). Abimelek positioned himself as king among the Shechemites, killing all but one of Gideon’s other sons. Jotham, the surviving son, pronounced a curse on Abimelek and the Shechemites, and after three years the city of Shechem turned against the would-be king (Judges 9:16–20). In response to Shechem’s rejection, Abimelek attacked the city and killed a thousand men and women (Judges 9:48–49; 57).
Shechem is only mentioned in the New Testament in Stephen’s sermon (Acts 7:16). Some scholars identify Sychar in Samaria as the ancient city of Shechem (John 4:5–6), but most believe that Sychar was a distinct place.
Shechem is important in the Bible because the city displayed man’s sinfulness and failure to properly honor God, while at the same time revealing God’s faithfulness.”
Fifth Period: Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
Chapter 10: Oppression of Philistines
In this chapter, we get a brief introduction to two judges that came after Abimelech, without much information about them. Tola, of the tribe of Issachar, judged Israel 23 years; and then Jair, the Gileadite judged Israel twenty-two years (and he had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys).
We then read that the “sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, and serve the Baals and the Ashtaroth” along with many other gods of the surrounding nations. God then allows their oppression by both the Philistines and Ammonites. But when they cried out to the LORD, He again began a rescue plan, this time through another Gileadite (Jephthah in chapter 11).
C = Mosaic Covenant is in view again with God’s protection clause, and lack thereof, based on the people’s actions and relationship with God and His commands and His Judges.
J = Most of the Judges will model, or foreshadow, Jesus in one aspect or another. But Jesus will be our ultimate and final Judge and Deliverer.
Guiding Questions:
- Who were Tola and Jair, and what can we know about them? (See summary notes above)
- Going Deeper: Who were Israel’s oppressors this time, and what can we know about these two groups from Biblical history? (See answer below)
- Discuss: Why do you think Israel keep going back to God at their lowest points, instead of the pagan gods they were worshipping? (Answers here may vary, but could include the fact that they knew the truth, yet the draw of pagan life and worship kept drawing them away, just as the deception in the Garden of Eden drew away Adam and Eve. This is a human condition, and a problem that will play out through history until the time of Jesus’ final return and rulership in a new Heaven and Earth. Yet, Jesus has given us the way now if we choose to follow Him and accept His sacrifice on the cross that atoned for our sins and made a way for us to be in relationship with Him forever).
From compellingtruth.org
Philistines:
“The Philistines, a formidable ancient people frequently opposing the Israelites, first appear in Genesis as descendants of Ham. Associated with the Sea Peoples due to their Mediterranean location, their origin remains largely unknown, though they interacted with biblical figures like Abraham and Isaac. Throughout biblical history, they posed a continual threat to Israel, serving as instruments of divine judgment during the period of the judges. Despite their power, they faced divine retribution, notably losing their dominance during King David’s reign. The Philistines’ worship of foreign gods led to their eventual disappearance, serving as a cautionary tale of God’s judgment upon sin and the impermanence of earthly powers.
- The Philistines were a strong, warring people who often served as foes against the Israelites in the Bible. They were first listed in Genesis 10:14 among the descendants of Noah through his son Ham. Because of their location near the Mediterranean coast, the Philistines are often associated with the various Sea Peoples of ancient history. While much about their origin is unknown, the Bible mentions that the Philistines were in contact with both Abraham and Isaac around 2000 BC. They were specifically mentioned as being in the land where Abraham lived before he arrived. Genesis 21:34 states, “And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines.”
- After the time of Abraham and Isaac, the next mention of the Philistines is not found until after the Israelites had left slavery in Egypt. Exodus 13:17 notes, “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near.”
- Joshua 13:3 mentions five major cities of the Philistines. These cities had certainly been occupied for some time. While Israel took control of its land under Joshua’s leadership, the Philistines would still pose a threat in the future.
- During the period of the judges, the Philistines are often mentioned as the means through which God brought judgment upon the Israelites for their sins. For example, Judges 13:1 notes, “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.”
- In 1 Samuel 5 we find that the Philistines stole the ark of the covenant, though later returned it due to judgments that came upon them for doing so.
- During the reign of King David, the Philistines were removed from power against the Israelites for good (1 Samuel 7:12–14).
- The Philistines worshiped three gods: Ashtoreth, Dagon, and Baal-Zebub, dedicating shrines to each in various cities (Judges 16:23; 1 Samuel 5:1–7; 2 Kings 1:2).
- Ezekiel 25:16–17 notes the Lord’s plans to wipe out the remaining Philistines during Ezekiel’s time: “Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.” The Philistines indeed disappeared into the pages of history, just as the prophecy predicted.”
Ammonites:
“Descended from Lot’s lineage, the Ammonites were a nomadic people who dwelled in modern-day Jordan, with the capital of Amman reflecting this legacy. Despite their ancestral ties, they refused to help God’s people when the Israelites were in the wilderness wandering. God punished the Ammonites for this. Later, although they were spared from total annihilation during the conquest of Canaan, God had specific rules to keep the Israelites from the Ammonites: He forbade the Israelites to marry the Ammonites due to their worship of false gods. The Ammonites’ history includes brutal warfare and defiance, culminating in absorption into Arab society after centuries of prominence, marking the end of their once formidable presence.
- The Ammonites came from Abraham’s nephew Lot. Genesis 19:37–38 explains that the Ammonites descended from Lot’s son named Ben-ammi (meaning “son of my people”). Ben-ammi’s descendants were a nomadic people who lived in the territory of modern-day Jordan. The Jordanian capital of Amman reflects the name of these ancient inhabitants.
- During the time of Moses, the Ammonites refused to assist God’s people when they were in the wilderness. God punished them for this (Deuteronomy 23:3–4). However, unlike other people groups that the Israelites destroyed in the Promised Land, God instructed, “And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession” (Deuteronomy 2:19).
- Later in the Old Testament, the Ammonites are again mentioned as people who followed false gods (2 Kings 23:13). As a result, Israelites were not permitted to marry Ammonites (Deuteronomy 23:3-4).
- King Solomon disobeyed God’s instruction to not marry the Ammonites (1 Kings 14:21).
- Many Ammonite war practices were extremely violent. At one point, an Ammonite leader planned to gouge out the right eye of every Israelite as part of a treaty (1 Samuel 11:2). Scripture states that the Ammonites would rip open pregnant women in lands they had conquered (Amos 1:13).
- King Saul prevailed against the Ammonites more than once (1 Samuel 11:11; 14:47).
- A man named Tobiah the Ammonite is mentioned in Nehemiah 2:19 at the end of the Old Testament period (400s BC).
- The Ammonites regained power but were defeated along with many other nations under King Nebuchadnezzar in the seventh century BC. The last mention of the Ammonites outside of the Bible was by Justin Martyr. He wrote in the second century AD that the Ammonites were numerous. Yet after this time the Ammonites would disappear, likely becoming absorbed within Arab society within a few centuries.”
Chapter 11: Jephthah the Ninth Judge; Jephthah’s Tragic Vow
In this chapter we read about the next Judge Jephthah, who was the son of Gilead and a harlot, so his half-brothers drove him out. Similar to Abimelech’s story, Jephthah gathered a group of worthless men and they went with him. When the Ammonites fought against Gilead the people sent for Jephthah to help them and lead them. Jephthah agreed as long as they made him their ruler. Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonites and he reviewed the history (found in the Torah) concerning the land, and that it was not taken from them, but from the Amorites in war. He actually tried to settle the problem diplomatically, but it did not work and they went to war.
At this point, Jephthah makes a tragic vow in verse 31 to make a burnt offering to the LORD of the first thing that walks out of his door if given the victory over the Ammonites. The LORD did give him victory and upon his return his only child, a daughter, came out first to meet him. We read that she willingly gave herself up, but only after two months with her companions to mourn the fact that she would never marry. Thus, it became a custom to celebrate her by the daughters of Israel yearly.
C = Mosaic Covenant is in view again with God’s protection clause, and lack thereof, based on the people’s actions and relationship with God and His commands and His Judges.
J = We actually get a picture of Jesus through the willing sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter who gave her life as a sacrifice for the victory of the people (thus their saved lives).
Note: God never commanded human sacrifice, in fact He hated it. It was a pagan practice, no doubt one that Jephthah had seen. Jephthah was wrong here, but we must remember that we are reading historical narrative of what is considered to be the worst time in Israel’s history. This is not prescriptive behavior condoned by God, just the opposite. See Leviticus 18:21; 20:1-5
Guiding Questions:
- Who was Jephthah, and what can we know about him from this narrative? (See summary notes above)
- Discuss: Why did Jephthah make such a rash vow and then follow through with it? (Note: You can discuss Scholar’s thoughts on what might have taken place here, though the Scripture is pretty clear) (See summary notes above, and additional notes below)
- Going Deeper: How can we know that God did not command or condone this type of behavior and sacrifice? Site Scripture references. (See the special “Note” above at the end of the summary notes and Leviticus 18:21; 20:1-5)
From gotquestions.org
“In Judges 11:30-31, Jephthah, a judge of Israel, made a foolish vow that if God gave him victory in the upcoming battle, he would sacrifice whatever first came out of his door when he came home. Jephthah was victorious in the battle against the Ammonites (Judges 11:32-33). When Jephthah returned home after the battle, his daughter came to greet him (Judges 11:34). Jephthah was devastated and stated that he had made a vow to the Lord that he could not break (Judges 11:35). Jephthah’s daughter asked for a two month “reprieve,” and Jephthah granted her request (Judges 11:36-38). The passage then states that Jephthah “did to her as he had vowed” (Judges 11:39).
The Bible does not explicitly state that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. Since his daughter was mourning the fact that she would never marry instead of mourning that she was about to die (Judges 11:36-37), this possibly indicates that Jephthah gave her to the tabernacle as a servant instead of sacrificing her. However, again, Judges 11:39 does seem to indicate that he did follow through with the sacrifice: “He did to her as he had vowed.” Whatever the case, God had specifically forbidden offering human sacrifices, so it was absolutely not God’s desire for Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter (Leviticus 20:1-5). Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5; and 32:35 clearly indicate that the idea of human sacrifice has “never even entered God’s mind.” The account of Jephthah and his daughter serves as an example for us to not make foolish vows or oaths. It should also serve as a warning to make sure any vow we make is something that is not in violation of God’s Word.
There is also a video short on this topic “Did Jephthah Sacrifice His Daughter to the LORD?”
Chapter 12: Jephthah and His Successors
In this chapter, we read about conflict between Gilead and Ephraim because of a seemingly misunderstood request for help that Ephraim either never got, or ignored. Either way they came up against each other and Jephthah and the people of Gilead defeat the men of Ephraim. They obviously had a different dialect because they were able to distinguish the men of Ephraim by their pronunciation of words like Shibboleth that they would say Sibboleth, and this allowed them to defeat 42,000 from Ephraim.
Jephthah judged Israel (6 years) and was succeeded by Ibzan of Bethlehem (7 years) who had 30 sons and 30 daughters who intermarried outside the family [tribe], Elon the Zebulunite (10 years), and Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite (8 years) who had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys.
Note: The large number of children and cattle are an indication of the wealth of these succeeding judges. We can also note some intermarriages going on which is the problem God wanted them to avoid because they did not completely drive them out of the Land in earlier years.
J = Most of the Judges will model, or foreshadow, Jesus in one aspect or another. But Jesus will be our ultimate and final Judge and Deliverer.
Note: from gotquestions.org
“Gilead was a fertile, mountainous area east of the Jordan River. The name Gilead means “rocky region” or “hill country.” Solomon refers to goats “descending from Gilead” in Song of Solomon 6:5. To the north of Gilead was Bashan, and to the south were Moab and Ammon.
When the Promised Land was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh received territory to the east of the Jordan. Their inheritance was largely comprised of the land of Gilead (Joshua 13:24–31). Gad received “all the towns of Gilead” (verse 25), and, in some passages of Scripture, the terms Gilead and Gad are used interchangeably (see Judges 5:17). The Bible mentions several mountains of Gilead: Abarim, Pisgah, Nebo, and Peor.
Gilead was also the name of a great-grandson of Joseph through Joseph’s son Manasseh. Generations later, the tribe of Manasseh inherited a portion of the land of Gilead. It could very well be that some of the ancestral Gileadites lived in the land of Gilead after the conquest of Canaan.”
Guiding Questions:
- What happened between Gilead and Ephraim, and why? (See summary notes above)
- Who succeeded Jephthah and what can we know about them? (See summary notes above)
- Going Deeper: What is the backstory of Gilead (who are they in relation to the nation of Israel)? (See gotquestions.org note above)
Please join us each week as we continue our case for the Bible and a study in the book of Judges!
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Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15