Notes, critical and practical, on the book of Judges: designed as a general help to Biblical reading and instruction

Introduction

§ I . Title ; its Origin and Import.

The seventh book in the received order of the Hebrew Scriptures is termed Q^ttSIEJ Shophetim, Judges ; a name derived from E&"2" shaphat, to judge, to determine causes, to do justice, to vindicate ; and also, in general, to rule, govern, regulate, and applied here to the chief rulers who governed the Hebrew Republic from the days of Moses till the time of Saul because ruling and judging are so intimately* connected in the East, that sitting in judgment is one of the principal employments of the oriental sovereign. From this it will be seen that the title, as thus applied, is to be taken in a wider sense than the same term conveys with us, viz., persons appointed to determine litigated questions, and to pronoun" 'b? ^m'ence of the law in criminal cases. Here, on the other hand, it is used to denote those occasional leaders and chief magistrates of the Israelites who led out the people to war against their enemies, and after having delivered, them from the oppression of the neighboring na us, exercised each during peace the office of chief ruler and judge Oi ael. Still the predominant idea conveyed by the term is rather (hi of military commanders, or more properly avenging deliverers, than

judicial officers, as this latter function came more within the pro- . .nee of the priests.

As the government of the Hebrew nation was strictly a Theocracy, in which Jehovah himself was the chief magistrate, no provision was made for the appointment of any permanent or general ruler of the people. The High Priest was a kind of prime minister of Jehovah, who exercised a general superintendence over all the great interests of the nation, when there was no civil or military ruler especially chosen for the purpose. Each of the tribes had also their respective chiefs, clothed with the primitive patriarchal powers, and in the ordinary state of things these arrangements were sufficient for the due administration of the affairs of the people. But when peculiar emergencies arose, in consequence of the hostilities provoked by the apostasy and rebellion of the Israelites, extraordinary officers were called into requisition, on whom was bestowed the appellation of Judges. They arose from time

IV INTRODUCTION,

to time, as their agency was needed, and for the most part when the tokens of a public repentance induced God to compassionate their calamities, and afford them deliverance. They were sometimes called by God himself to the office they sustained, and sometimes elected by the people. The authority with which they were clothed on their first appointment, was in some instances surrendered when they had achieved the objects to which it was owing - , and in others was continued during life. They were not all, however, military leaders, and some of them appear to have ruled simultaneously over different tribes ; and this is one of the circumstances which render the chronology of this period so perplexing

( They did not,' says Mr. Kitto, c transmit their dignity to their descendants, neither did they appoint successors. They could not enact laws or impose taxes on the people, though they made peace or war, and in their judicial capacity decided causes without appeal. Yet all this power seems to have been rather the result of character and influence, than of any authority recognized as inherent in the office. No salary or income was attached to it, nor did they receive emoluments of any kind. They had no external marks of distinction ; they were surrounded by no circumstances of pomp or ceremony; they had no courtiers, guard, train, or equipage. They were, in general, men of moderate desires, and content to deserve well of their country, without seeking to aggrandize or enrich themselves. They always considered and conducted themselves as specially called of God, relying upon him in all their enterprises, and making it their chief care to bring their countrymen to acknowledge, worship, and obey him. Though evincing in some melancholy instances the infirmities of human nature, yet they were on the whole models of true patriotism and of moral worth, and eminently free from the public crimes, which in all ages have so notoriously flown from the possession and the lust of power.'

It is worthy of remark, that the Carthaginians, who were descended from the Tyrians, and spoke Hebrew, called their chief magistrates by the same name : but the Latins, whose language lacks the sh of the ancient Hebrews and Carthaginians, wrote the word with a sharp s, and adding a Latin termination, denominated them Suffetes ; a class of functionaries very nearly resembling the archons of the Athenians, and the dictators of the Romans.

§ 2. Author and Age.

The authorship of the book cannot be determined with absolute certainty. Some ascribe it to Samuel, some to Hezekiah, and some to Ezra, who is supposed to have compiled it from the memoirs furnished

INTRODUCTION. V

by the respective judges of their own government. This hypothesis is founded mainly on what is said ch. 18. 30, ' He and his son were priests to the tribe of Dan, until the day of the captivity of the land,' from which it has been imagined that it was not written till after the Babylonish captivity. But this conjecture is evidently erroneous; as upon comparing Ps. 78. 60, 61, and 1 Sam. 4. 11, with that passage, it appears that the captivity intended by the historian was a particular captivity of the tribe of Dan, or of that part of it which was settled in the north, and which took place about the time the ark was taken by the Philistines. Besides, the total absence of Chaldee words sufficiently proves the date of the book to have been several centuries anterior to the great Babylonish captivity. Such words are of frequent occurrence in books known to have been written posterior to that event. Most of the Jewish and Christian commentators assign the authorship to Samuel ; probably because internal evidence places it pretty clearly about his time, and in his time he is the most likely person to whom the writing of it could be ascribed. That it was written after the establishment of the regal government, appears from the habit the author has of saying, that such and such events happened in the time when ' there was no kins: in Israel ;' which renders it evident that there was a king when he wrote. But that it was written very soon after the establishment of kingly government is no less clear from other passages. Thus we see, from ch. 1. 21. that the Jebusites were still in Jerusalem in the time of the author-, but this people were expelled from that city early in the reign of David, 2 Sam. 5. 6. So also in 2 Sam. 11. 21, there is a distinct reference to a fact recorded Judg. 9. 53, wlich affords another proof that this book was written before the second of Samuel. On the whole, there is little doubt that the book of Judges was composed in its present form, either in the reign of Saul or during the first seven years of the reign of David, and this renders it more probable that it was compiled from the public registers and records by Samuel, than by any of the other prophets, priests, or kings, to whom it has been attributed.

§ 3. Structure and Division.

The book is not constructed with reference to the precise chronological order of the events narrated. It is clearly divisible into two leading parts; the first embracing the history of the Judges from Othniel to Samson, and extending to the end of the sixteenth chapter; the other, occupying the rest of the book, forms a sort of appendix, narrating certain memorable transactions which occurred not long after the death of Joshua, but which are thrown together at the end of the book, that the 1*

VI INTRODUCTION.

continuous thread of the preceding narrative might not be interrupted What relates to the two last Judges, Eli and Samuel, is related in the following book.

§ 4. Chronology.

The Chronology of this book is exceedingly embarrassed and difficult, and there is little agreement among learned men respecting it. This arises chiefly from the facts related being reckoned from different eras which cannot now be exactly ascertained; and also from judges being thought by some to be successive, whom others consider to have been contemporary in different parts of Palestine. Without reciting the details of the different hypotheses proposed to solve these difficulties, it may be sufficient to state, that Dr. Hales makes the whole period from the death of Joshua to the death of Samson to be 400 years, while Usher and Lightfoot make it not far from 300. After all it is doubtful whether, from the nature of the book, it is possible to adjust the narrative into a regular chronological series. It appears, for the most part, to have been composed of loose historical memoranda, having little relation to each other, and put together by the compiler, like the narratives of the Evangelists in the New Testament, without the least view to a methodical arrangement. Accordingly in our remarks on the book we purposely leave all chronological questions untouched.

§ 5. Scope and Character. The book of Judges forms an important link in the history of the Israelites, and is very properly inserted between the books of Joshua and Samuel, as the Judges were the intermediate governors between Joshua and the kings of Israel. It furnishes a lively description of a fluctuating and unsettled people, a striking picture of the disorders and dangers which prevailed in a republic without magistracy, when ' the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through by-ways,' when few prophets arose to control the people, and ' every one did that which was right in his own eyes.' It exhibits the contest of true religion with superstition ; displays the benefits that flow from the former ; and represents the miseries and evil consequences of impiety; affording, in fine, a complete verification of the warnings and predictions of Moses, that ihe children of Israel should be prosperous or unfortunate, according as they obeyed or violated the divine commands. From the scenes of discord and violence which darken this history, Paul has presented us with some illustrious examples of faith, in the instances of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah ; and Dr. Graves remarks, that 'by a superficial reader, the whole period under the Judges may be easily

INTRODUCTION. Vll

mistaken for an uninterrupted series of idolatries and crimes, from his not observing that the lapses which inctirred punishment, and the divine deliverances winch attended repentance, are related so fully as to occupyalmost the whole narrative ; while long periods, when, under the government of the Judges, the people followed God and the land enjoyed peace, are passed over in a single verse, as productive of no events which required a particular detail.'

The whole period is distinguished by a display of extraordinary events, and by the most glaring and miraculous proofs of divine interposition. The history of God's government must necessarily be characterized by the demonstrations of his immediate agency; and the selected instruments of his will may well be expected to exhibit a succession of unprecedented exploits. It should, however, be observed that some of the actions here recorded were justifiable only on the supposition of a divine warrant, which superseded all general rules of conduct. Without this, the deeds of Ehud, and of Jael, might be pronounced censurable for their treachery, however commendable the motives by which they were prompted. In respect, too, to some other incidents, it is obvious that the sacred writer by no means vindicates all that he relates; and that the indiscriminate massacre of the people of Jabesh-Gilead, and the rape of the virgins at Shiloh, stamped as they are with the evident marks of injustice and cruelty, cannot possibly be justified on the principles which the Scriptures elsewhere furnish. In all such cases, and in the recorded characters of God's ministers in general w T ho are brought before us in this book, we perceive the traces of human infirmity ; and while we discriminate between the lights and shades that mark the picture, it cannot be questionable what parts of their conduct v;e are called to imitate and what to avoid.

§ 6. Chronological Arrangement of Contents. We have already remarked (§ 3), that the book consists of two distinct portions of which the latter is to be regarded as a kind of appendix to the former. This portion, which is composed of the last five chapters, embraces the narrative of events that occurred much earlier in the thread of the history than would be inferred from their position in the order of the book. The following tabular synopsis gives the entire contents, according to a just chronological arrangement.

Part I. — Interregnum after the death of Joshua

1. The Israelites destroy several cities of the Canaanites,

and make others tributary to them, - - chapter I.

2. The people reproved by the Angel for not exterminating

the Canaanitish nations, II. 1-5.

V112 INTRODUCTION.

3. The character of the people after the death of Joshua, II. 6-10.

4. Introduction of idolatry among them, - - XVII. XVIII

5. History of the Levite of Ephraim ; the murder of his

concubine by the Benjamites of Gibeah ; and the war

of the other tribes with them, - - - XIX-XXI.

6. The corruption of religion and manners among the Is-

raelites, and their intermixture with the Canaanitish nations, - - - • '- - - - II. 1 1— III. 7.

Part II. — The History of the Oppressions of the Israelites, and their Deliverances by the Judges. J. The servitude of the eastern Israelites under Cushan Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and their deliverance by Othniel, ------ III. 8-12.

2. Servitude of the eastern Israelites under Eglon, the

king of Moab, and their deliverance by Ehud 7 III. 12-30,

3. The western Israelites delivered by Shamgar, - III. 31.

4. Servitude of the northern Israelites under Jabin, king

of Canaan, and their deliverance by Deborah aad

Barak, IV-

The triumphant song of Deborah and Barak, - V.

5. The eastern and northern Israelites enslaved by Midi-

an, and their deliverance by Gideon, - - VI- VIII.

6. The usurpation and death of Abimelech, - IX.

7. The history of the administration of Tola and Jair, X. 1-6.

8. The oppression of the Israelites by the Philistines and

Ammonites, and their deliverance by Jephthah. X. 7 -XII. 7.

9. The administration of Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon, XII. 8-15. 10. The oppression of the Israelites by the Philistines, and

their deliverance by Samson, - XIII-XVI.

§ 7. Commentators.

The Commentators upon this book are for the most part the same as those who have undertaken to illustrate the book of Joshua, and whom the reader will find enumerated in the Introduction to that book. Of these the most important are the following r —

Of the elder commentators it would not be easy to point out a superior to Schmid. For accurate analysis, for strict and careful explica-

INTRODUCTION. IX

tion of words and phrases, for rigid preciseness in fixing the connexion, and for skill in drawing out his didactic inferences, he is almost unrivalled. He is indeed prone to dwell unduly upon trifles, but this was the fault of the age, rather than of the man. His works are a rich store-house of biblical exposition, and the Commentary on Judges is the most finished of his productions. Walch says of it, in his ' Bibliotheca Theologica,' that it is ' a distinguished work, at the head of all the commentaries which our countrymen have written. The author treats every thing, both words and things, diligently, learnedly, and copiously, and whoever consults this work, can easily dispense with all others.' Buddeus, iu his ' Isagoge,' is equally decided in his testimony to the merits of Schmid as a commentator.

* To be enumerated among the best interpretations of this book.' Walch.

Martini Bcceri Commentarius in Librum Judicum. Parisiis. 1554, 1563. Fol.

Petri Martyri Commentarius in Librum Judicum. Tiguri. 1561. Londini. 1564. Fol.

Jacobi Bonfreri Commentarius in Josuam, Judices, et Ruth. Parisiis. 1631, 1659. Fol.

John Coleridge Miscellaneous Dissertations arising from Judg. xvn. and xviii. Lond. 1768. 8vo.

X INTRODUCTION.

A valuable and well digested work; devoted principally to philological illustration, and, after the German fashion, keeping studiously clear of every practical remark, and of every thing, in fact, beyond the bare letter.

In addition to the above, much valuable matter bearing upon the elucidation of different parts of this book, will be found in ' Lowth's Hebrew Poetry,' ' Green's Poetical Parts of the Old Testament,' ' Herder's Spirit of Hebrew Poetry,' and Prof. Robinson's Interpretation of Judges ch. 5, the Song of Deborah and Barak, in the ' Biblical Repository/ No. III. June, 1831. See also Schnurrer, in ' Eichorn's Repert. vol. ix., p. 54. See a summary of its contents in Actis Eruditt. Leips. An. 1691, p. 167; and an essay by Schnurrer, in Paulus N. Repert. vol. i., p. 117, seqq. — Reland, Dissert, ii., p. 314. 1706. Hottinger, Exercit. Antimor. pp. 105. seqq. Smeg. Or. p. 437. Hist. Or. pp. 40, 120. Disp. Lib. V. T. Supposit., No. I.— Exeg. Handb. A. T. vol. ill., p. 18. seqq.

THE BOOK OF JUDGES.

Chapter I

■jVTOVV after the death of Josh- -L^l ua it came to pass, that the children of Israel a asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up

CHAPTER I. 1. After the death of Joshua. How long after we have no means of determining ; probably not long, for Oihniel, the first judge after Joshua's decease, had been his contemporary,

and was the son-in-law of Caleb.

IT Asked the Lord. The original phrase is the usual one for consulting the oracle, or inquiring by the ministry of the high-priest, and through the medium of the Urim and Thummim, the will of Jehovah as to the great matters of duty and policy. As we read of no particular person, who succeeded Joshua as commander-in-chief of the Israelites, it is probable that every tribe was governed by one or more of its elders for a number of years, and that in their wars with the Canaaniles they also were their military •leaders. As the people were now becoming more numerous and capable of occupying a larger extent of territory, they deemed it expedient to renew the war, but having no single head to take the lead in the enterprise, they very properly sought direction from above as to the manner in which the war should be conducted. It will be observed that they for us against the Canaanites first to fight against them ?

2 And the Lord said, b Judah shall go up : behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

do not inquire what individual should be chosen as successor to Joshua and commander of the forces, but which of the tribes shall take the precedency in the expedition. "Whether each tribe was ambitious of the honor or fearful of the danger of being first, it is not possible to determine, but by common consent it was resolved to refer the matter to God, the proper arbiter in every doubtful case. Happy is it for us that we have the same infallible source of guidance to which

to apply in all our perplexities.

•iT Who shall go up for us ? The common term for a military expedition. See Is. 7. 1 ; Jer. 50. 3. The phrase ' for us' puts the ' going up' in relation to the whole body of the people. The success of whatever tribe took the lead would be an earnest and assurance of the success of the rest in obtaining complete possession of their respective allotments.

2. Judah shall go up. That is the tribe of Judah, not a person of this name. So in v. 3, Simeon stands for the tribe of Simeon, and so also generally in the sequel. The precedency was given to Judah, because it was the most numerous, powerful,

JUDGES.

3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites ; and c I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

c ver. 17.

and valiant oi all the tribes, and that which the Lord designed should possess the pre-eminence in all respects, as being the one from which the Messiah was to spring, and for that reason crowned with the 'excellency of dignity' above all its fellows. Judah therefore must lead in this perilous enterprise; for God not only appoints service according to the strength and ability he has given, but ' would also have the burden of honor and the burden of labor go together.' Those who have the precedency in rank, reputation, or influence, should always be disposed to go before others in every good work, undismayed by danger, difficulty, or obloquy, that they may encourage others by their example. — - "IT I have delivered the land into his hand. Have determined that he shall subdue it. Not the whole land, but the land o? district destined for his inheritance. This God has so firmly purposed to deliver into his hand that it might be considered as already done, and such assurance of victory would naturally give courage for the contest.

3. Judah said unto Simeon — come icp with me, &c. This proposition was made to Simeon because these tribes being descended, by their progenitors, from the same father and mother, Jacob and Leah, were brethren in the strictest sense, and because

4 And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand : and they slew of them in d Bezek ten thousand men.

5 And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek : and they fought

d 1 Sam. II. 8.

also the lot of Simeon fell within that of Judah, This laid a natural ground for their union and co-operation in the enterprise. c Observe here that the strongest should not despise but desire the assistance even of those that are weaker. It becomes Israelites to help one another against Canaanites ; and all Christians, even those of different tribes, to strengthen one another's hands against ihe common interests of Satan's kingdom.' Henry. Caleb was probably commander in this war.

4, The Lord delivered the Canaanites and ihe Peiizzites. Or, Heb. ' the Canaanite, even the Perizziie/ It is not clear that distinct tribes aTe intended. — -IF They slew of them in Bezek, &c. That is, in the city and the adjacent territory. This city is supposed to have been in the tribe of Judah, though there was another lying to the south of Beth-shean (Scythopolis) seven miles from Sichem, where Saul reviewed his army before marching against Jabesh-Gilead. This verse is to be considered merely as a brief compend of the narrative which is more fully expanded in v. 5.-7. No feature of the historical style of the Scriptures is more common than this,

5. And they found Adoni-bezek. That is, ' lord or king of Bezek ;' probably the common title of the kings of that place. The original

CHAPTER i.

against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

6 But Adoni-bezek fled ; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his oreat toes.

word aSItt mdtzd, found, is sometimes used to denote a hostile encounter ; to attack, to surprise, and probably has that sense here. The first ■word of this verse, ' and,' would be better rendered ' for' in accordance with the remark made above respecting the drift of v. 5-7.

6. Cut off his thumbs and his great ioes. Heb. ' the thumbs of his hands and of his feet.' Either by express direction or secret impulse from God, who thus purposed to 'mete to him the measure he had meted to others.' ' The Hindoos call the thumb the revia-viril, the great finger of the hand, and the large toe is named the great finger of the foot. This punishment was exceedingly common in ancient times, and was inflicted principally on those who had committed some flagrant offence with their hands and their feet. Thus, those convicted of forgery, or numerous thefts, had their thumbs cut off. The practice is abolished, but its memory will remain, as it is now one of the scare-crows of the nursery and domestic life : ' If you steal any more, I will cut off your thumbs.' ' Let me find out the thief, and I will soon have his thumbs ' — Roberts. The loss of the thumbs would disable them from drawing the bow or handling to advantage the sword or the spear, and so would in effect utterly incapacitate them for war. ' As to the loss of the great toes, independently of the inconvenience occa-

7 And Adoni-bezek said,Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut oft', gathered their meat under my table ; e as I have done, so sioned in the act of running or walking, the disabling effect to an Oriental is infinitely greater than to an European. The feet and toes are much employed in all the handicraft operations throughout the East., and in many cases the loss of the great toes would completely disqualify a man from earning his subsistence. Besides the many little active operations which they are tutored to execute, the artisans, as they work with their hands, seated on the ground, hold fast and manage all their work with their feet and toes, in which the great toes have a very prominent duty to perform. Ward, in his ' View of the Hindoos,' has fully shown to what excellent uses the toes are applied in India. ' They are secondhand fingers; they are called feetfingers in Bengalee. In his own house a Hindoo malces use of them to fasten a clog to his feet by means of a button, which slips between the two middle toes. The tailor, if he does not thread his needle, certainly twists his thread with them. The cook holds his knife with his toes while he cuts fish, vegetables, &c. The joiner, the weaver, &c, could not do without them, and almost every native has twenty different uses for his toes.' — Pict. Bible.

7. Three-score and ten kings, &c. Not perhaps all at one time, but first and last, during his whole reign. It would seem that wasting civil wars had very much prevailed among the

JUDGES.

God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

Canaanites previous to the arrival of the Israelites, and this circumstance probably tended to facilitate their conquests. ' Judah,' says Lightfoot, 'in conquering Adoni-bezek did in effect conquer seventy kings.' In the case of this cruel tyrant we cannot fail to perceive the uncertainty of human greatness. The mighty potentate is here reduced to the condition of a prisoner, to the very extremity of meanness and disgrace ; showing that pre-eminence in station often leads only to a sad pre-eminence in misery and distress. ' Let not the highest be proud, nor the strongest secure, for they know not how low they may be brought before

they die.' — Henry. U As I have

done, so God ho,lh requited me. A striking acknowledgment, extorted from a guilty conscience, of the retributive justice of Heaven. ' When God's judgments awaken the conscience we shall own his righteousness, and stand self-condemned before him.' — Haweis. What pretences he had for warring against these kings, we know not ; but thus to insult over the misfortunes of the vanquished, to maim their persons, and compel them, like dogs, to gather up the crumbs from under his table, argued a degree of cruelty which one could scarcely have conceived to exist in a rational being. As the personal injuries he had inflicted would of course disable them from I harming him as long as they were kept in bondage, thus to sport him- 1 self in their miseries, was a conduct j of pure gratuitous cruelty, and could

8 (Now f the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem,

f See Josh. 15. 63.

have proceeded only from the most barbarous and brutal dispositions. But we have cause to be humbled for human nature that such propensities still adhere to it. This is evi dent from the pleasure which children often take in torturing insects and animals, and in vexing and tyrannizing over those who are weaker than themselves — a disposition which in after life displays itself in a fondness for despotic sway, in a vindictive spirit, and in a career of ruthless ambition. But God is known by the judgments that he executeih, and this cruel Canaanite was in his turn made to feel the anguish which he had so wantonly inflicted upon others. The Israelites were led to deal with him on the principle of their own law of retaliation, ' an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' &c. ; although, as it would have been inconsistent with those gracious affections which, as the Lord's chosen people, they were bound to exercise, they did not reduce him to the same ignominy or insult over him with the same arrogance that he had shown towards others. Thus it is that God sometimes makes men's punishments to correspond with their crimes ; and in this case, notwithstanding all the feelings of humanity, we cannot but acquiesce in the judgment that befel him, or help being conscious of a secret satisfaction that the same evils he had so cruelly inflicted upon others should be brought home to himself.