Judges — Chapters

After Joshua’s death, the Israelites, led mainly by Judah, attempt to conquer Canaan but fail to expel all inhabitants, leaving many Canaanite cities occupied as tributaries.

After Joshua’s death, Israel repeatedly turned away from God, leading to cycles of oppression and deliverance by judges, while the angel of the LORD warned them of remaining Canaanite nations.

Judges 3 describes Israel's cycle of disobedience, oppression, and deliverance, highlighting the leaders Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar as God's chosen rescuers.

When the Israelites suffered under Jabin, Deborah prophesied victory through Barak and the Kenite woman Jael, culminating in Sisera’s defeat and Israel’s triumph.

Deborah and Barak lead a celebratory song that praises God’s deliverance of Israel from the Canaanite general Sisera, emphasizing divine power, heroic deeds, and the pivotal role of women.

Israel suffers oppression by the Midianites; God calls Gideon to deliver them, testing his faith before granting victory.

God reduces Gideon’s army to 300, who then deliver Israel from the Midianites with trumpets and broken pitchers, causing the enemy to flee in terror.

Gideon defeats the Midianites, collects wealth, but his family later turns to idolatry.

Abimelech seizes kingship by murdering his brothers, is opposed by Shechem, and ultimately dies from a woman’s millstone, illustrating the destructive cycle of power and divine judgment.

After a period of judges, Israel again turns to idolatry, leading to oppression by neighboring peoples and divine judgment; they repent, and God responds by removing their foreign gods.

Jephthah, cast out by his kin, is called back to lead Israel against the Ammonites; his victorious vow leads to the tragic sacrifice of his only daughter.

Jephthah confronts the rebellious Ephraimites, defeats them, and then serves as judge for six years, after which a succession of judges follows.

The chapter recounts how a barren woman, the wife of Manoah, receives an angelic announcement of her future son Samson, who will be a Nazarite and deliver Israel from the Philistines. The angel appears twice, guides a sacrificial rite, and ascends in fire before vanishing, confirming its divine nature.

Samson encounters a lion, finds honey, marries a Philistine woman, and later uses a riddle to claim gifts, leading to conflict and violence.

Samson battles the Philistines and the men of Judah, using divine strength to strike back, eventually being freed by the Spirit of the Lord and becoming judge for twenty years.

Samson, after leaving Gaza, is betrayed by Delilah and loses his strength, but ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy the Philistine temple.

Micah of Ephraim uses silver to build a personal house of idols and appoints a Levite from Judah as his priest, illustrating Israel’s lack of centralized worship during the Judges era.

The Danites, lacking an inheritance, locate Laish, defeat its people, seize Micah’s idols, and establish a new city where they set up a priesthood of these objects.

Judges 19 recounts a tragic episode in which a Levite’s concubine is brutally abused by men of Gibeah after the Levite fails to find hospitality elsewhere.

In Judges 20, Israel assembles to avenge the horrific rape and murder in Gibeah, engages in a three‑day battle against the Benjamites, and ultimately delivers judgment upon them under divine guidance.

The Israelites, after a disastrous battle, face a crisis of marriage because they swore not to give Benjamin daughters; they resolve this by taking virgins from neighboring towns and marrying them to the Benjaminites.