Judges 2:6-9 -- Just so long as Joshua lived, all was well. In this sense, we see that he serves as the first judge. It is important to see that the office of judge in this setting includes the idea of interpreting the application of Moses' Law, but far more than that. These judges were carrying out the judgments of God. Thus, most of them were military leaders, for they executed Jehovah's judgment against the sin of oppressing His people.
2:10-23 -- We are given a recitation of a clear pattern, repeated endlessly:
At the conclusion of this description, we are reminded that Jehovah determined that from this time forward, the Canaanites would not be driven out. Whatever was left after Joshua was buried would remain.
3:1-11 -- Othniel vs. Chushan-rishatahim: The Hittites had surged into Assyrian holdings in an area known as Mitanni, the northern end of Mesopotamia (includes the City of Charan). This was not the original Hittite people, but an element from within the withered old empire, claiming their former glory. One of their petty Lords extended his conquests into Canaan (v. 8). It's hard to be sure what his name means, given the Hebrew habit of twisting a despised name sarcastically to give it a unique meaning in their language. Scholars tell us this ruler's name as given probably means "Doubly-Evil Cushan." You may recall the difficulty with calling Othniel Caleb's "brother," when they have different fathers. Caleb, son of Jephunneh versus Othniel, son of Kenaz. Kenaz was supposedly the head of the clan, so it's more likely Othniel was an uncle, but perhaps born later. We know nothing of this battle.
3:12-29 -- Ehud vs. Eglon: The King of Moab rose up and began ravaging the East Bank. He also took the area around Jericho. He had an alliance with Ammon and the scattered Amalekites. This was quite likely more of a regional subjugation rather than national. Reading between the lines, we get a picture of a petty tyrant always fearful and suspicious of those around him. It might have been that Eglon was one of several lords eligible for the throne, and held it rather precariously with the help of a private troop of bodyguards. Quite likely they were drawn from his relatives. A man in his position could ill afford to trust anyone when there is significant competition for his place. There is a distinct sense of political instability, intrigue, and layers of secrecy.
The Benjamites (v. 15) had a large number of lefties and ambidextrous men. Ehud was to carry the tribute, and the official greetings, etc. He also carried a rather long sword (approximately 18"/45cm) strapped to his right thigh (v. 16). Many ancient cultures regarded lefties with suspicion if not loathing, and would never think to expect a weapon there. This man Ehud was a young nobleman, important enough to bear the tribute as an official representative for his own tribe of Benjamin, at least.
This being summer, Eglon was taking his ease in a small room atop his royal manse, built on the shore of the Dead Sea, just about where the Jordan flowed into it. This upper room would have been laticed on all sides for maximum cooling. It's unlikely he would deign to appear in person for the presentation of tribute, so we have to imagine courtiers carry the message to him. Once the ceremony was complete (v. 18), the delegation left and Ehud stopped at the entry way where there would have been statues (Hebrew: "quarried" stone) of pagan gods (v. 19). He claimed to have a more private message for the king. Once Eglon heard this, he would have invited this head of the delegation up to the breezy chamber to relate something too important to be trusted to servants. Besides, Eglon was a nervous and vulnerable ruler, not trusting even his own servants. He sent them out before he allowed Ehud to speak. He closed the doors (v. 20). Eglon would have been sitting in a rather informal session, receiving a report from a spy or informer, he thought. Whether Ehud expected this is not the point; he may have been willing to die in the attempt. However, he claimed to have a word from God, and Eglon was sure it was good news. He stood as he would before any oracle from a god. Ehud's weapon was lost in the fat of Eglon; his subterfuge was quite sufficient to allow his escape.
His act was heartening, and helped rally the soldiers for something they had long wanted (v. 28ff). They first blocked the fords to prevent reinforcements, then destroyed the royal bodyguard and slaughtered the king's entourage. Reading between the lines again, it would seem the bodyguards were the sole source of Eglon's power. Once they were removed, the rest of the Moabites and their friends weren't too interested in pursuing the matter. Eglon's nervousness would indicate he was not all that popular with his own people.
3:31 -- Shamgar vs. Philistines: Shamgar was a Hurrian, and "son of Anath" was a figure of speech meaning "warrior," a professional soldier. This fight was probably against an early invasion force, and Shamgar took the only plausible weapon at hand at the time, an ox goad. This would have been a long, stiff cane pole, with a sharpened metal point at one end, and a chisel-shaped blade at the butt, for scraping the plow. He would have used it as a lance, a long spear-like weapon, but heavier. Most likely a small patrol stumbled upon him and he took them out, and the activity gained the attention of other Philistine patrols in the area. By day's end, 600 died. This discouraged further Philistine incursions for awhile.
4:1-24 -- Deborah and Barak: Notice Jabin arose at the death of Ehud, indicating Shamgar was active during Ehud's judgeship. Now both were gone. Jabin was surely a title for the ruler of Hazor. Since the city had been destroyed once under Joshua, this would be new occupants pretending to her former glory and power (v. 2). There was a central, upper mound that goes far back into pre-history, but the city Joshua destroyed had spread far out around that central mound. This later re-occupation seems restricted to the original mound, and archaeologists have found there hints that this was sponsored by the revived Hittite Empire. This accords with Jabin's use of iron chariots (v. 3), another Hittite innovation. Hazor's ruler managed to re-take enough territory to hold the combined valleys of Megiddo and Jezreel. The two together formed a broad open area from the Mediterranean coast north of Mt. Carmel, slanting a bit southeast and running down into the Rift Valley. In such terrain chariots have a tremendous advantage. The warlord Sisera was native to Harosheth, a city well-placed where the Kishon River (Megiddo Valley) passed through a narrow gorge just above the coastal plains.
Deborah was clearly a national judge, working from under a famous landmark not far from the Tabernacle (v. 5). She summoned Barak from his home far north of Chinnereth, in Kedesh of Naphtali (v. 6f). He was told to raise an army of 10,000 from Zebulon and Naphtali and face Sisera near Mount Tabor, where Barak would have some tactical advantage over the charioteers. Barak lacked sufficient trust in God to go without the prophetess. While her comment about a woman taking the glory might have been taken as a warning that she would have it, she was actually referring to Jael. Jael was the wife of a Kenite man named Heber, who departed from his kin and moved farther north. He must have become rather powerful and well-known. We cannot estimate the nature of his apparent neutrality, be Sisera certainly believed in it. It was this bunch of Kenites that reported the Israeli army marshalling at Mount Tabor.
As Sisera led his troops toward the mountain, he sought the shallower fords far upriver between Taanach and Megiddo. To his utter surprise, he was hit by high water from unseasonal storms, which he would have taken as a manifestation of his god, Baal. We learn this from the Song of Deborah (ch. 5). The Hebrew troops were able to take advantage of Sisera's problem, advancing down from the high ground and catching the Canaanites mostly unmounted and stalled at the ford. The Canaanites were scattered and lost their chariots. Sisera fled on foot. His goal was what he believed was neutral holdings of the detatched Kenite Heber, living in the area east of Chinnereth Sea. He was met by the lady of the nomad sheik, Jael, who contrived to hide him in her private tent, under a heavy blanket, used as flooring in ancient tents. Instead of water, she gave him milk, which would have made him drowsy on top of his physical exhaustion. However, in the Song of Deborah, it's described more as a large meal of something resembling cottage cheese. It's still a delicacy with Arabs today. While he slept, she was able to drive a tent stake through his temples. This would be a slender metal rod, driven in by a large wooden mallet. Even today, the tent is the repsonsibility of women among Bedouins, so we can assume she was adept at this. We have no way of knowing her motives for violating this supposed truce between her household and Jabin's people, but to Israel she was a heroine.
5:1-31 -- The Song of Deborah: We have a rather difficult time making sense of all the imagery here. The words and syntax are about the oldest sample of Hebrew we have anywhere in writing. It's very much more archaic than the language of the Book of Judges itself. Part of what we do understand is the chiding of those who chose not to participate, and the praise of those did. The East Jordan tribes stayed home, but probably gave it serious thought. Large portions of Zebulon and Napthali left a few of their own to handle it alone. The leadership of most tribes were behind it, but wide swaths of the populace were unwilling.
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Ed Hurst
revised 21 March 2004
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