Judges bible study outlinecontents by chapter and verse. You have the first five books of the bible that are known as the pentateuch, or the torah, or the law. Home bible studies judges series judges 45 these small group studies of judges contain outlines, crossreferences, bible study discussion questions, and applications. The prophetess and judge deborah appears in the book of judges which is not part of our torah, but of the prophets section of our bible, and is read annually. According to author joseph telushkin in his book jewish literacy, the only thing known about deborah s private life was the name of her husband, lapidot or lappidoth. Joshua was the first judge, and some of the judges after him were named oth. This is the title of the whole book of judges and does not apply to the numerous events recorded in this chapter, all of which occurred during joshuas lifetime. Biblical and leadership studies in honor of donald k. Deborah is the only character who is called a judge, but in the judicial.
When we celebrate the strength of deborah, we celebrate first the allpowerful god in whose story deborah takes part. Deborah s courage and wisdom in calling up an army to. This chapter presents a commentary on a story, from the book of judges, about how jabin, king of hazor, whose general is sisera, oppresses israel for 20 years. The following are the five commentaries on judges that i have found the most helpful. However, it is the aim to be sufficiently complete for the average student to learn from it. Bible study guide on judges \old testament\ keywords. The people recognize her wisdom and come to her for counsel and conflict resolution judges 4. But if we neglect this book, we neglect a wonderful account of the love and graciousness of god, and how he lovingly corrects his people. Historically it records the history of the nation from the death of joshua to samuel, who was the last of the judges and the first of the prophets. Book of judges contemporary lessons from the book o judges 2 the judges were ehud and shamgar. The book of judges shows us all what tends to go horribly wrong when we become too casual about seeking gods will and gods ways. Gideon and the 300 men judges 6 sunday school lesson and bible story for kids duration. But the best founded opinion seems to be, that it was written by the prophet samuel.
Judges 1 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. Barak seems to be another possible contender for the role when his name is mentioned in 4. So the lord sold them into the hand of jabin king of canaan, who reigned in hazor. Judges 1 new international version niv israel fights the remaining canaanites. Deborah displayed her conviction in her song at judges 5. Dakota community church september 28, 2014 deborah in the book of judges you will recall there is a repeated cycle throughout the entire book. This poem celebrates her victory over the canaanites. The purpose of the book of judges reconsidered, journal for the study of the old testament 25 1983. Deborah was a prophetess, the wife of lappidotha prophetess and israels leaderjudge judges 4. Those eight books are now combined into the onevolume bridgeway bible commentary, which is a companion in size, style and format to the bridgeway bible dictionary, an a to z of biblical information. Judges 4 commentary commentary critical and explanatory. People think they are acting freely to do their own plans, but often dont know god is the one moving them to do it. As judge, deborah was a highly respected figure in the community, and people sought her out.
Book of judges study references and sources book of judges. Introduction to judges author the book was evidently written after the death of the other judges yet relatively early in the period of the kings. The book of judges chapters 4 and 5 record the history of the nation of israel in the time of the prophetess deborah. Lindars died before completing his exegetical commentary on judges. This volume is the mature fruit of three decades of study and reflection on the book of judges. In this commentary i have tried to let judges be what it is instead of taming it. Though the other judges are not called prophets, yet they all seem to have had direct communications from god, either of knowledge or power, or both compare judges.
The prophetess deborah a strong woman of god beginning. There is a considerable diversity of opinion as to the person by whom this book of judges was written. Though deborah is described as judge, she seems to be functioning more in the legal world than the military one, and she is the first and only female judge in the book. She praised the righteous and cursed the wicked judges 5. The children of israel again did evil in the sight of the lord, when ehud was deadthe removal of the zealous judge ehud again left his infatuated countrymen without the restraint of religion 2, 3. In judges 5, we read judge deborah s story again, but this time in poetic form. While the following sources contain valuable information, the author does not necessarily agree with all the information and opinions presented in the sources. Introduction to the book of judges agape bible study. And deborah, a prophetessa woman of extraordinary knowledge, wisdom, and piety, instructed in divine knowledge by the spirit and accustomed to interpret his will. Book of judges makes it very clear that deborah was appointed to leadership by. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. What he has provided is a detailed, technical exposition that follows the hebrew text versebyverse and phrasebyphrase. These books were called prophecies because the histories they recorded were regarded as exemplary.
God instructed the israelites to wipe out the canaanites completely from the land of israel but they failed in doing so. Christians confess that god wrote this book, ultimately, as he wrote all of the bible. They can exercise leadership and some people believe that this simple fact changes everything. The role of women in the rhetorical strategy of the book of judges. Moses had led gods people out of egyptian bondage and. After attending a lecture at the seminary where i teach, i saw a female student whom id not seen in months. She was the only woman who served as a judge during those extended years of turmoil. Deborah summons barak to bring 10,000 warriors to fight sisera by the wadi kishon. In the book of judges, every incidence of israels repentance and deliverance is sadly followed by another descent into sin and apostasy. What deborah does and doesnt say about women in the church. The jews referred to the books of joshua, judges, samuel, and kings as the former prophets.
The people were supposed to recognize the lord as their king. Book of judges bible study outline judges commentary part one the cycle of sin defined by i gordon. The book of judges, sefer shoftim is the seventh book of the hebrew bible and the christian old testament. Judges 1 niv israel fights the remaining canaanites. Emphasizes understanding the text with practical applications. Oct 12, 2012 deborah was one of the 12 judges and in her account in joshua chapters 4 and 5 we see the faith, strength and leadership of a faithful woman of god. When ehud was dead, the children of israel again did evil in the sight of the lord. Assignments on judges 1 please read the whole book of judges at least once as we study chapter 1.
Barak, deborah, jael, judges, sisera, song of deborah no unit in the book of. The book of judges new international commentary on the old. Function within the book of judges becker 1990 views judg. But may they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength. The title of the book in english, greek kritai, lxx, and hebrew is judges. Gideon tore down the altars of baal and asherah that israel had constructed judges 6.
She saw the lord go out of seir, marching out of the field of edom, the earth trembling, the heavens dropping, the clouds dropping water, the mountains melting, even sinai itself, before the lord god of israel. This workbook was designed for bible class study, family study, or personal study. As i said we will find her in the book of judges, and the bible sort of goes like this. The stories of each of the twelve judges that god sent to deliver israel are presented in a sevenpart formulaic sequence. In this magnificent ode we are taught to ascribe all glory in our successes to god. Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, was judging israel at that time judges 4. One of the noblest songs in history, composed by deborah herself judges 5. Skim the book of judges, reading as much as you can, and state the theme of the book. But two of the people who help israel are women named deb. Book of judges bible study commentary the cycle of sin. We will see a cycle that the israelites pass through repeatedly in the history of the judges. Jan 27, 2016 bible study notes and commentary on the old testament book of judges. Judges overview james burton coffman commentaries on the bible.
I think the most likely candidate for human authorship is samuel. Was she a judge like the male judges of this book or is she rightly left out of the list of. Webb tries to downplay the obvious in the deborah cycle, and upholds a complementarian view of gender by making deborah less of an authority figure in israel than the text presents, and even brings in the notion of the eternal subordination of the son to make deborah s authority a mere bi. Clearly women can be prophetesses in the covenant community. Her story is told in the book of judges, chapters 4 and 5. The uncommon faith ministry bible study the book of judges chapter 9 by jeff earls. Jul 01, 2019 deborah stands out due to both her spiritual and civil leadership. Jan 18, 2016 david gunn selectively assembles some twenty centuries of professional and popular interpreters of the book of judges and provides a running commentary on how, in various times and places, these readers found meaning and instruction from the book of judges, often treasuring the book and sometimes recoiling from what they found to be its alien ways. The book of judges, which is believed to have been written by the prophet samuel around 1050 bc, presents us with a sad and turbulent period in israels history. The questions contain minimal human commentary, but instead urge students to study to understand scripture.
This summary of the book of judges provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of judges. The book of judges describes the time after the death of joshua judges 1. Deborah and yael, but also on the meaning of many lines in the poem. As we shall see, one of the major themes in judges is that there was no human king in israel. After greeting me, she enthusiastically told me about the exciting ministries god was allowing in and through her life. It is the bridge between the entrance into the promised land under the leadership of joshua and the establishment of the first kings over the nation israel.
Judges is numbered among what are called the former prophets. These books demonstrate the outworking in history of gods faithfulness to his plan of redemption, to his covenant promises and warnings. It bridges the gap between joshua and the rise of the. The following statements in judges indicate its origin at the beginning of king sauls reign. Study guide on the book of judges, on line bible commentary for book of judges, niv commentary judges, free commentary on the book of judges. Visit our library of inductive bible studies for more in depth inductive studies on this and other books of the bible you can use in your small group. Her governance is so good that the land had rest for forty years judg. Now deborah was a judge that lived in about 1150 bc. Judges chapters 45 inductive bible study and questions. God, angel of the lord, othniel, ehud, deborah, gideon, abimelech, jepthah, samson, and levites. Other than a real serious misreading of the deborah narrative, this is a very, very good commentary. Title the book bears the fitting name judges, which refers to unique leaders god gave to his people for preservation against their enemies 2.
The book of judges reveals that there were, within each generation, men and women who were willing to stand up for what is right. Judges overview james burton coffman commentaries on the. The threat and intimidation that jabin and sisera brought upon the israelites who lived in the northern part of canaan was of great concern to deborah, who devised a plan to bring about her peoples freedom and deliverance. The title refers to the leaders israel had from the time of the elders who outlived joshua until the time of the monarchy. Block wheaton college we have been waiting for barry webbs commentary a long time. What we find out about man in judges is depressing. Now deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, was judg ing israel at that time. During this period the israelites, now in the promised land after the military conquests of joshua, went through a constant cycle of falling into sin, being punished by god via an attack by enemy invaders, crying out to the lord in repentance and a judge being raised up to lead. Jehovah answers them by giving brave leaders to help them. What we learn about faith and courage from judge deborah. People would come for judgment to deborah, a prophetess and wife of lappidoth. Gunns 2005 recent reception history commentary explores ancient e.
The eight handbooks were dedicated to people who, in different ways, had a. This passage, often called the song of deborah, is believed to date as early as the 12th century bc and is possibly the earliest example of hebrew poetry. Pdf the accounts of deborah judges 45 in recent research. In the narrative of the hebrew bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the book of joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the books of samuel, during which biblical judges served as temporary leaders. Deborah lived somewhere about 1150 bce, about a century or so after the hebrews entered canaan. This commentary shall not attempt to exhaust all that might be said regarding what is written in judges. Intended to be helpful to all christians, including teachers and preachers, while avoiding an emphasis on technical issues. Then the lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Deborah judges 45 bible commentary theology of work.
Pfeiffer, judges, in the wycliffe bible commentary, p. Deborah and jaelbrave women in the bible bible story. Though the other judges are not called prophets, yet they all seem to have had direct communications from god, either of knowledge or power, or both compare judges 3. Baba bathra 14b a book of the talmud says samuel wrote the books which bears his name, judges, and ruth. When the israelites get into trouble, they cry out to jehovah. Judges, like all the socalled history books of the old testament, is really a prophecy. Mickey anders the last political election was especially significant for women because hillary clinton. Lessons from the life of deborah life fellowship church. Judges 1 commentary james burton coffman commentaries. The people made themselves freewill offerings in the day of gods power. The military hierarchy recognizes her as supreme commander and in fact will only go to war on her personal command judg.
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