James King West writes: "Our English word 'judge' fails to bring out the breadth of meaning encompassed in the Hebrew term shophet (from the verb shaphat, to 'judge,' 'justify,' or 'deliver'). The shophet, as the title is used in the Old Testament, is not in the first instance an arbitrator of legal disputes, though he (or she) might serve in that capacity (Jud. 4:4-5). He is, rather, one who defends the right or just cause, whether in the capacity of a juridical official who hears cases and renders judgments or as a military leader who throws off the oppressor of a victimized people. In either case, the results are the same: the punishment of the offender, the vindication of the innocent party, and the restoration of the right (just) order of things. The heroes of the Judges stories are chiefly military leaders or tribal champions who arose in hours of crisis to deliver their people from the hands of enemy oppressors. Their sole authority appears to have resided in their 'charismatic' (spirit-directed) personality, rather than in any hereditary or elected office. Powerfully courageous and zealous for the independence and well-being of the tribes, they rallied the necessary support to combat the recurring harassment and open attacks of nearby enemies: Canaanites, Moabites, Midianites, Ammonites, and Philistines." (Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 178)
J. Cheryl Exum writes: "The book may be divided into three parts: a double introduction, which deals with Israel's failure to conquer Canaan completely, first from a military and then from a religious perspective (1:1-3:6); the main body of the book, consisting largely of the adventures of the individual judges (3:7-16:31); and a double conclusion (chaps. 17-21), which sets the stage for the transition to monarchy by painting a picture of moral decline and political dissolution in a time when 'there was no king in Israel and every man did as he pleased' (21:25). The stories of the judges are thus framed by an introduction that looks back to the book of Joshua and a conclusion that looks forward to the books of Samuel and Kings." (Harper's Bible Commentary, p. 245)
Dominic M. Crossan writes: "Some epic stories of the settlement period had been preserved orally only in the northern traditions, while others were retained only in the southern kingdom; still others were remembered, but modified differently, in both traditions. All were combined sometime after the fall of the northern kingdom (721) in a first edition of Jgs that even then bore a deuteronomistic interpretation in the presence of 10:6-16. Later, another edition of this material wished to make this interpretation even more explicit and rigid in terms of a repeated cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. The introduction in 2:11-3:6 was then added and the individual sagas were framed more precisely within this theology. Possibly at this same time, the D-interpreted (2:1-5) narrative of the conquest (1:1-2:5) was placed in preface to Jgs, an insertion necessitating the repetition of Jos 24:28-31 in Jgs 2:6-9. This redactor may also have deliberately omitted Jgs 9 and 16 as unedifying and irrelevant for his purpose. This complex of 1:1-16:31 (without chs. 9 and 16?) contained only six judges (Othniel, Ehud, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson). A later redactor added six more, whose existence was recalled by the tradition but whose exploits had been long forgotten (Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon). The additions served to constitute a 'Book of twelve Judges,' which was, presumably, this author's purpose. It was also this same redactor who replaced Jgs 9 and 16 in the framework." (The Jerome Biblical Commentary, vol. 1, pp. 149-150)
Samuel Sandmel writes: "From the viewpoint of those who compiled the book, the Settlement was an era of chaos. Unified leadership had died with Joshua. Hence, there is introduced in Judges a theme, significant not only for Judges but also for Samuel and Kings, that the prevalent religious anarcy could be overcome only through a king. The Book of Judges argues that had there been a king the distresses that necessitated the Great Deliverers would not have developed. A king would have been able to prevent the self-willed acts of people. Prosperity, acccording to the authors, led to license, and license was equivalent to apostasy from Yahve, and Yahve punished the disobedient by having them harassed or conquered. Then a Great Deliverer arose who destroyed the enemy. Ultimately, thereafter, prosperity returned, but since there was no king, prosperity again led to apostasy, apostasy to punishment, and punishment to the need of another Great Deliverer. Since this 'cyclical view' of events is schematized writing, its substance consists of materials of different kinds, used and shaped to fit the pre-determined scheme." (The Hebrew Scriptures, pp. 430-431)
J. Alberto Soggin writes: "This schematic [cyclical] form has every appearance of being artificial, especially when it is repeated a number of times, as happens in this case. It is the product of a later organic rethinking which sets out to use an ancient episode to instruct audience or readers. In this case the instruction is offered in a theological key: sin causes ruin on the historical plane also, and repentance leads to salvation. Such a valuation of events certainly does not arise from the historical expeirence of the protagonists or their contemporaries. However, these introductions, which are all followed by episodes dealing with individual judges, are appropriate for conferring on the book the unitary aspect of which we have been speaking; thus the redactors allowed the ancient traditions on the heroes in question to be reported almost intact, seeing that the introduction gave the reader the key to their interpretatation. Now these introductions prove to be Deuteronomistic in both style and content; among other things, the formulation of the doctrine of reward and punishment also appears typical." (Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 177)
Jay G. Williams writes: "Clearly one of the main points of the author is that almost from the beginning Israel fell into sin and therefore was subjected to historical punishment by Yahweh at the hands of her enemies. Only when Yahweh raised up a new hero to lead the people was Israel revived once more. As the story proceeds, however, the cycle becomes more and more disastrous for Israel. The last of the judges, Samson, is simply a great buffoon who kills a few Philistines but who does not lead Israel in battle at all. The story moves, then, from a glorification of the heroes to a call for a new and better way of organizing Israel politically and militarily. That is to say, Judges points forward to the books of Samuel and the rise of the kingship. The book ends with two rather gruesome stories (17:1-18:31 and 19:1-21:25) wihch illustrate graphically the corrupt condition of religion and justice under the judges." (Understanding the Old Testament, p. 159)
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