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JUDGES 2

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

 NASB  NKJV  NRSV  TEV   NJB
(MT versing)
Israel Rebuked Israel's Disobedience The Period of the Judges
(1:1-2:5)		 The Angel of the Lord at Bochim The Angel of Yahweh Tells Israel of Disaster to Come
2:1-5 2:1-6 2:1-5 2:1-5 2:1-5
Joshua Dies Israel Under the Judges
v(2:6-3:6)		 The Death of Joshua General Reflections on the Period of the Judges
2:6-10 Death of Joshua 2:6-10 2:6-10 2:6-10
2:7-10
Israel Serves Baals Israel's Unfaithfulness Israel Stops Worshiping the Lord Religious Interpretation of the Period of the Judges
2:11-15 2:11-15 2:11-15 2:11-15 2:11-15
2:16-23 2:16-23 2:16-23
2:16-19 2:16-19
Why Foreign Nations Survived in Canaan
(2:20-3:6)
2:20-23 2:20-23

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

  1. First paragraph
  2. Second paragraph
  3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:1-5
  1Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you, 2and as for you, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.' But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done? 3Therefore I also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; but they will become as thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.'" 4When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5So they named that place Bochim; and there they sacrificed to the Lord.

2:1 "the angel of the Lord" Notice this angel speaks as if YHWH Himself (i.e., a theophany).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE ANGEL OF THE Lord

  2. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE TRINITY

▣ "came up from Gilgal" Notice the angel is depicted as moving (i.e., "came up"), following the same route as Joshua's initial invasion. Gilgal was the first campsite of Israel in the Promised Land (cf. Jos. 4:19-20).

Gilgal (BDB 166 II) means "rolling" and is defined in Jos. 5:9 ("today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you").

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN LANGUAGE

▣ "to Bochim" The exact site is uncertain but it probably is close to Gilgal. The name means "weepers" (BDB 114, cf. Jdgs. 2:5).

The Jewish Study Bible, p. 513, asserts that Bochim is really Bethel because of

  1. connection of Bethel to weeping (cf. Jdgs. 20:26; 21:2)
  2. the golden calf worship recorded in 1 Kgs. 12:25-30

Other reasons are:

  1. an "oak of weeping" is mentioned close to Bethel in Gen. 35:8
  2. the LXX specifically includes the name "and to Bethel"
  3. Bethel was the site of an altar, cf. Jdgs. 2:5; 20:27

▣ "I brought you up out of Egypt" This very phrase begins the "Ten Commandments" (cf. Exod. 20:2). This divine act was the fulfillment of Gen. 15:12-21.

▣ "and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers" This first promise was given to Abraham in Gen. 12:1-3 (cf. Deut. 1:8, 35; 6:10, 18, 23; 7:13; 8:1; 11:9, 21; 19:8; 26:3, 15; 28:11; 30:20; 31:23).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS

▣ "I will never break My covenant with you" This could refer to

  1. YHWH's statement in Gen. 3:1
  2. YHWH's promise to the Patriarchs

YHWH has a plan for redeeming all humanity which involved Abraham and his seed. However, their covenant was conditional on human response and faithfulness. Judges highlights Israel's faithlessness (i.e., disobedience in relation to the Canaanite population's removal and later Israel's adoption of their fertility worship, cf. Jdgs. 2:20-3:7). Israel's disobedience had consequences.

  1. YHWH stopped helping the individual tribes conquer their land allotment (Jos. 23:4-5, 23)
  2. YHWH sent oppressors (Jdgs. 2:3, 21)

The mercy and long term purpose of YHWH for Israel is also seen in that He sent deliverers (cf. Jdgs. 2:16)! It is ultimately seen in the "New Covenant" of Jer. 31:31-34 (described in Ezek. 36:22-36).

Just one final comment. The Assyrian and Babylonian exiles were a reversal of the land promise of the Abrahamic covenant. As YHWH removed the wicked Canaanites (cf. Gen. 15:12-21), so too, He removed the wicked descendants of Abraham from Canaan.

The good news is He will bring them back (cf. Isa. 44:28; 45:1)! There is a long term purpose for Israel (i.e., the Messiah).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH'S ETERNAL REDEMPTIVE PLAN

  2. SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT PROMISES TO THE PATRIARCHS

  3. SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

  4. SPECIAL TOPIC: MESSIAH

▣ The MT concludes Jdgs. 2:2 with 'olam. This word has a wide semantic field and must be interpreted in context.

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER ('olam)

2:2 "you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land" Judges 1:22-33 documents this disobedience. Instead of removing or destroying the Canaanite population, they used them for "forced labor" (cf. Jdgs. 1:28, 30, 33, 35).

▣ "you shall tear down their altars" These were high places of Canaanite fertility worship.

  1. a large raised, upright stone, phallic stone, symbolizing the male god, Ba'al (cf. Exod. 23:24; 34:13)
  2. tall wooden stake representing the female goddess, Astarte, Asherah (cf. Exod. 34:13; similar mythology to the Babylonian Ishtar)
  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

▣ "But you have not obeyed Me; what is this you have done?" This, like Jdgs. 2:11-23, is an overview of the period of the Judges; cycles of disobedience, mercy, deliverance, and renewed disobedience.

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: KEEP

2:3 This imagery comes from Num. 33:55 and Jos. 23:13. There were consequences to disobedience, terrible consequences. The great promises of YHWH's presence and blessing of Israel are balanced with warnings for disobedience (cf. Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). Israel must choose (cf. Deuteronomy 30)!

▣ "as thorns in your sides" The MT of Num. 33:55 has "thorns" (BDB 856), which seems to have dropped out of the text of Jdgs. 2:3. The LXX translates MT's "sides" (BDB 841) as

  1. obstacle, LXX Alexandrinus
  2. oppression, LXX Vaticanus
  3. oppressors or adversaries (Targums, NJB, based on the "r" and "d" confusion in the two Hebrew roots)

The UBS Text Project, p. 74, suggests it is some type of hunting instrument; based on an Akkadian cognate for "snare" (NET Bible, p. 429, #8).

2:4-5 Apparently the coming of the Angel of the Lord was after Israel had already sinned. She tried to offer a sacrifice but it was too late.

2:4 "they wept" This may be an example of "superficial repentance," cf. Num. 25:6; Jdsg. 20:33; 21:2; Ps. 51:17; Joel 2:12-14, 17-19.

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: REPENTANCE IN THE OT

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:6-10
  6When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. 7The people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the Lord which He had done for Israel. 8Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord died at the age of one hundred and ten. 9And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.

2:6-10 This is a flashback to the events surrounding Joshua's death and burial (cf. Jos. 24:29-31).

2:7 The generation that experienced YHWH's actions remained faithful but the future generations, who only heard about them, disobeyed (cf. Jdgs. 2:10).

2:8 "the servant of the Lord" This was an honorific title given to Joshua only after his death (cf. Jos. 24:29).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: MY SERVANT

▣ "the age of one hundred and ten" In Egyptian culture, this was the ideal age (cf. Gen. 50:22,26).

It is uncertain why the people lived so long in the early part of Genesis. There are only theories.

There has been much discussion about the length of human life before and immediately after the great flood (i.e., the antediluvian period). Some have asserted that

  1. it is figurative
  2. they calculated years differently
  3. sin had simply not pervaded the earth as it has today
  4. the advanced ages were used to show honor for previous leaders as in the Sumerian lists of ten pre-flood kings. In that list, the kings before the flood lived much longer than the kings after the flood, much like the genealogies of the Bible.

2:9 "Timnath-heres" This name (BDB 584) means "territory of the Sun." Sun worship is also implied in Judges 1.

  1. Beth-shemesh, Jdgs. 1:33
  2. Mount Heres, Jdgs. 1:35

This pagan association caused the Israelites to change the name of the location of Joshua's burial (cf. Jos. 19:50; 24:30).

▣ "in the hill country of Ephraim" Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim.

2:10 "All that generation also were gathered to their fathers" This phrase, like "sleep," is a euphemism for death. In the ANE, when possible, families were buried in close proximity (cf. Gen. 15:15; 25:8; 47:30).

The other common idiom was "slept with their fathers" (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kgs. 1:21; 2:10; 11:43, etc.).

See NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 470-471, 4. C.

Several family tombs are mentioned in the OT.

  1. the Patriarchs' ‒ Gen. 49:29, 31; 50:13
  2. Joshua's ‒ Jos. 24:30; Jdgs. 2:9
  3. Joseph's ‒ Jos. 24:32

▣ "another generation after them who did not know the Lord" The term "know" (BDB 393, KB 390, Qal PERFECT) is not used here of general knowledge about YHWH, His actions or His commands, but the fact that this new generation did not have a faith relationship with Him.

Biblical faith is only one generation away from extinction if parents and the community of faith fail to pass on, not just facts about God, but an intimate, daily, obedient faith relationship with Him (cf. Deut. 6:4-9)!

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:11-15
  11Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals, 12and they forsook the Lord the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the Lord to anger. 13So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed.

2:11 "Baals" Fertility worship was evil (cf. Deut. 4:25; 9:18; 17:2; 22:19; Jdgs. 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: FERTILITY WORSHIP OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

2:12 "they forsook the Lord" This VERB (BDB 736, KB 806, Qal IMPERFECT with waw, cf. Jdgs. 2:13; 10:6,10,13) is used of forsaking

  1. YHWH ‒ Deut. 28:20; 31:16; Jdgs. 10:10; Jer. 1:16; Jon. 2:9
  2. His covenant ‒ Deut. 29:25; 1 Kgs. 19:10, 14
  3. His house (i.e., temple) ‒ 2 Chr. 24:18; Neh. 10:40

▣ "the God of their fathers" Notice Israel's Deity is called

  1. the angel of the Lord, Jdgs. 2:1
  2. YHWH, Jdgs. 2:12 (most often in this chapter)
  3. Eloah, Jdgs. 2:12
  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C. And D

▣ "they provoked the Lord to anger" This is anthropomorphic language (like "the anger of the Lord burned," Jdgs. 2:14) to express the degree of displeasure that Israel's God had with "other gods" (cf. Exod. 20:2-11; Deut. 5:6-15).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS OF HUMAN LANGUAGE

2:14 "the hands of plunderers who plundered" This is a purposeful grammatical combination of

  1. BDB 1042, KB 1608, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE
  2. BDB 1042, KB 1608, Qal IMPERFECT with waw

▣ "He sold them into the hands of their enemies" This is an idiom (cf. Jdgs. 3:8; 4:2,9; 10:7; 1 Sam. 12:9) for God allowing the Canaanites to defeat His people.

It is the antonym of the term "redeem" which means "to buy someone back."

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: HAND

  2. SPECIAL TOPIC: RANSOM/REDEEM

2:15 The Divine Warrior (i.e., holy war terminology) was now on the side of the enemy! Israel had ignored Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. Actions have consequences.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 2:16-23
  16Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord they did not do as their fathers. 18When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. 20So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers and has not listened to My voice, 21I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, 22in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk in it as their fathers did, or not." 23So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out quickly; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

2:16 However, the mercy of YHWH is seen in Jdgs. 2:16.

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT)

2:17 The terrible cycle of faith, faithlessness, and renewal occurred again and again.

▣ "played the harlot" This imagery is both figurative and literal (cf. Exod. 34:15-16; Lev. 17:7; 20:5; Deut. 31:16; Jdgs. 8:27, 35; 1 Chr. 5:25; Ps. 73:27; 106:39).

▣ "They turned aside quickly from the way" There are two images here.

  1. The VERB (BDB 693, KB 747, Qal PERFECT) denotes an apostasy, cf. Exod. 32:8; Deut. 9:12; 11:16; 17:11, 17; 1 Sam. 12:20; Ps. 14:3; Jer. 5:23; 32:40; Ezek. 6:9
  2. "The way" denotes God's will as a clearly marked, straight, level road. Do not turn to the right or left, cf. Jdgs. 2:22; Deut. 5:32; Jos. 1:7; 2 Kgs. 22:2.
  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: APOSTASY (aphistēmi)

▣ "commandments" See SPECIAL TOPIC: TERMS FOR GOD'S REVELATION.

2:18 "the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning" This shows the basic character of YHWH, "mercy."

The fact that God was affected by His people's prayers clearly demonstrates that prayer makes a real difference.

This terminology is the same as Exod. 2:24; 3:9; 6:5, relating to Israel's time in Egyptian bondage.

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF ISRAEL'S GOD (OT)

  2. SPECIAL TOPIC: EFFECTIVE PRAYER

2:19 "their stubborn ways" Notice the character of Israel:

  1. "the stubbornness of this people" ‒ BDB 904, cf. Jdgs. 2:6, 7, 13, 24, 27
  2. "their wickedness" ‒ BDB 957, cf. Jer. 14:20; Ezek. 3:19; 33:12
  3. "their sin" ‒ BDB 308, cf. Exod. 32:30; Deut. 9:18; Ps. 32:5; 51:5; Pro. 5:22; 13:6; 14:34; 21:4; 24:9 (Deuteronomy shares the vocabulary of the sages of Hebrew Wisdom Literature)

2:20-21 The faithlessness of Israel changed how YHWH treated them.

2:20 "covenant" See SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT.

2:22 "to test Israel" See .

The subject could be

  1. YHWH
  2. Joshua
  3. what Joshua meant for a test had now turned into bondage
  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD TESTS HIS PEOPLE (OT)

2:23 There is only one God. He, unlike the idols, can hear, act, show mercy, and direct history. In the OT there is only one causality—God (cf. 2 Chr. 20:6; Eccl. 7:14; Isa. 14:24-27; 43:13; 45:7; 54:16; Jer. 18:11; Lam. 3:33-38; Amos 3:6).

  1. SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

  1. Who is the angel of the Lord?
  2. What does "covenant" mean?
  3. Why do people in the early part of the OT live so long?
  4. Define the word "know" in Jdgs. 2:10.
  5. Who are Ba'al and Astarte?
  6. What does it mean "to play the harlot"?
  7. How does Jdgs. 2:18 demonstrate the mercy of YHWH?
  8. What does it mean that Israel was "stubborn"?
  9. Does God test nations and people?
  10. Why was YHWH with Joshua during the initial conquest but not with the northern tribes later?

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