Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
So far, we have covered seven of the 15 judges mentioned in the book of Judges. They are the more commonly known judges, merely because there is more written about them. That leaves eight remaining judges, for whom very little is known. Often their entire life is summarized in just a couple of verses. They […]
One of Gideon’s sons was Abimelech. It is arguable if Abimelech should be counted as a judge. If so, he would be classified as a failure, for he violently seized power, did not fight for or liberate his people from foreign powers, but instead fought internally, with much loss of life as a result—including his […]
Deborah is another familiar judge, with two chapters in the book of Judges devoted to her. There are some noteworthy facts about her: First, she is the only female judge in the entire book. This was very counter-cultural for the day—and very cool! Second, she was the only judge who actually “held court”—which would be […]
Gideon Tells His Men to Follow His Example Just before Gideon goes to battle, he tells his men to “watch me,” “follow my lead,” and “do exactly what I do.” His men do and God uses their collective actions to throw the enemy into complete confusion. As a result, a great victory is won. Gideon’s actions […]
The Judge Gives God a Fleece Ultimately, Gideon, the Judge, obeys God and realizes a great victory, but he first needs a lot of confirmation to deal with his doubts: Gideon first asks for a sign that the angel had really spoken God’s words. God acquiesces; when the angel touches his staff to the food […]
Of all the characters mentioned in the book of Judges, the most familiar is likely Samson. This may be because four of the book’s 21 chapters are devoted to him. Another reason may be his unwise, yet intriguing, dalliance with Delilah. As a person, Samson did not have much in his favor. He was self-centered, […]
15 People in the Book of Judges When I think of a judge, I immediately conjure up an image of a person wearing a black robe and presiding over a hearing or trial. Indeed, that is the primary definition of the word “judge.” However, that understanding is greatly misleading when reading the book of Judges […]
The book of Joshua opens by confirming the death of Moses, followed by a curious instruction: Now you go into the Promised Land. Imagine that, an entire nation was put on hold, unable to move—until Moses died. Moses had to die for them to receive what God had promised to give them. What if Moses […]
In my post “Translation Confusion,” I pointed out that the Bible has word-for-word translations, thought-for-thought translations, and paraphrases (more technically known as “functional equivalence”). These all exist on a continuum, so the lines of distinction between them are blurry. Here is how Ministry Today magazine recently broke them down: Word-for-word Translations Popular word-for-word translations are […]
After spending 430 years in Egypt, the Israelites are finally free. They head out for the Promised Land and one of the first things they do is complain. They beg to go back to Egypt. Then they spend forty years in the desert. When they finally cross the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land, […]