as judge and prophet, but still as the servant of Jehovah, only to see it so abused by his sons as to
exhaust the patience of the people, who at length demanded a king, after the pattern of the
surrounding nations. The following is a list of judges, whose history is given under their respective
names:— First servitude, to Mesopotamia— 8 years. First judge: Othniel. 40 years. Second servitude,
to Moab— 18 years. Second judge: Ehud; 80 years. Third judge: Shamgar.—- Third servitude, to
Jabin and Sisera— 20 years. Fourth judge: Deborah and Barak. 40 years. Fourth servitude, to
Midian— 7 years. Fifth judge: Gideon; 40 years. Sixth judge: Abimelech; 3 years. Seventh judge:
Tola; 23 years. Eighth judge: Jair. 22 years. Fifth servitude, to Ammon— 18 years. Ninth judge:
Jephthah; 6 years. Tenth judge: Ibzan; 7 years. Eleventh judge: Elon; 10 years. Twelfth judge:
Abdon. 8 years. Sixth servitude, to the Philistines— 40 years. Thirteenth judge: Samson 20 years.
Fourteenth judge: Eli; 40 years. Fifteenth judge: Samuel. More than likely some of these ruled
simultaneously. On the chronology of the judges, see the following article.
Judges, Book Of
of which the book or Ruth formed originally a part, contains a history from Joshua to Samson.
The book may be divided into two parts:—
•Chs. 1-16. We may observe in general on this portion of the book that it is almost entirely a history
of the wars of deliverance.
•Chs. 17-21. This part has no formal connection with the preceding, and is often called an appendix.
The period to which the narrative relates is simply marked by the expression, “when there was no
king in Israel.” ch. (Judges 19:1; 18:1) It records— (a) The conquest of Laish by a portion of the
tribe of Dan, and the establishment there of the idolatrous worship of Jehovah already instituted
by Micah in Mount Ephraim. (b) The almost total extinction of the tribe of Benjamin. Chs. 17-21
are inserted both as an illustration of the sin of Israel during the time of the judges and as presenting
a contrast with the better order prevailing in the time of the kings. The time commonly assigned
to the period contained in this book is 299 years. The dates given in the last article amount to 410
years, without the 40 years of Eli; but in (1 Kings 6:1) the whole period from the exodus to the
building of the temple is stated as 480 years. But probably some of the judges were contemporary,
so that their total period is 299 years instead of 410. Mr. Smith in his Old Testament history gives
the following approximate dates: Periods...Years— Ending about B.C.:
•From the exodus to the passage of Jordan...40— 1451.
•To the death of Joshua and the surviving elders...[40]— 1411.
•Judgeship of Othniel...40— 1371. 4,5. Judgeship of Ehud (Shamgar included)...80— 1291.
•Judgeship of Deborah and Barak...40— 1251.
•Judgeship of Gideon...40— 1211. 8,9. Abimelech to Abdon, total...[80]— 1131.
•Oppression of the Philistines, contemporary with the judgeships of Eli, Samson (and
Samuel?)...40— 1091.
•Reign of Saul (including perhaps Samuel)...40— 1051.
•Reign of David...40— 1011. Total...480. On the whole, it seems safer to give up the attempt to
ascertain the chronology exactly.
Judgment Hall
The word praetorium is so translated five times in the Authorized Version of the New Testament,
and in those five passages it denotes two different places.
•In (John 18:28,33; 19:9) it is the residence which Pilate occupied when he visited Jerusalem. The
site of Pilate’s praetorium in Jerusalem has given rise to much dispute, some supposing it to be
frankie
(Frankie)
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