by David E. Pratte - Bible Study Lessons

1 Commentary on the Book of Judges Bible Study Notes and Comments by David E. Pratte Available in print at Study Notes on Judges Page #2 Commentary on the Book of Judges: Bible Study Notes and Comments Copyright David E. Pratte , 2016 All rights reserved ISBN-13: 978-1523719693 ISBN-10: 1523719699 Note carefully: No teaching in any of our materials is intended or should ever be construed to justify or to in any way incite or encourage personal vengeance or physical violence against any person. Front Page Photo The Valley of Jezreel Where Gideon s men defeated the Midianites Then all the Midianites and Amalekites, the people of the East, gathered together; and they crossed over and encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing and they cried, The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!

2 And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. Judges 6:33; 7:20,21 (NKJV) Photo credit: distributed under creative commons license, via Wikimedia Commons Other Acknowledgements Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are generally from the New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are from Holy Bible , New American Standard La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible , English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

3 Scripture quotations marked (MLV) are from Modern Literal Version of The New Testament, Copyright 1999 by G. Allen Walker. Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible , copyright 1952 by the Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the New International Version of the Holy Bible , copyright 1978 by Zondervan Bible publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Page #3 Study Notes on Judges Other Books by the Author Topical Bible Studies Growing a Godly Marriage & Raising Godly Children Why Believe in God, Jesus, and the Bible ? (evidences) The God of the Bible ( Study of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Grace, Faith, and Obedience: The Gospel or Calvinism?

4 Kingdom of Christ: Future Millennium or Present Spiritual Reign? Do Not Sin Against the Child: Abortion, Unborn Life, & the Bible True Words of God: Bible Inspiration and Preservation Commentaries on Bible Books Genesis Joshua and Ruth Judges 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther Job Proverbs Ecclesiastes Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Mark Gospel of John Acts Romans Galatians Ephesians Philippians and Colossians Hebrews James and Jude 1 and 2 Peter 1,2,3 John Bible Question Class Books Genesis Joshua and Ruth Judges 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther Job Proverbs Ecclesiastes Isaiah Daniel Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Mark Gospel of Luke Gospel of John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians and Galatians Ephesians and Philippians Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon Hebrews General Epistles (James Jude) Revelation Workbooks with Study Notes Jesus Is Lord.

5 Workbook on the Fundamentals of the Gospel of Christ Following Jesus: Workbook on Discipleship God s Eternal Purpose in Christ: Workbook on the Theme of the Bible Family Reading Booklist Visit our website at to see a current list of books in print. Study Notes on Judges Page #4 Other Resources from the Author Printed books, booklets, and tracts available at Free Bible Study articles online at Free Bible courses online at Free class books at Free commentaries on Bible books at Contact the author at Page #5 Study Notes on Judges Table of Contents Introduction to Judges .. 9 Judges 1 .. 16 Judges 2 .. 24 Judges 3 .. 32 Judges 4 .. 38 Judges 5 .. 45 Judges 6 .. 52 Judges 65 Judges 8 .. 74 Judges 9 .. 83 Judges 10 .. 94 Judges 11 .. 99 Judges 12 .. 116 Judges 13.

6 120 Judges 14 .. 126 Judges 15 .. 133 Judges 16 .. 138 Judges 17 .. 147 Judges 18 .. 152 Judges 19 .. 158 Judges 20 .. 167 Judges 21 .. 176 (Due to printer reformatting, the above numbers may be off a page or two.) Study Notes on Judges Page #6 Notes to the Reader To save space and for other reasons, I have chosen not to include the Bible text in these notes (please use your Bible to follow along). When I do quote a Scripture, I generally quote the New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated. Often especially when I do not use quotations marks I am not quoting any translation but simply paraphrasing the passage in my own words. Also, when I ask the reader to refer to a map, please consult the maps at the back of your Bible or in a Bible dictionary.

7 You can find Study questions to accompany these notes at To join our mailing list to be informed of new books or special sales, contact the author at Page #7 Study Notes on Judges Introductory Thoughts about Commentaries Only the Scriptures provide an infallible, authoritatively inspired revelation of God s will for man (2 Timothy 3:16,17). It follows that this commentary, like all commentaries, was written by an uninspired, fallible human. It is the author s effort to share his insights about God s word for the purpose of instructing and edifying others in the knowledge and wisdom found in Scripture. It is simply another form of teaching, like public preaching, Bible class teaching, etc., except in written form (like tracts, Bible class literature, etc.)

8 Nehemiah 8:8; Ephesians 4:15,16; Romans 15:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:12-14; 5:12-14; 10:23-25; Romans 10:17; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 8:4; 2 Timothy 2:2,24-26; 4:2-4; 1 Peter 3:15. It follows that the student must read any commentary with discernment, realizing that any fallible teacher may err, whether he is teaching orally or in writing. So, the student must compare all spiritual teaching to the truth of God s word (Acts 17:11). It may be wise to read several commentaries to consider alternative views on difficult points. But it is especially important to consider the reasons or evidence each author gives for his views, then compare them to the Bible . For these reasons, the author urges the reader to always consider my comments in light of Scripture.

9 Accept what I say only if you find that it harmonizes with God s word. And please do not cite my writings as authority, as though people should accept anything I say as authoritative. Always let the Bible be your authority. He who glories, let him glory in the Lord 1 Corinthians 1:31 Study Notes on Judges Page #8 Abbreviations Used in These Notes ASV American Standard Version b/c/v - book, chapter, and verse ESV English Standard Version f - the following verse ff - the following verses KJV King James Version NASB New American Standard Bible NEB New English Bible NIV New International Version NKJV New King James Version RSV Revised Standard Version Page #9 Study Notes on 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.

10 Horne says: There is a considerable diversity of opinion as to the person by whom this book of Judges was written .. But the best founded opinion seems to be, that it was written by the prophet Samuel, the last of the Judges; and in this opinion the Jews themselves coincide. Theme A history of the period between the death of Joshua and the birth of Samuel, describing Israel s repeated apostasies into idolatry and God s deliverance when they repented. A list of the periods of Bible history We may divide Bible history into the following fifteen periods: 1. Before the Flood (from Creation to the flood) 2. After the Flood (from the flood to the call of Abraham) 3. Patriarchs the Israelite fathers or heads of families (from the call of Abraham to the death of Joseph) 4.