After the Israelites had entered the Promised Land, they succumbed to idols and the practices of the

world around them, and the countries which bordered theirs. Because of this, God placed rulers known
as judges in the land (hence why an entire book of the Bible bears the name Judges, to show the
accounts of these people).

12 JUDGES OF ISRAEL

1. Othniel
2. Ehud
3. Shamgar
4. Deborah
5. Gideon
6. Tola
7. Jair
8. Jephthah
9. Ibzan
10. Elon
11. Abdon
12. Samson

YT REF: https://youtu.be/kOYy8iCfIJ4

CC: https://www.askanadventistfriend.com/understanding-the-bible/old-testament/judges-of-israel/
BOOK OF JUDGES

The main purpose of the book of Judges is to show God’s

faithfulness to deliver His people when they turn to Him.
But there is more than just that it shows how sin and evil
can bring bondage into your life. It reveals truths
throughout it’s stories how God can use the unlikely to
bring forth amazing things when the submit themselves to
God.
The Constant Cycle of Disobedience and Rebellion
Mga story dito is about each judges and how Israel once again falls into sin.

WHO WERE THE JUDGES OF THE BIBLE

1. Othniel
2. Ehud
3. Shamgar
4. Deborah
5. Gideon
6. Tola
7. Jair
8. Jephthah
9. Ibzan
10. Elon
11. Abdon
12. Samson
OTHNIEL
Name means - Strength of God or Lion of God

Kenaz – his Father

Caleb – brother

Achsah – wife & niece (married Caleb’s daughter Acsah after capturing Kiriath Sepher)

Hathath and Meonothai – sons

1st judge of Israel, after the death of Joshua, delivered the Israelites from the oppression of
Chushanrishathaim.

Judged Israel for 8 yrs and brought 40 yrs of peace

STORY

3:5 The Israelis continued to live among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the
Hivites, and the Jebusites, 6 taking their daughters as wives for themselves, giving their own daughters
to their sons, and serving their gods. 7 The Israelis kept on practicing evil in full view of the LORD. They
forgot the LORD their God and served Canaanite male and female deities. 8 Then in his burning anger
against Israel, the LORD delivered them to domination by King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim. So
the Israelis served Cushan-rishathaim for eight years. 9 When the Israelis cried out to the LORD, the
LORD raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, to deliver them, and he did. 10 The Spirit
of the LORD was on him, and he governed Israel. When Othniel went out to battle, the LORD handed
king Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim into his control, and Othniel’s domination of Cushan-
rishathaim was strong. 11 As a result, the land was quiet for 40 years. Then Kenaz’ son Othniel died.

Judges 3:7-11

Key Achievements of Judge Othniel

- He captured a powerful Canaanite city.

- He won the hand of Caleb’s daughter Achsah by attacking and capturing Kiriath-sepher.

CC: https://bibleview.org/en/bible/judges/othniel/

https://amazingbibletimeline.com/blog/othniel-a-judge-of-israel/
EHUD
means, I will give thanks: I will be praised or “undivided, union”
2nd judge
he hails from the tribe of Benjamin
son of Gera the Benjamite

STORY

Judges 3:12-20: "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the
Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him,
Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were
subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave
them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with
tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit long, which he
strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a
very fat man. After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. But
on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a
secret message for you.” The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left. Ehud then
approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, “I have a message
from God for you.” As the king rosefrom his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from
his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels
discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Then Ehud went out to the
porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them. After he had gone, the
servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in
the inner room of the palace.” They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open
the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor,
dead. While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. When he
arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him
from the hills, with him leading them. “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab, your
enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan that
led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. At that time they struck down about ten thousand
Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the
land had peace for eighty years."

SUMMARY:

Ehud straps an eighteen-inch sword to his right side (where a left-handed person would grab a sword)
and goes to the king of Moab, Eglon, to deliver a “secret message” and present tribute.
After guards likely checked his left side (where right-handed people would grab a sword) for weapons, he
strides confidently into the palace with a weapon hidden underneath his clothing.

Once he convinces the king to get them secluded in the private upper room of the palace to hear the
secret message, he stabs King Eglon with the sword. King Eglon is so large that his fat absorbs the hilt,
and he dies.

Unfortunately for Eglon, he chose the inner room, which was synonymous with a restroom. So while
Ehud makes his daring escape, after locking the doors to the room, the servants awkwardly wait outside
for the king to finish relieving himself.

After some time of determining the king has spent far too long in the bathroom, they unlock the doors to
check on the king … only to find he had died.

He then led the tribe of Ephraim to seize the fords of the Jordan, where they killed about 10,000
Moabite soldiers. As a result, Israel enjoyed peace for about 80 years.

CC: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/ehud-the-most-interesting-judge-
youve-never-heard-of.html

SHAMGAR
means, Sword

3rd judge of Israel

son of ANATH - was not a person but a false deity. She was a Semitic goddess of love and war, the sister
and helpmate of the god Baal. This helps solidify the notion that Shamgar was not an Israelite.

One verse of the Bible summarizes his period of leadership. Judges 3:31 says, “After Ehud came Shamgar
son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.”

An oxgoad was usually a strong stick about eight feet long used to prod oxen pulling a plow.

Judges 3:31 does not specify whether his success came in one battle (as with Samson) or in a series of
battles. The only other judge to show such strength would be Samson.

Judges 5:6 also mentions Shamgar and his times. Deborah and Barak’s song records, “In the days of
Shamgar son of Anath, / in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned; / travelers took to winding
paths.” From these words, we discover that in Shamgar’s time people traveled carefully and in much fear
due to oppression by the Philistines (and possibly other enemies).

CC: https://www.gotquestions.org/who-was-Shamgar.html
DEBORAH
means, bee

Deborah “held court under a palm tree”.

True to the cycle of the times, the Lord sent a Judge to save the people – the prophetess, Deborah.
Deborah is the only judge described as a prophet and actually filling the role of a judge. A prophetess is a
woman whom God chooses to convey His special messages to others.

Deborah of the tribe of Ephraim gets the credit for being the only female judge, as well as one of the few
female prophets (Judges 4:4). She supported Barak of Naphtali in leading an army to defeat the
Canaanite king Jabin and his commander Sisera.

Deborah is also the only one in the book of Judges that seems to be performing a truly judicial role.
Judges 4:5 says,

“She used to sit under the palm of Deborah…and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment”
(ESV).

Her spirituality and wisdom earned her the title “mother in Israel” (Judges 5:7, NKJV) and brought peace
to the nation for 40 years.

STORY

Deborah, a Judge, used to hold court while sitting beneath a palm tree. She was wise and helped the
people solve their problems. She told Barak, commander of an army of Israel, that the Lord wanted him
to fight an enemy named Sisera. Barak refused to fight unless Deborah accompanied him. She went
along and they defeated Sisera’s army. During the battle, Sisera escaped and hid in the tent of a woman
named Jael. During the night Jael killed Sisera in his sleep.

CC: https://missionbibleclass.org/old-testament/part2/judges-and-
ruth/deborah/#:~:text=Story%20Overview%3A%20Deborah%2C%20a%20Judge%2C%20used%20to%20h
old,Barak%20refused%20to%20fight%20unless%20Deborah%20accompanied%20him.
FULL STORY:

One famous Judge was a woman. Her name was Deborah. Deborah was so wise that everyone wanted to
listen to what she said. She used to sit under a palm tree and let people come and ask her advice. The
Lord knew that Deborah was a good woman. Deborah spoke the words that the Lord wanted her to.
Sometimes she would help people by telling them what the Lord wanted them to do.

It was good that Deborah talked to the people because they were very unhappy. Many people had
stopped following God. Israel’s enemies were very mean. One enemy, Jabin, had a big army that used to
hurt the Israelites. The people were sorry that they were not obeying the Lord. They wanted Him to help
them. Deborah asked the leader of Israel’s army to come to her. His name was Barak. She told him that
the Lord wanted him to go into battle and fight Jabin’s army. Deborah told Barak that the Lord would
help him and that he would win the battle.

Barak did not want to go alone. He knew that the enemy had a very strong general in charge of their
army. The general’s name was Sisera. Barak told Deborah that he would not go to battle unless she went
with him. Usually women did not go to battle but Deborah said she would help Barak. Deborah told
Barak that because he needed a woman to help him then a woman would defeat Sisera.

Barak gathered an army of 10,000 men. Sisera had a huge army and 900 iron chariots. When Deborah
told Barak to begin the fight, the army rushed down into a valley to fight against Sisera’s army and all of
the strong chariots. Then an amazing thing happened. Clouds gathered and rain started to fall. So much
rain fell that the valley flooded. All of the iron chariots got stuck in the mud! Sisera’s army began to run
away.

Sisera started running too. He ran and ran until he came to the tent of a woman named Jael. She invited
the general of the enemy into her tent. Jael was tricking Sisera. When morning came, Barak came
searching for Sisera so that he could capture him. Sisera was dead. It was just like Deborah had said: a
woman defeated Sisera!