THE TWELVE JUDGES
Each time the Israelites repented of their sins and asked God for deliverance from their attackers, God sent a leader called a “Judge”. The Hebrew meaning included “ruler” or “leader”. “Tribunal ruler” is probably a better way of describing them. These heroic leaders often rallied the Israelites and drove off the oppressors.
JUDGE | YEARS | CLAIM TO FAME OF ACTIVITY |
Othniel | 40 | Defeated King of Aram, in what is now Syria. |
Ehud | 80 | Assassinated an oppressive king in what is now Jordan then led a successful revolt. |
Shamgar | unknown | Killed 600 Philistines with an ox herder’s stick. |
Deborah | 40 | Led an army of foot soldiers that defeated an invading chariot corps. |
Gideon | 40 | With 300 men,drove off 135,000 invaders from Midian, a nation in what is now Jordan or Saudi Arabia. |
Tola | 23 | Considered a minor “Judge”, a descendant of Dodo. |
Jair | 22 | Had 20 sons, who owned 30 towns in the rich grazing land of Gilead, in what is now Jordan. |
Jephthah | 6 | Defeated ammonites, and honored his vow celebrate victory by sacrificing his only child,a daughter |
Ibzan | 7 | Had 30 sons and 30 daughters. |
Elon | 10 | unknown |
Abdon | 8 | Had 40 sons and 30 grandsons, all of whom rode donkeys—suggesting a time of prosperity and peace. |
Samson | 40 | A strongman who killed a lion with his bare hands and waged a one-man war against the Philistines, killing 1,000 with a donkey’s jawbone and then killing himself and thousands more when he pushed down the support pillars of a temple. |