Written by Samuel in Israel. The writing was completed c. 1100 B.C.E. The time covered is from c. 1450 to c. 1120 B.C.E.
Judah and Simeon’s conquests (1-20)
Jebusites persist in Jerusalem (21)
Joseph takes Bethel (22-26)
Canaanites not completely driven out (27-36)
Warning from Jehovah’s angel (1-5)
Death of Joshua (6-10)
Judges raised up to save Israel (11-23)
We must have a regular program of Bible study so as ‘not to forget Jehovah’s doings.’ (Psalm 103:2) Parents need to sound down the truth of God’s Word into the hearts of their children.—Deuteronomy 6:6-9.
2:14, 21, 22. Jehovah allows bad things to happen to his disobedient people for a purpose—to chastise them, to refine them, and to move them to return to him.
Jehovah tests Israel (1-6)
Othniel, the first judge (7-11)
Judge Ehud kills fat King Eglon (12-30)
Judge Shamgar (31)
from workbook November–December 2021
Canaanite King Jabin oppresses Israel (1-3)
Prophetess Deborah and Judge Barak (4-16)
Jael kills army chief Sisera (17-24)
4:8—Why did Barak insist that the prophetess Deborah go with him to the battlefield? Evidently, Barak felt inadequate to go up against Sisera’s army by himself. Having the prophetess with him would reassure him and his men that they had God’s guidance and would give them confidence. Barak’s insistence that Deborah accompany him, then, was not a sign of weakness but of strong faith.
from workbook November–December 2021
Victory song of Deborah and Barak (1-31)
Stars fight against Sisera (20)
Torrent of Kishon floods (21)
Those loving Jehovah are like the sun (31)
The Bible does not say whether this involved angelic assistance, meteorite showers that were interpreted ominously by Sisera’s wise men, or perhaps astrological predictions for Sisera that proved false. Undoubtedly, however, there was some type of divine intervention.
Midian oppresses Israel (1-10)
An angel assures Judge Gideon of support (11-24)
Gideon tears down altar of Baal (25-32)
God’s spirit active on Gideon (33-35)
The fleece test (36-40)
Gideon used discretion so as not to anger his opposers needlessly. When preaching the good news, we must be careful not to offend others unduly by the way we speak.
from workbook November–December 2021
Jehovah expects us to use the strength we have to worship him. His holy spirit can make up for any lack and give us success.—Isa 40:30, 31.
Gideon and his 300 men (1-8)
Gideon’s army defeats Midian (9-25)
“The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!” (20)
Confusion in the Midianite camp (21, 22)
Ephraimites quarrel with Gideon (1-3)
Midianite kings pursued and killed (4-21)
Gideon refuses kingship (22-27)
Summary of Gideon’s life (28-35)
In spite of Gideon’s good intentions to commemorate the victory Jehovah had given Israel and to honor God, the ephod “served as a snare to Gideon and to his household,” because the Israelites committed spiritual immorality by worshiping it. (Jg 8:27) However, the Bible does not say that Gideon himself worshiped it; on the contrary, he is specifically named by the apostle Paul as one of the ‘great cloud’ of faithful pre-Christian witnesses of Jehovah.—Heb 11:32; 12:1.
from workbook November–December 2021
See map B6 to visualize the strategy. Broadcasting April 2023 at 0:37:55 to get the uniting bond of peace.
A few years later, as described in Judges 12, the Ephraimites pulled the same trick, accused Jephtha. It didn’t end in unity.
Abimelech becomes king in Shechem (1-6)
Jotham’s parable (7-21)
Abimelech’s violent rule (22-33)
Abimelech assaults Shechem (34-49)
Woman wounds Abimelech; he dies (50-57)
Judges Tola and Jair (1-5)
Israel rebels and repents (6-16)
Ammonites threaten Israel (17, 18)
Judge Jephthah expelled, later made leader (1-11)
Jephthah reasons with Ammon (12-28)
Jephthah’s vow and his daughter (29-40)
Daughter’s life of singleness (38-40)
The mother of Jephthah was “a prostitute woman,” not meaning, however, that Jephthah was born of prostitution or was illegitimate. His mother had been a prostitute prior to her marriage as a secondary wife to Gilead, just as Rahab had once been a prostitute but later married Salmon. (Jg 11:1; Jos 2:1; Mt 1:5) That Jephthah was not illegitimate is proved by the fact that his half brothers by Gilead’s primary wife drove him out so that he would not share in the inheritance. (Jg 11:2) Additionally, Jephthah later became the accepted leader of the men of Gilead (of whom Jephthah’s half brothers seemed to be foremost). (Jg 11:11) Moreover, he offered a sacrifice to God at the tabernacle. (Jg 11:30, 31) None of these things would have been possible for an illegitimate son, for the Law specifically stated: “No illegitimate son may come into the congregation of Jehovah. Even to the tenth generation none of his may come into the congregation of Jehovah.”—De 23:2.
from workbook November–December 2021
In what specific ways am I demonstrating that I am a spiritual person?
Conflict with the Ephraimites (1-7)
Shibboleth test (6)
Judges Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (8-15)
An angel visits Manoah and his wife (1-23)
Birth of Samson (24, 25)
from workbook November–December 2021
Judge Samson seeks a Philistine wife (1-4)
Samson kills a lion by Jehovah’s spirit (5-9)
Samson’s riddle at the wedding (10-19)
Samson’s wife given to another man (20)
In what way was this particular Philistine woman “just right” for Samson? Not in the sense that she was “beautiful, engaging, attractive,” suggests McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia, “but right relative to an end, purpose, or object.” Relative to what end? Judges 14:4 explains that Samson “was looking for an opportunity against the Philistines.” Samson was interested in the woman for that purpose. As Samson grew to adulthood, “Jehovah’s spirit started to impel him,” or stir him to action. (Judges 13:25) So the spirit of Jehovah was the driving force behind Samson’s unusual request for a wife as well as his entire career as judge over Israel. Did Samson get the opportunity he was seeking? Let us first consider how Jehovah assured him of divine backing.
Samson’s revenge on the Philistines (1-20)
Samson in Gaza (1-3)
Samson and Delilah (4-22)
Samson’s revenge and death (23-31)
Samson was single-minded in the pursuit of his objective, his fight against the Philistines. His staying at the house of a prostitute at Gaza was for the purpose of fighting against God’s enemies. Samson needed a lodging place for the night in an enemy city, and it could be found in the house of a prostitute. Samson had no immoral purpose in mind. He left the woman’s house at midnight, grabbed the city gates and the two side posts, and carried them to the top of a mountain near Hebron, which was some 37 miles [60 km] away. This was done with divine approval and God-given strength.—Judges 16:1-3.
from workbook January–February 2022
Jehovah rewards those who remain loyal.—Ps 18:25, 26.
Micah’s idols and his priest (1-13)
from workbook January–February 2022
The Danites look for land (1-31)
Micah’s idols and priest captured (14-20)
Laish taken and renamed Dan (27-29)
Idol worship in Dan (30, 31)
Benjaminites’ sex crime in Gibeah (1-30)
The evidence for retaining God’s name in the Bible has not diminished but grown. The 2013 revision of the New World Translation includes the name 7,216 times, which is 6 more than the 1984 edition. Five of the additional instances are found at 1 Samuel 2:25; 6:3; 10:26; 23:14, 16. These were restored primarily because the Dead Sea Scrolls, which predate the Hebrew Masoretic text by over 1,000 years, contain the name in these verses. Also, one occurrence at Judges 19:18 was restored as a result of further study of ancient manuscripts.
War against the Benjaminites (1-48)
The sling was the weapon that David used to slay the giant Goliath. David apparently learned to use this weapon during his years as a shepherd boy.—1 Samuel 17:40-50.
The sling is depicted in both the Egyptian and the Assyrian art from Bible times. The weapon consisted of an open pocket of leather or cloth attached to two straps or cords. The slinger would place in this pouch a smooth or rounded stone measuring two to three inches (5 to 7.5 cm) in diameter and weighing perhaps nine ounces (250 g). He would then whirl the sling above his head and release one of the cords, causing the stone to fly out with great force and accuracy.
Excavations in the Middle East have yielded great numbers of slingstones from wars in ancient times. Skilled warriors may have slung stones at speeds of 100 to 150 miles an hour (160 to 240 km/h). Scholars disagree on whether the sling had the range of a bow, but a sling could certainly prove just as lethal.—Judges 20:16.
from workbook January–February 2022
Benjamin saved as a tribe (1-25)