ABSTRACT

It is a mistake to suppose that in a state of society like that in Israel in the days of the Judges, which to us must seem crude and unorganised, the individual, though possessed of strong qualities or unusual talents of some kind, had no opportunities for their exercise, for the fact is, such an enyironment creates or produces just the men it needs for peculiar and difficult tasks, or for what may prove to them delightful services. 1 Opportunities may, it is true, be limited, the theatre for the exercise of unusual gifts may be small, but the capacity for something outside the ordinary has not to cease for want of exercise. Considering the time covered by the period of the Judges, some two and a half or three centuries, which carry us to the close of the life of Saul (for his life, as does the life of Samuel, falls within this period) we have but few stories of remarkable men, few names, indeed, of such—fewer than we have been wont to think, if the names of the so-called minor Judges are simply clan names, as has been lately surmised. Many men may have come into some sort of local prominence, distinguishing themselves in battle or in other ways, for society was far from being organised solely on a war basis, but few such are mentioned in the fragmentary literary remains of the period. And the leading men celebrated in folk-story or song, as Gideon or Jephthah, for example, probably played a much smaller part territorially and in point of time than is commonly supposed. Only in the thought of later time, in the days of the kings, were they regarded as judges or rulers who exercised authority for long periods over all Israel. They could at the most have done little more than incite their own and neighbouring clans at a time of some great peril, and so vindicate those interested and involved. In doing this they made a name for themselves, so that the people thought of them as available in case they should again find themselves in extremity. In rare instances, as apparently was the case with Abimelech, they might be inclined to usurp authority and might be able to lord it over their fellow-clansmen, but as a rule they became little more than inspirational centres around which thought and grateful affection crystallised; their influence was moral rather than physical. Where their achievements were so noteworthy as to pass into folk-story or song, their influence must have been incalculably felt by their contemporaries and by later generations. In some instances they may have become the permanent leaders or chiefs of their clans during life, but as a rule the civil heads were men who had less remarkably distinguished themselves. We know almost nothing of the civil heads of clans. Then, as now, the man who did the unusual thing was the man who was honoured. The laborious civil servants, very likely, received as their reward, abundant contemporary criticism, and at their demise speedy oblivion. Of such men there must have been many in Israel. These more obscure men were potent influences in shaping and in giving character to the clans, though they may have done little as compared with the military leaders and heroes in the way of unifying these clans. Unfortunately, we know next to nothing of these men, and it is unreasonable to suppose that later investigations will greatly aid us here. In speaking, then, of the influence of individuals upon the social life of the period, we must necessarily dwell chiefly upon those leaders of whose lives we have fragmentary stories which contain at least a few authentic, indisputable facts and a considerable body of sociological data. That there were many more who were worthy of mention, and who for a time were celebrated in song, is undoubtedly true. Scholars are not amiss in discovering reasons for the retention of most of the hero-tales that have been preserved. The more perplexing question which they have to face, and cannot answer, has to do with the number and achievements of those whose names even have disappeared.