ABSTRACT
According to Joshua, the land is decisively conquered; but in Judges, it is a loose confederation without a king, a land of warlords. The purposeful drive of previous books is lacking; any overall leadership comes from ‘judges’, seeing themselves as God-chosen leaders. The conquered peoples rebel, surrounding nations invade, including the Philistines, moving from the sea into the south-west. The following passage is typical; its special interest is that ‘Deborah’s Song’ is generally acknowledged to be the oldest text in the Bible, perhapsc.twelfth century bc. Other incidents in Judges are: Gideon’s campaigns ( Chapters 6–8); the fable of the trees (9:6–21); Jephthah’s daughter (Chapter 11); Samson and Delilah ( Chapters 13–16).
