The Hebrrew title for what we call the book of Judges is Shopetim—not really “judges” in our modern sense, but something more like “liberators” or “military leaders.”
The period of the judges fell between the Israelite settlement in Canaan and the time when Israel had its first king, Saul.
The book of Judges repeats a familiar story: The Israelites forget the true God and worship idols; God allows a neighboring nation to punish them; they beg for a deliverer, and God sends them a mighty man to help quell the enemy.
Then the pattern repeats. A total of fifteen judges are listed. The most famous judges were Gideon (see 348 [laying out the fleece]), Samson (see 499), Jephthah (see 469), and the one female judge, Deborah (see 513).
The theme of the book is this: “In those days Israel had no king: everyone did as he saw fit” (Judg. 21:25 NIV).
