Ãâó: http://archive.catholic.com/thisrock/1995/9506otg.asp
O l d T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
Judges & Ruth
By Antonio Fuentes
THIS book, which is the continuation of Joshua, takes its name
from the men whom God raised up to govern Israel for almost two centuries, from
the death of Joshua to the birth of Samuel. The biblical concept of
"judge" is not the same as ours; "judges" (liberators,
saviors) were people (they included one woman, Deborah) who were seasoned
warriors, sometimes chosen directly by God, sometimes by the people, who were
given the mission to protect Israel from attacks by its enemies and to take
possession (not without a struggle) of the territory earmarked for them in the
division; then, once peace reigned, their role was to administer justice.
In most cases their authority did not extend to all Israel but only to one tribe
or a group of tribes. This explains why there is no chronological succession in
the Judges: sometimes you find a number of Judges contemporary with each other.
Israel's unfaithfulness Before going into the narrative proper, the first
chapter gives a summary of the political and religious situation at the time.
After Joshua's death, now that each tribe had been assigned a particular
territory, each began to take possession of its lot, by force. However, they
soon realized that the territories allocated were not large enough to
accommodate each tribe. In some cases the tribe only managed to win part of the
territory or it had to share it with others: in other words, because Israel
failed to keep its part of the Covenant (it was supposed to destroy altars
erected to the Baals, the gods of the conquered lands), God would not give it
total victory.
Everything began to go badly, yet God had pity on them and sent them the Judges;
but, as soon as a Judge died the people again began to revert to idolatry. The
net result was that God did not wipe out, as they had expected, all the
inhabitants of the country (Sidonians, Philistines, etc).
The central part of the book (chap. 3, 6-16ff) deals with the vicissitudes
experienced by the various Judges, all of which are on the same lines:
infidelity leads to defeat, repentance to liberation; just as sin leads to
punishment, and confession to forgiveness. All this is contained in six long
narratives, interspersed with shorter accounts of the great deeds of the Judges.
The number of Judges is given as twelve, which may be taken as symbolizing the
perfect Israel: it is at least possible that there were other Judges, of lesser
importance, of whom no record remains.
The chronology of the book is somewhat artificial. Clearly the many references
to the figure 40 are symbolic. We see that the references to 40 years-40 years =
a generation-or its multiple (80) or its half (20) indicate that these numbers
are symbolic. Nor was all Israel affected by the oppression or liberation
described.
During this difficult period of settlement the Israelites had to fight the
Canaanites, the previous occupiers of the territory, whom Deborah and Barak
defeated on the plains of Esdraelon. Deborah was a prophetess, that is, a person
who spoke in God's name and also acted as an administration of justice,
resolving all kinds of litigious complaints, thanks to special divine
inspiration. She also ruled the people, led the army into battle, appointed
generals, declared war and won victory. Scripture also praises Barak, a humble
man, full of faith, who, recognizing that the spirit of Yahweh inspired Deborah,
worked in support of her (Judg. 4:8).
The Judges also had to fight against other neigh boring people-Moabites (Ehud),
Ammonites (Jephthah), Midianites (Gideon) and the Philistines, recently settled
on the coast (Samson).
The sacred text says of Samson that he would be dedicated to God from birth
(Judg. 13:5). God endowed him with enormous strength. His long hair was
connected with his being a Nazarite, consecrated to God. However, Samson was not
a Judge; he never led an army into battle against the enemies of Israel; his
deeds of prowess were isolated, some to defend himself, other indirectly to help
his peo ple fend off their enemies.
The book closes with two appendixes (chap. 17-21), which briefly describe the
dire straits of an Israel which has strayed from Yahweh on the path of idolatry.
Each of these two narratives ends in the same words: "In those days there
was no king in Israel" (18:1, 21-25)-apparently reflecting the general
attitudes of the Israelites at the time: they saw the establishment of a
monarchy as the only way out, and soon it came to be.
The inspired writer of this book prophesies that each of the Judges adores
Yahweh and is determined to be faithful to the Covenant. They all invoke God and
implore his protection before and after battles, for this purpose going to the
sanctuary of Shiloh, the center of worship of Yahweh at this period. The
struggles into which they are drawn to gain complete control of Canaan also have
the effect of binding the tribes of Israel together, since all make common
cause.
The book of Judges shows how the covenant made at Sinai worked out in practice:
Yahweh is protective of Israel as long as it stays faithful to its commitments,
and punishes it whenever it violates them. God wishes to show the Israelites
that oppression is a punishment for impiety, and victory a reward for
faithfulness. This is why Sirach( 46:12) praises the Judges and why the Letter
to the Hebrews (11:32-34) stresses that their exploits were the reward for their
faith and a lesson for us: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings
so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before
us" (Heb 12:1).
Ruth
Antonio Fuentes teaches theology at the University of Navarre, Spain
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