JUDGES, BOOK OF

so named from the ‘Judges’ who ruled over Israel. 1125 contains an account of the land itself; 26-16 gives in detail the history of the] thirteen judges. Reckoned consecutively with the intervals between them, the total period of the judges would be 410 years. But, as this is far too long, it is probable that several may have been contemporary, and the author has pieced the separate stories into one continuous narrative. Chapters 17-21 contain a sort of appendix. The book shows traces of the incorporation of older materials. The ‘Song of Deborah’ is among the most e ancient parts of Old Testament lit.