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REL 101 - Old Testament Survey
Web Based Class
Judges 1:16 - "the City of Palm Trees" refers to Jericho, built at an oasis where a stream comes out of the cliffs west of the town. The region beyond the oasis is barren and treeless.
Judges 1:19 - "chariots of iron" the coastal peoples had trading contact with the Hittites, who were among the first people to work iron. At this time the Israelites had bronze weapons only.
Judges 1:21 - this verse must have been written before the time of king David, who took Jerusalem from the Jebusites (II Samuel 5:6-7)
Judges 1:27-2:5 - God had told the Israelites to destroy all traces of the Canaanites, but whether from greed and expediency or from misplaced mercy, the Israelites allowed many of them to live. As a result, the Israelites began to mix with the Canaanites, and picked up some of their religious perversions such as child sacrifice and religious prostitution.
Judges 4:5 - the place where Deborah lived is still a village in northern Israel, called Dabburyah by the Arab population.
Judges 5:16-17 - some of the tribes did not come to the help of Deborah and Barak.
Judges 6:25-32 - a picture of how far Israel had strayed from worship of God - the people not only had built an altar to Baal, the Canaanite storm and fertility god, but wanted to kill Gideon for tearing it down.
Judges 7:5-7 - Those who went down on their knees to drink probably let go of their weapons, and certainly were unable to keep a watch on their surroundings. Those who lapped probably remained standing, and cupped water up in one hand to drink, thus demonstrating their preparedeness for danger.
Judges 8:27 - No-one is sure now what an ephod was, except that it was associated with the high Priest and with the worship of God (Exodus 28:4-29).
Judges 9:45 - "sowed it with salt" means that they ploughed salt into the ground so that plants would not grow well - it would not be possible for anyone to grow good crops for years to come. The Romans did this to Jerusalem after the revolt of AD 70.
Judges 17:1-2 - Micah had stolen the money from his mother, but evidently when he heard her put a curse on it he dared not keep it, but restored it to her.
Judges 17:3-6 - Micah and his mother engage in practices which God had absolutley forbidden - making graven images for worship, consecrating 'priests' who were not of the Aaronic line, and making an ephod and teraphim (little household gods).
Judges 17:6, 21:25 - verses which summarize the anarchy of the period of the Judges - "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" ie. they did not bother to check out whether or not things were right in God's eyes.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
Department of Religion
ENMU
Portales, NM 88130
Last Updated: January 1, 2007
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