I mentioned in yesterday’s post that a true Biblical judge (Shophet in Hebrew) was literally a messiah-like figure who was sent by God to save certain parts of Israel from whatever trouble they found themselves embroiled in at the time.
Again, a shophet was NOT some stern looking person sitting in a court room on his high seat rendering judgements against the accused.
I also said that Yeshua was a good prototype for a Biblical judge.
But understand that’s only true to a degree.
We can only take that analogy so far because as the elected son of God, Yeshua’s status and authority were supremely special.
Now believe it or not, the Hebrew word Shophet or Shophetim doesn’t first appear here in the Book of Judges.
These terms actually first appear in the Book of Deuteronomy in chapters 16, 17 and 19.
The situation back then was all about appointing a leader who would succeed the High Priest as Israel’s next top dog leader.
And this type of judge (in Deuteronomy) actually did render legal judgements that covered both religious and military matters.
However, those responsibilities evolved over time due to changing circumstances.
This should be obvious.
Israel’s situation while dwelling in the wilderness was radically different from when they waged war against the Canaanites which was radically different from Israel’s situation here in the Book of Judges.
The truth be told, a shophet from the era of Judges would be completely indistinguishable from a shophet in Moses’ time.
Plus, there are disagreements between Hebrew and gentile scholars as to exactly how many judges God raised up for Israel.
Some say there were 12.
Others say there were 13.
Why the difference?
Because, as I’ve been saying man, the definition of what exactly a judge was varied quite widely.
For instance, Samuel is called a judge in the Bible but he doesn’t appear at all in the Book of Judges.
And come to think of it, the same goes for Eli as well.
However, Abimelech makes an appearance in the Book of Judges and the term Shophet is applied to him.
But most scholars reject him as a true Biblical judge.
Why?
Because God didn’t actually choose him to be a judge.
He appointed himself.
So homies, as you can see, depending on who you go to, the definition of a judge was a bit fuzzy.
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