So we’ve been introduced to the first judge of Israel: Othniel.
He was from the tribe of Judah and battled against Kushan-Rish’atayim to expel him from the southern territories of Canaan.
We learned that Kushan also hailed from the southern desert region of Edom and NOT Aram.
Saying Kushan-Rish’atayim was from Aram is a copyist error that has been perpetuated for centuries now.
The first thing you should know is that the cycle demonstrated by Othniel is the typical cycle for most of the Judges.
FIRST, Israel falls into idolatry.
SECOND, God judges them by permitting a gentile nation to persecute them.
THIRD, the children of Israel come to their senses and cry out to God for help.
FOURTH, the Lord sends a savior whom He puts His Spirit upon called a judge to rescue Israel from her oppressors.
FINALLY, Israel enjoys a couple of generations of peace until the judge dies and then the whole cycle repeats itself again.
What I explained above is the classical pattern for the judges but not every judge who came on the scene followed this pattern exactly.
Also, not every Judge acted in the same way or played out the same roles.
That’s why there can be intense disagreement between scholars as to what exactly qualified one to be a Judge or Shophet in the Scriptures.
I usually side with the Jewish scholars on the matter rather than Christian scholars (for obvious reasons).
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