Category: A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 21
What does Judges Chapter 21 mean? Immediately after Israel slaughters nearly the entire population of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20:47–48), the people seem to realize they have gone too far. This results in grief and threatens the extinction of the Benjaminites. The Lord instructed Israel to attack Benjamin at…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 20
What does Judges Chapter 20 mean? In this chapter, the people of Israel respond to the outrageous events described in chapter 19. A Levite man’s concubine was brutally abused and murdered by men from Gibeah, a city in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 19:22–28). The Levite dismembered…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 19
What does Judges Chapter 19 mean? The writer of Judges gives another example of the depth of Israel’s wickedness in the days before the nation had kings (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 21:25). The central figure in this story is a Levite, but not the same person mentioned in the previous chapters (Judges 17:7; 18:15).…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 18
What does Judges Chapter 18 mean? This chapter completes the story of Micah and his hired family priest (Judges 17:13). The people of the tribe of Dan don’t have enough space in their allotted territory (Joshua 19:40–46). This is because of their failure to follow God’s command to take it…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 17
What does Judges Chapter 17 mean? Beginning with this chapter, the book of Judges shifts its focus. Chapters 3 through 16 described how God routinely saved Israel from oppressive enemies through His deliverers: the judges (Judges 2:16–19). The rest of the book discusses the everyday lives of Israelites during this…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 16
What does Judges Chapter 16 mean? The previous chapter ended with a summary statement: Samson judged Israel for twenty years ( The previous chapter ended with a summary statement: Samson judged Israel for twenty years (Judges15:20). Only a few notable incidents in Samson’s life are recorded, and none are tied to…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 15
What does Judges Chapter 15 mean? Samson believes he is still married to his Philistine bride. Scripture doesn’t clearly state if the marriage had been consummated before the end of the seven-day wedding feast. However, Samson left that celebration in a rage after his bride betrayed the secret of his…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 14
What does Judges Chapter 14 mean? Samson was set apart, even before birth, as a Nazirite (Judges 13:5, 24–25). His unique mission as a judge (Judges 2:16–19) is not to achieve Israel’s redemption, but to “begin to save Israel from the hand from the Philistines.” The nature of Samson’s early life…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 13
What does Judges Chapter 13 mean? This chapter begins like many others in the book of Judges (Judges 2:16–19) but continues in an unusual way. Another generation of Israelites fall into depravity and sin: serving the gods of the Canaanites and the nations around them. The Lord responds once more…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 12
What does Judges Chapter 12 mean? Jephthah is judge over Israel (Judges 11:11). His life is marked by misery and violent success in battle. With the Lord’s help, Jephthah and the people of Gilead and Manasseh have thoroughly defeated the Ammonites who were oppressing them from the east (Judges 11:32–33).…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 11
What does Judges Chapter 11 mean? Judges 11 begins the story Jephthah, one of the most complex of Israel’s Judges (Judges 2:16). Depending on how one interprets his character, he could be considered a powerful warrior or a leader of gangsters. He seems to have trusted in the Lord, but also…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 10
What does Judges Chapter 10 mean? This chapter comes after the death of Gideon and the short rule of his son Abimelech over Shechem and the surrounding region (Judges 9). Perhaps to calm the chaos of Abimelech’s reign of terror, two more judges rise to save Israel. Little is revealed…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 9
What does Judges Chapter 9 mean? Abimelech was not like Gideon’s other seventy sons, born to his many wives as he ruled over Israel as judge (Judges 8:29–30). Abimelech was born to Gideon’s concubine in the city of Shechem (Judges 8:31). He craved to inherit his father’s position of authority…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 8
What does Judges Chapter 8 mean? Gideon is not content to allow any of the fleeing Midianite army to escape (Judges 7:19–23). He wants total victory and will chase the fleeing remnant led by the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna. First, the men of Ephraim confront Gideon. In response to…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 7
What does Judges Chapter 7 mean? After giving Gideon several miraculous signs (Judges 6:36–40), God wants the attack on Midian to commence. Gideon has gathered a force of some 32,000 Israelites to follow him into battle. They rise early in the morning and make camp in the hills, just a…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 6
What does Judges Chapter 6 mean? The pattern of Israel’s faithlessness and God’s judgment repeats once more. After 40 years of peace, Israel returns to the evil practices of serving Baal and other false gods of the Canaanites. As promised, God turns Israel over to oppression. This period of hardship…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 5
What does Judges Chapter 5 mean? The previous chapter uses a straightforward style to explain the story of Deborah and Barak. Through Deborah’s prophetic leadership (Judges 4:4–5) and the obedience of Barak (Judges 4:6–10), Israel defeated the Canaanites in a convincing victory (Judges 4:12–16). The enemy general, Sisera, fled and…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 4
What does Judges Chapter 4 mean? The pattern of Judges repeats, and a new story begins. After the previous judge-deliverer dies, Israel returns to doing evil, including the worship of the gods of Canaan (Judges 2:16–19). The Lord responds by submitting Israel to Jabin, who rules over Canaan. This is…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 3
What does Judges Chapter 3 mean? Judges 2 ended with God’s explanation for why He had not given Joshua victory over all the nations in and around the Promised Land. He intended to use those nations to test Israel to see whether the people would follow the Lord or not. God’s…
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A Verse by Verse Study in the Book of Judges, (ESV) with Irv Risch, Chapter 2
What does Judges Chapter 2 mean? The first verses of Judges chapter 2 are best understood as an extension from chapter 1. Israel failed, tribe by tribe, to drive the Canaanites from the land as God had commanded them. This seems to have been from some combination of indifference or…
Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded 