Vocabulary
Judge Othniel (Judges 3:8-11)
Othniel (עָתְנִיאֵל בֶּן קְנַז, Otniel ben Kenaz) was the first of the judges of Israel. The name Othniel can be interpreted as „Protector of God“ or „Protection (is) God“. Some time after the death of Joshua, the Israelites once again turned to sin and fell under the subjection of...
Judge Ehud (Judges 3:12-30)
Ehud (אֵהוּד בֶּן־גֵּרָא, Ehúd ben Géráh) is the second judge who was sent by God to deliver the Israelites from Moabite domination resulting in peace lasting for eighty years. He is described as being left-handed and a member of the Tribe of Benjamin. The judge is sent to the Moabite King...
Judge Shamgar (Judges 3:31)
Shamgar deflected Philistine raids into Israel and slaughtered 600 of the invaders with an ox goad. The text is very unordinary compared with the records of other judges. The reference to Shamgar has no introduction, conclusion, or relation to the length of reign. It continues directly from the...
Judge Debora and Barak (Judges 4:1-5:31)
Deborah was the fourth judge and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. She presented her judgments underneath a date palm tree. Since Deborah had a prophetic gift, she instructed Barak that God appointed him to lead an attack against Jabin, the king of Canaan, and his military commander...
Jotham's Parable (Judges 9:7-21)
There are not many parables in the OT as we can find in the NT. The parable is a critique on the aftermath of the narrative about Gidon. The metaphorical picture it conveys is from the realm of trees evaluating certain qualities of them.
Judge Tola (Judges 10:1-2)
Tola judged Israel for 23 years after the death of Abimelech. He lived and was also buried at Shamir in Mount Ephraim.
Judge Jair (Judges 10:3–5)
The name of judge Jair (יָאִיר) means "he enlightens." He was a man from Gilead of the Tribe of Manasseh, east of the River Jordan, who judged Israel for 22 years. The passage mentioning this judge is only of three verses long and describes general whereabouts, years of reign and sons of Jair.
Judge Ibzan (Judges 12:8-10)
Ibzan is the ninth judge of Israel. He was from Bethlehem and had very numerous offspring. He ruled over Israel for seven years.
Judge Elon (Judges 12:11-12)
Judge Elon served as a judge of Israel for ten years. He was a member of the tribe of Zebulun.
Judge Abdon (Judges 12:13-15)
Abdon was the eleventh Judge of Israel, the son of Hillel. He had very numerous offspring who rode on seventy donkeys.
Ruth
The biblical book of Ruth is a narrative account that tells the story of Ruth (רוּת [rûṯ]), a Moabite woman, who marries a Hebrew man named Mahlon. Ruth and Mahlon's family leave their hometown of Bethlehem and settle in Moab, but tragedy strikes when Mahlon and his brother die, leaving Ruth and...
David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-58)
The story of David and Goliath is a famous biblical account found in 1 Samuel 17:1-58. The story takes place during the time of the Israelites' battles against the Philistines. The story of David and Goliath illustrates God's sovereignty, his ability to use unlikely people for his purposes, the...
David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:1-12:31)
This text narrates the story of King David's adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and the subsequent events leading to Uriah's death. After learning of Bathsheba's pregnancy, David attempts to cover up his sin by bringing Uriah back from battle to sleep with his wife. When this...
Surely God is good to Israel (Psalm 73)
Psalm 73 is one of the Psalms of Asaph (see 50 and 74-83). It is numbered as 73 in Masoretic numbering while in Septuagint and Vulgate the numbering it is 72. This psalm is raising a topic of prosperity of righteous and wicked people. For the author, as he observes, it seems like those who are...
I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever (Psalm 89)
The Psalm looks to the Lord as a creator. The scientific question of how creation took place goes away, and the main theme is the nature of the Lord, which reveals in creation. King David and his descendants are also a significant theme in the text. They are the object of the Lord's grace....