Q: #349. How many judges were there in Israel, and how long did each rule?
A: Judges ruled Israel for a period of time that most scholars say was about 325 to 350 years (beginning in app. 1400 – 1350 B.C.). The judges continued until Saul was made king, which ended the line of judges. Following is a list of the judges and how long each ruled.
Judges Of Israel
(Length Of Rule)Verses
1. Othniel
(40 years)(Judg 3:9-11)
2. Ehud
(80 years)(Judg 3:15-30)
3. Shamgar
(Unknown)(Judg 3:31)(Judg 5:6)
4. Deborah/Barak
(40 years)(Judg 4:4-5:31)
5. Gideon
(40 years)(Judg 6:11-8:32)
6. * Abimelech
(3 years)(Judg 9:1-57)(2 Sam 11:21)
7. Tola
(23 years)(Judg 10:1-2)
8. Jair
(22 years)(Judg 10:3-5)
9. Jephthah
(6 years)(Judg 11:1-12:7)
10. Ibzan
(7 years)(Judg 12:8-10)
11. Elon
(10 years)(Judg 12:11-12)
12. Abdon
(8 years)(Judg 12:13-15)
13. Samson
(20 years)(Judg 13:1-16:31)
14. Eli
(40 years)(1 Sam 1:1-4:18)
15. Samuel
(12 years – app.)
** Until Saul made king(1 Sam 2:18-4:1)(1 Sam 7:2-8:1)
*It is questionable whether Abimelech should count as a judge.
We find in (1 Sam 8:1-2) that Samuel made his two sons (Joel and Abijah) judges when he became old, but this appears to have been very short-lived as they were corrupt. The Israelites demanded that Samuel appoint them a king instead (1 Sam 8:3-22), which God told Samuel to do. Samuel anointed Saul to be the first king, and from that point forward, kings ruled Israel in place of judges. All of these judges are found in the book of Judges except for Eli and Samuel, who are found in 1st Samuel. Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson, and Samuel are mentioned in (Heb 11:32) as “Heroes Of The Faith.”
*** Bonus Trivia: The “Spirit of the Lord” is said to have come upon 4 of these judges: Othniel (Judg 3:10), Gideon (Judg 6:34), Jephthah (Judg 11:29), and Samson (Judg 13:25)(Judg 14:6,19)(Judg 15:14).
I hope this isn’t a waste of time. I wasn’t going to leave a comment until I read your bio, you seem like a nice guy who wants to know God’s word and not teach things about His word that arent’ true. So here goes. Start with your opening statement “most scholars say was about 325 to 350 years”. Paul said the time of the judges was 450 years until… Read more »
I’ll post this for people to get a different viewpoint, but I am sticking with the years that I found when studying this at the time. (Honestly, I don’t have the time to break down all of your stats.) But, to me, you do a lot of twisting and turning to get to your numbers (like not counting Samson, when the Bible says “He judged Israel twenty years:” Judg 16:31.).… Read more »