JOHN MCMATH
OUTLINE
Introduction
I. Two Prologues: Israel’s Partial Obedience after Joshua’s Death Leads to a Cycle of Sin and Grace (1:1–3:6)
A. An Account of Obedience and Failure (1:1–2:5)
1. Stage Setting (1:1)
2. Faithful Judah (1:2-21)
3. Failure of the Northern Tribes (1:22-36)
4. Israel’s Lament (2:1-5)
B. The Theology of Sin and Grace (2:6–3:6)
1. Account of the Death of Joshua and the Aftermath (2:6-10)
2. Account of the Idolatry of Israel (2:11-13)
3. God’s Anger Displayed in the Rise of Oppressors (2:14-15)
4. The Judges Raised Up as a Respite from Oppression (2:16-19)
5. God’s Anger at Covenant Transgression Resulted in Pagan Nations that Could Not Be Driven Out (2:20-23)
6. Nations Left to Test and to Punish (3:1-6)
II. Twelve Deliverers Demonstrate a Cycle of Increasing Failure (3:7–16:31)
The Early Judgeships:
A. Othniel: The Model of the Judges Cycle (3:7-11)
1. Israel’s Sin of Idolatry (3:7)
2. Israel Sold into Mesopotamian Oppression for Eight Years (3:8)
3. Heartfelt Cry for Deliverance (3:9a)
4. A Deliverer Raised Up: Othniel, Son of Kenaz (3:9b-10)
5. Forty Years of Rest (3:11)
B. Ehud: The Left-Handed Judge (3:12-30)
1. Eighteen Years under Eglon of Moab (3:12-14)
2. Ehud’s Clandestine Mission (3:15-24)
3. Slow Response of Eglon’s Servants (3:25)
4. Ehud’s Escape and the Muster of Ephraim (3:26-30a)
5. Eighty Years of Rest (3:30b)
C. Shamgar: An Enigmatic Interlude (3:31)
D. Deborah: A Mother in Israel (4:1–5:31)
1. The Military Campaign against Hazor (4:1-24)
a. Twenty Years under Jabin of Hazor (4:1-3)
b. Deborah the Prophetess Called on Barak the Soldier (4:4-10)
c. Heber the Kenite Introduced (4:11)
d. The Battle of the Kishon (4:12-16)
e. Sisera Meets Jael (4:17-22)
f. The Long Campaign against Jabin (4:23-24)
2. The Song of Deborah (5:1-31)
a. Call to Praise the Lord (5:1-5)
b. Deborah’s Motivation, as a Mother in Israel (5:6-11)
c. The Muster of the Tribes (5:12-18)
d. The Battle at the Kishon (5:19-23)
e. Jael: Most Blessed of Women (5:24-27)
f. Lament of Sisera’s Mother (5:28-31a)
3. Forty Years of Rest (5:31b)
E. Gideon: A Lesser Son of a Lesser Son (6:1–9:57)
1. Introduction to the Gideon Episode (6:1-10)
a. Seven Years of Oppression by Midian (6:1-6)
b. The Covenant Message of a Prophet (6:7-10)
2. Gideon’s Call to Deliver Israel (6:11-40)
a. Gideon Called by the Angel of the Lord (6:11-18)
b. Gideon’s Presentation and Fear (6:19-24)
c. Hacking the Altar and Asherah (6:25-27)
d. Confrontation with Joash (6:28-32)
e. Muster of the Northern Tribes (6:33-35)
f. Sign of the Fleece (6:36-40)
3. The Defeat of Midian (7:1-25)
a. The Camp at Harod (7:1)
b. The Selection of the Fearless (7:2-3)
c. The Selection of the Unobservant (7:4-8)
d. Gideon Overheard a Dream (7:9-14)
e. Preparation for the Battle (7:15-18)
f. The Battle on the Plains of Esdraelon (7:19-23)
g. The Muster of Ephraim (7:24-25)
4. Aftermath of the Battle (8:1-27)
a. Appeasement of Ephraim (8:1-3)
b. No Help from Succoth and Penuel (8:4-9)
c. Capture of Kings; Routing of Midian (8:10-12)
d. Punishment of Succoth and Penuel (8:13-17)
e. Execution of Zebah and Zalmunna (8:18-21)
f. Gideon Offered the Kingdom (8:22-27)
5. The Era of Gideon’s Rest (8:28-35)
a. Forty Years of Rest (8:28)
b. Gideon’s Later Life and Descendants (8:29-32)
c. Israel Forgets the Lord (8:33-35)
6. Abimelech and the Fall of Shechem (9:1-57)
a. Abimelech’s Treachery and Jotham’s Response (9:1-21)
(1) Abimelech Conspired to Become King of Shechem by Treachery (9:1-6)
(2) Jotham’s Fable (9:7-15)
(3) Jotham’s Challenge and Escape (9:16-21)
b. The Fall of Shechem and Abimelech (9:22-55)
(1) Three Turbulent Years of Rule (9:22-25)
(2) Gaal, the Challenger (9:26-29)
(3) Zebul, the Lieutenant, Warned of Treachery (9:30-33)
(4) The Defeat of Gaal (9:34-41)
(5) The Capture of Shechem (9:42-45)
(6) Burning the Tower of Shechem (9:46-49)
(7) Death of Abimelech at Thebez (9:50-55)
c. Fulfillment of the Curse of Jotham (9:56-57)
The Later Judgeships:
F. Tola and Jair: Two Minor Administrators (10:1-5)
1. Tola: Twenty-Three Years of Stability (10:1-2)
2. Jair: Twenty-Two Years of Prosperity (10:3-5)
G. Jephthah: Outcast Deliverer (10:6–12:7)
1. Gilead and the Challenge of Ammon (10:6-18)
a. Sin and Affliction for 18 Years (10:6-9)
b. Supplication until God Could Not Bear It (10:10-16)
c. The Muster of Ammon and Gilead (10:17-18)
2. Jephthah Called to Face Ammon (11:1-11)
a. Jephthah Introduced (11:1-3)
b. Jephthah Agreed to Lead Gilead (11:4-11)
3. The Battle of Ammon (11:12-40)
a. Jephthah’s Diplomacy (11:12-28)
b. Jephthah’s Foolish Vow (11:29-33)
c. Jephthah’s Daughter (11:34-40)
4. Civil War with Ephraim (12:1-6)
5. Six Years of Rest (12:7)
H. Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon: Three Minor Administrators (12:8-15)
1. Ibzan: Seven Years a Family Man (12:8-10)
2. Elon: Ten Years in Zebulun (12:11-12)
3. Abdon: Eight Years with Donkeys (12:13-15)
I. Samson: A Deeply Flawed Deliverer (13:1–16:31)
1. Forty Years of Philistine Oppression (13:1)
2. Conception and Birth of a Remarkable Boy: Samson Introduced (13:2-25)
a. The Angel of the Lord Appeared to Manoah’s Wife (13:2-7)
b. Manoah Spoke with God (13:8-14)
c. Sacrifice before the Angel of the Lord (13:15-20)
d. Common Sense of Manoah’s Wife (13:21-23)
e. Samson’s Birth and Divine Empowerment (13:24-25)
3. Samson’s Marriage at Timnah (14:1–15:20)
a. Samson Chose a Wife from the Philistines (14:1-4)
b. Samson Took His Parents to Meet the Girl (14:5-9)
c. Samson’s Wedding Debacle (14:10-20)
(1) The Feast (14:10-11)
(2) Samson’s Riddle (14:12-14)
(3) Treachery on Treachery (14:15-20)
d. Samson’s Destruction of Philistine Crops (15:1-8)
e. Samson Submitted to the Men of Judah (15:9-13)
f. The Battle of Lehi (15:14-19)
g. Twenty Years of Samson’s Leadership (15:20)
4. Samson’s Lust and Death (16:1-31)
a. Samson and the Harlot of Gaza (16:1-3)
b. Samson and Delilah (16:4-22)
(1) Delilah Introduced (16:4-6)
(2) Three Tests of Strength (16:7-14)
(3) Delilah Extracted the Secret of Samson’s Strength (16:15-17)
(4) Samson Captured by the Philistines (16:18-22)
c. Samson’s Humiliation and Vengeance (16:23-31)
(1) Samson’s Humiliation (16:23-27)
(2) Samson’s Vengeance (16:28-31)
III. Two Epilogues: The Abominable Spiritual Condition of Israel Called for a Great King to Stabilize and Lead the Nation (17:1–21:25)
A. The Idolatry of Dan (17:1–18:31)
1. Idolatry in Ephraim (17:1-13)
a. Micah and His Mother (17:1-6)
b. A Levite for a Priest (17:7-13)
2. Danites on the Move (18:1-31)
a. Danite Patrol Meets the Priest of Micah (18:1-6)
b. Danites Find a New Place to Settle (18:7-10)
c. Journey of the Six Hundred to Ephraim (18:11-13)
d. Subversion of Micah’s Priest (18:14-20)
e. Confrontation with Micah (18:21-26)
f. Establishment of Idolatry in Dan (Laish) (18:27-31)
B. The Perversion of Benjamin (19:1–21:25)
1. Degrading Murder of a Levite’s Concubine (19:1-30)
a. A Levite Fetched His Concubine in Bethlehem (19:1-9)
b. Journey to Gibeah (19:10-15)
c. Kindness of a Stranger in Gibeah (19:16-21)
d. Perversion of the Men of Gibeah Leads to Rape and Murder (19:22-26)
e. Grisly Summoning of the Tribes (19:27-30)
2. Resolution to Punish the Guilty (20:1-17)
a. Muster of the Tribes at Mizpah (20:1-7)
b. Agreement to Punish Benjamin (20:8-11)
c. Deployment of Benjamin and All Israel (20:12-17)
3. Civil War and Benjamin’s Defeat (20:18-48)
a. Inquiring of the Lord (20:18)
b. First Failed Attack (20:19-23)
c. Second Failed Attack (20:24-28)
d. Third Attack and Success by Ambush (20:29-48)
4. Reconstitution of a Lost Tribe (21:1-24)
a. Dilemma for the Tribes of Israel (21:1-7)
b. Destruction of Jabesh-Gilead (21:8-12)
c. Gift of Wives to Benjamin (21:13-15)
d. More Wives from Shiloh (21:16-24)
5. The Refrain: No King in Israel (21:25)