Shoftim Chapter 2 | An Introduction to the Book

The Book of Shoftim is unique in that it contains an introductory paragraph that foreshadows what will happen throughout the book: "The Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, and worshipped the Be’alim... The Lord’s wrath raged against Israel, and He abandoned them to the hands of marauders who oppressed them... So the Lord appointed judges, who saved them from the hands of their oppressors. But they did not obey their judges either, for they strayed after other gods and worshipped them... Yet when the Lord appointed a judge for them, the Lord would side with that judge. He would save them from their enemies’ hands throughout the judge’s life, for the Lord was moved by their moaning under their oppressors and tormentors. But with the judge’s death, they would relapse into worse corruption than their fathers.”

Two key points regarding our chapter:

What is a judge? – The role of judges in the Book of Shoftim is different from the "judge" we know today and differs from the term "judgment" that appears frequently in the Tanakh. The hint to the judge's essential role is in the verse, " So the Lord appointed judges, who saved them from the hands of their oppressors" — a judge is a savior. Unlike the "elders" we know from other parts of the Tanakh, including the end of the Book of Yehoshua — wise individuals who led the people with their willing consent — the judges arose from circumstances and divine providence, which led them to be in the right place to save Israel. There is an expectation that, beyond being an initial savior, the judge would continue to lead the people throughout their life: "Yet when the Lord appointed a judge for them, the Lord would side with that judge. He would save them from their enemies’ hands throughout the judge’s life," and also an expectation that the judge would bring about moral and religious reform: "But they did not obey their judges either." Throughout the book, we will examine the different judges and how well they align with this model.

Historiophilosophy - The Tanakh is not a dry history book. It does not aim to present events just as they happened but rather offers a moral judgment, selecting what to present and what not, explaining trends and processes through prophetic lenses. Our introductory paragraph explains the divine background to what could have been explained naturally: Israel did not suffer from its enemies due to political, military, or geopolitical reasons, but rather due to religious reasons. Throughout the Tanakh, we experience this duality in the explanation of events as the Tanakh insists repeatedly: "The heart of a king is in the hand of the Lord," and "for nothing can stop the Lord from achieving victory through many or few." We can read all the Tanakh’s stories with dual causality: understanding what happened on the realistic level while also recognizing a hidden reason rooted in divine providence. Part of the challenge faced by the generations mentioned in the Tanakh was to internalize this: to understand that the way to defeat the enemies is to obey God, repent, and correct one’s ways. This is also the challenge before us — to take this insight from the Tanakh into our own lives: to understand that not everything is in our hands and to live life with complete faith that God watches over His world.

Read Professor Yehuda Elitzur's thoughts on this topic in the introduction to Shoftim in דעת מקרא, titled "השגחה והיסטוריה." See also the chapter from the introduction that discusses the historical background of the period.