Judges of Israel

Othniel
Othniel was the nephew and son-in-law of Caleb, and the son of Kenaz. His father and uncle were gentile Kenizzite converts who joined the tribe of Judah.
When Israelites forgot God and worshiped the Baals and Asherahs, God allowed them to fall to Aram Naharaim. In the conquest of Canaan, Othniel captured Debir and became the first warrior-Judge of Israel, delivering Israel from the oppression of the Edomites.

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Ehud
The Israelites offended the Lord and they fell to the Moabites.
Ehud was a left-handed Benjaminite who personally killed Eglon, king of Moab and ended Moabite domination of Israel.

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Shamgar
A contemporary of the Judge Deborah: the "Song of Deborah refers to "in the days of Shamgar ben Anath" (Judges 5:6);
His name was not Hebrew, and he might have been the son of a mixed marriage.

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Deborah
Once again, the Israelites offended God and He allowed the Israelites to fall under the power of Jabin, the Canaanite king. Deborah and her general, Barak (Naphtali), defeated Sisera, the general of the army of Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor at the Battle of Kishon near Mt Tabor.

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Judges in Archeology

Before Israel had a king, it had a series of tribal leaders called judges. God used these men and women to save the Israelites from their enemies and to lead them back to him. The Book of Judges records this time in Hebrew history, relating the deeds of each judge.

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, Joshua led them into the promised land and the conquest of some areas. When Joshua and his generation died, the Israelites’ knowledge of God faded (Judges 2:10) and the people began to worship other gods. As a result, the Lord handed them over to their enemies and used the surrounding nations to test them (Judges 2:22).

Whenever they would again turn to him for help, "the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders.” (Judges 2:16) However, Israel would continually go astray, returning to idolatry. There followed a constant cycle of sin, repentance and deliverance.