Judges of Israel

Gideon
Gideon is one of the most well-known and important leaders from the Book of Judges. There are more verses dedicated to him than any other judge. Interestingly, while he’s listed among the judges, the Bible never explicitly calls him a judge or states that he “saved Israel,” as we see with most of the other judges.

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Tola
Tola was probably from one of the leading clans of Issachar and appears to have lived at Shamir in the territory of Ephraim.

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Jair
Jair may have been a descendant of the same Jair who distinguished himself during the days of Moses and Joshua. He had 30 sons who were itinerant judges, and they possessed 30 cities. There is little said about him in Judges. (much like Tola).

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Jephthah
Jephthah was the son of Gilead by a harlot and was driven away by his half-brothers. The elders of Gilead brought him back and made him their chief at Mizpah. Jephthah refused to give up Gilead to the Ammonites, fighting them and conquering 20 cities.

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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.