Judges of Israel

Ibzan
Ibzan was a socially prominent man who had 30 sons and 30 daughters for whom he arranged marriages. Jewish tradition identifies him with Boaz of Bethlehem in Judah.

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Elon
He was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun after judging Israel for 10 years.

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Abdon
Abdon, the son of Hillel was a man of wealth and prominence. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons.
He was a native of Pirathon (near Shechem) and was buried there.

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Samson
An angel announced Samson's birth and he was consecrated as a Nazarate from birth. Samson was a man of immense strength, killing a lion with his bare hands, killing 30 Philistines at Ashkelon, and a "thousand" with the jawbone of an ass.

Other amazing deeds included using 300 foxes to burn the gain fields of the Philistines and carrying off the city gate of Gaza.

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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.