Judges

The Book of Judges describes the activities of various Judges who delivered and had authority in Israel from the time of Joshua to the time of Samuel. The Judges were often warriors inspired by the Spirit of God, although sometimes there were Judges who simply held authority and acted as leaders of the people. Exceptional among the Judges was the woman prophet Deborah. The Book of Judges then closes with two stories which brought shame on Israel and revealed something of what the state of Israel was at the time of the Judges.