Judges.
Judges.
§ 126. The Booh of Judges is called by the Hebrews 
and by the Greeks 
. Nothing certain is evident regarding the intermediate author of this book. In the prologue to this passage, Cardinal Hugh [of St. Cher] writes that “someone has written into the records the activities of the judges of his time. Samuel or Ezra or Jeremiah or Hezekiah gathered this material into a single volume.” This conjecture about Hezekiah is confirmed by the fact that his secretaries are said to have gathered some of Solomon’s proverbs into one book (Prov. 25:1).
It is called the “Book of Judges” because it contains the history under the rule of the judges. It describes: the condition of the state of Israel from the death of Joshua to the priesthood of Eli; how, during that time, the Israelites with oft-repeated apostasy frequently departed from God and, because of this, were afflicted by God with due punishments; and how, after their conversion to God at the hand of the judges that were divinely raised up from the various tribes, they again were freed from the power of their foes. Augustine, De civit. Dei, bk. 18, c. 13: “At the times of the judges there alternated among the people of God both humilities of the hardships because of their sins and the prosperities of consolation because of God’s mercy.”
It has twenty-one chapters and contains a history of 299 years: forty years from Joshua’s death to the death of Othniel (Judg. 3:11); eighty years from Othniel’s death to the deaths of Ehud and Shamgar (Judg. 3:30); ten years from Ehud’s and Shamgar’s deaths to the death of Deborah (Judg. 5:31); forty years from Deborah’s death to the death of Gideon (Judg. 8:21); three years from Gideon’s death to the death of Abimelech (Judg. 9:22); twenty-three years from Abimelech’s death to the death of Tola (Judg. 10:2); twenty-two years from Tola’s death to the death of Jair (Judg. 10:3); six years from Jair’s death to the death of Jephthah (Judg. 12:7); seven years from Jephthah’s death to the death of Ibzan (Judg. 12:9); ten years from Ibzan’s death to the death of Elon (Judg. 12:11); eight years from Elon’s death to the death of Abdon (Judg. 12:14); twenty years from Abdon’s death to the death of Samson (Judg. 16:31); one year from Samson’s death to the priesthood of Eli. If you add up all these, they total 299 years. This book can be divided into twelve parts according to the number of the judges whose origin, life, and accomplishments it describes. This usage Jerome expresses in these words (Epistle 103 ad Paulinum): “In the Book of Judges there are as many figures as there are princes of the people.” It contains six hundred verses.