Judges of Israel

Before Israel had kings, there was no permanent ruler sitting on a throne. When Israel was oppressed by a neighboring people, God would raise up a judge, a military leader and deliverer, to rescue them. But the book of Judges is not a simple succession of rulers. Different judges led different regions, sometimes at the same time, as Israel repeatedly fell into oppression, cried out, and was delivered.

That overlap helps explain one of the book's biggest chronological puzzles. Add up each judge's stated years of oppression and rule, and the total runs far beyond the roughly 300 years available for this period in the Old Testament's chronology. The usual explanation is that many of these events were regional and overlapping rather than one long sequence of national rulers.

Explore the judges and their oppressors below to see where these stories fit, and where their timelines overlap. Click an oppressor to filter the page.

Overlap timeline

Where the threats came from

Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia)

Moab

Canaan (Hazor)

Midian

Ammon

Philistines

No named oppressor

The deliverance cycle

The book of Judges does not give every judge the same role. Six receive full stories of Israel's rebellion, oppression, and deliverance; the others are recorded in short notices that give little more than their name, territory, and years of leadership.

Othniel

Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia)

Sin

Oppression

Cry

Deliverer

Peace

Ehud

Moab

Sin

Oppression

Cry

Deliverer

Peace

Deborah&Barak

Canaan (Hazor)

Sin

Oppression

Cry

Deliverer

Peace

Gideon

Midian

Sin

Oppression

Cry

Deliverer

Peace

Jephthah

Ammon

Sin

Oppression

Cry

Deliverer

Peace

Samson

Philistines

Sin

Oppression

Cry

Deliverer

Peace

13 judges

Judge	Tribe	Years	Story
Othniel Judah · 8 under Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia) · 40 as judge Caleb's younger kinsman, first of the judges. Israel serves Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-Naharaim eight years before Othniel delivers them, and the land rests forty (Judg 3:8-11).	Judah	8 under Aram-Naharaim (Mesopotamia) 40 as judge	Caleb's younger kinsman, first of the judges. Israel serves Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-Naharaim eight years before Othniel delivers them, and the land rests forty (Judg 3:8-11).
Ehud Benjamin · 18 under Moab · 80 as judge A left-handed Benjamite who hides a short sword under his clothes to reach Eglon of Moab alone, then kills him in his own chamber. The rest that follows, eighty years, is the longest of any judge (Judg 3:15-30).	Benjamin	18 under Moab 80 as judge	A left-handed Benjamite who hides a short sword under his clothes to reach Eglon of Moab alone, then kills him in his own chamber. The rest that follows, eighty years, is the longest of any judge (Judg 3:15-30).
Shamgar tribe not specified · no years given Gets one verse: he kills six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. No years, no tribe, no cycle of sin and cry, just the deed (Judg 3:31).	not specified	no years given	Gets one verse: he kills six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. No years, no tribe, no cycle of sin and cry, just the deed (Judg 3:31).
Deborah Ephraim · 20 under Canaan (Hazor) · 40 as judge A prophetess already judging Israel when she summons Barak to face Sisera's nine hundred iron chariots. Twenty years under Jabin of Hazor end at Mount Tabor (Judg 4-5).	Ephraim	20 under Canaan (Hazor) 40 as judge	A prophetess already judging Israel when she summons Barak to face Sisera's nine hundred iron chariots. Twenty years under Jabin of Hazor end at Mount Tabor (Judg 4-5).
Barak Naphtali · 20 under Canaan (Hazor) · 40 as judge Won't march on Sisera without Deborah beside him, so she tells him the honor of the kill will go to a woman instead. It does: Jael drives a tent peg through Sisera's skull (Judg 4:8-9, 21).	Naphtali	20 under Canaan (Hazor) 40 as judge	Won't march on Sisera without Deborah beside him, so she tells him the honor of the kill will go to a woman instead. It does: Jael drives a tent peg through Sisera's skull (Judg 4:8-9, 21).
Gideon Manasseh · 7 under Midian · 40 as judge Threshes wheat in a winepress, hiding from Midianite raiders, when an angel calls him a mighty man of valor. Whittles his army from 32,000 to 300 and routs Midian by night (Judg 6-8).	Manasseh	7 under Midian 40 as judge	Threshes wheat in a winepress, hiding from Midianite raiders, when an angel calls him a mighty man of valor. Whittles his army from 32,000 to 300 and routs Midian by night (Judg 6-8).
Tola Issachar · 23 as judge Rises after Abimelech's brief, bloody kingship to judge Israel twenty-three years from Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. No oppression, no enemy named, just the years (Judg 10:1-2).	Issachar	23 as judge	Rises after Abimelech's brief, bloody kingship to judge Israel twenty-three years from Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. No oppression, no enemy named, just the years (Judg 10:1-2).
Jair Manasseh (Gilead) · 22 as judge Judges Israel twenty-two years; his thirty sons ride thirty donkeys and hold thirty towns in Gilead. Buried at Kamon (Judg 10:3-5).	Manasseh (Gilead)	22 as judge	Judges Israel twenty-two years; his thirty sons ride thirty donkeys and hold thirty towns in Gilead. Buried at Kamon (Judg 10:3-5).
Jephthah Manasseh (Gilead) · 18 under Ammon · 6 as judge A commander's son driven out by his own half-brothers, recalled by Gilead's elders when Ammon presses in. Wins the war, then keeps a rash vow that costs him his only daughter (Judg 11).	Manasseh (Gilead)	18 under Ammon 6 as judge	A commander's son driven out by his own half-brothers, recalled by Gilead's elders when Ammon presses in. Wins the war, then keeps a rash vow that costs him his only daughter (Judg 11).
Ibzan tribe not specified · 7 as judge Judges Israel seven years from Bethlehem, marrying off thirty sons and thirty daughters outside his own clan. The text doesn't say which Bethlehem (Judg 12:8-10).	not specified	7 as judge	Judges Israel seven years from Bethlehem, marrying off thirty sons and thirty daughters outside his own clan. The text doesn't say which Bethlehem (Judg 12:8-10).
Elon Zebulun · 10 as judge Ten years as judge, then buried in Aijalon in his own tribe's territory. That's the whole record (Judg 12:11-12).	Zebulun	10 as judge	Ten years as judge, then buried in Aijalon in his own tribe's territory. That's the whole record (Judg 12:11-12).
Abdon Ephraim · 8 as judge Forty sons and thirty grandsons, each riding his own donkey. Eight years from Pirathon, the last judge before Samson (Judg 12:13-15).	Ephraim	8 as judge	Forty sons and thirty grandsons, each riding his own donkey. Eight years from Pirathon, the last judge before Samson (Judg 12:13-15).
Samson Dan · 40 under Philistines · 20 as judge A Nazirite from birth, strong enough to kill a lion bare-handed and carry off a city gate, undone by one haircut. Judges Israel twenty years under a forty-year Philistine oppression that outlasts him (Judg 13-16).	Dan	40 under Philistines 20 as judge	A Nazirite from birth, strong enough to kill a lion bare-handed and carry off a city gate, undone by one haircut. Judges Israel twenty years under a forty-year Philistine oppression that outlasts him (Judg 13-16).

13 of 13 judges