Judges 2

Judges 2 is the second chapter of the Book of Judges. Judges 1 records how the tribes of Israel failed to drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan. Chapter 2 explains the significance of that failure and previews the narrative framework that recurs throughout the book.

Outline

• Verses 1–5: The Angel of the LORD comes up from Gilgal to Bochim and rebukes the people. Because Israel did not obey the command to make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land and to throw down their altars, those inhabitants will become thorns in their sides, and their gods will become a snare to them. The people lifted up their voices and wept, so the place was called Bochim, and they sacrificed there.
• Verses 6–10: The narrative steps back to an earlier time. The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him. Joshua died at the age of 110 and was buried at Timnath-heres. After that whole generation had died, another generation arose that knew neither the LORD nor the works He had done.
• Verses 11–15: Israel served Baal and Ashtaroth. The LORD delivered them into the hands of spoilers and enemies.
• Verses 16–19: The LORD raised up judges who delivered them. But whenever a judge died, the people turned back and acted more corruptly than their fathers.
• Verses 20–23: The LORD declares that He will not drive out the nations that Joshua left, but will leave them in place in order to test whether Israel will keep the way of the LORD.

Key Verses

• Judges 2:10: "There arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD" — The failure to pass the faith on to the next generation is presented as the starting point of the turmoil of the period of the judges.
• Judges 2:16: "Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them" — This verse defines the role of a judge.
• Judges 2:18: "For it repented the LORD" — This summarizes a central theme of Judges: God responds to His people when they cry out in their suffering.

People and Places

• The Angel of the LORD: The figure who delivers God's word in the first person at Bochim.
• Joshua: The son of Nun, who died at the age of 110.
• Gilgal: The place from which the Angel of the LORD set out; Israel had encamped there in Joshua's day.
• Bochim: A place name meaning "weepers," named for the people's weeping.
• Timnath-heres: Joshua's burial place, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
• Baal and Ashtaroth: The male and female deities worshiped by the Canaanites.

Points for Reflection

• The identity of the Angel of the LORD: Interpretations differ. Some interpreters view this figure as a preincarnate appearance of Christ, while others regard him as an angel or a prophet sent by God.
• Relationship to the Book of Joshua: Verses 6–9 are nearly identical in content to Joshua 24:28–31. The Book of Joshua calls the burial place "Timnath-serah."
• The cyclical structure of Judges: Verses 11–19 are commonly summarized as a recurring cycle of "sin–oppression–crying out–deliverance." The accounts of the individual judges, beginning in Judges 3, follow this framework.
• The expression "it repented the LORD" (v. 18): Interpreters discuss how this expression fits with the confession that God does not change. The Reformed tradition generally explains it as a description of God's compassion in human terms.
• Connection to the New Testament: In Acts 13:20, Paul summarizes this era in a sermon, saying that God gave judges until the time of Samuel.

In the Korean Church

The phrase in verse 10, "another generation … which knew not the LORD," is frequently cited in sermons emphasizing the importance of passing on the faith to the next generation and of Sunday school ministry.