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Introduction
to Judges
Introduction
INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES
The
title of this book in the Hebrew copies is Sepher Shophetim
the Book of
Judges; but the Syriac and Arabic interpreters call it
"the
Book of the Judges of the Children of Israel;'
and
the Septuagint only Judges; so called
not because it was written by them
though some think it was compiled out of annals and diaries kept by them; but
it seems to be the work of one person only: the true reason of its name is
because it treats of the judges of Israel
gives an account of their lives and
actions
and especially such as concerned their office; which office was
different from that of kings
and seems only to have been occasional
and
chiefly lay in delivering the people out of the hands of their enemies
when
oppressed
distressed
or carried captive by them; in protecting them in the
enjoyment of their country
rights
and liberties; in leading out their armies
against their enemies when needful; and in settling differences
judging law
suits
and administering justice. The government of the nation
during their
time
was a theocracy. It is not certain who was the penman of this book; some
ascribe it to King Hezekiah
others to Ezra; but the Jewish writersF1
are generally of opinion that it was written by Samuel
which is most likely
who was the last of the judges; and it seems plainly to be written before the
times of David
us appears from a speech of Joab
2 Samuel 11:21; and
from some passages in Psalm 68:8
which
seem to refer or allude to Judges 5:4; and
from Jerusalem being called Jebus
which shows it to be inhabited by the
Jebusites in the time of the writer of this book
whereas it was taken out of
their hands by David; besides
Samuel himself refers to the annals of this
book; 1 Samuel 12:9; and
from whose testimonies
as well as from others in the New Testament
there is
no doubt to be made of its being genuine and authentic
and written by divine
inspiration; as is evident from the use the Apostle Paul
and the author of the
epistle to the Hebrews
have made of it
Acts 13:20; it is
useful as an history
and without which the history of the people of Israel
would not be complete; it containing an account of all their judges
excepting
the two last
Eli and Samuel
of whom an account is given in the following
books
and of some facts incidental to those times
related in an appendix at
the end of it
concerning the idol of Micah
and the war of Benjamin; and
furnishes out many useful moral observations concerning God's displeasure at
sin in his own people Israel
and his corrections for it; and about his
providential care of them in raising up for them deliverers in their time of
need
as well as points at various virtues and excellencies in great and good
men
worthy of imitation. It contains
according to Piscator
Dr. Lightfoot
and others
an history of two hundred ninety and nine years.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called
unto Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible
NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church leaders
and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
" and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.