Judges 2:16
in Judges 2Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those that despoiled them.
KJV
Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
⋯
This verse in Judges 2
Commentary
3 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on Judges 2:11-19
An attentive consideration of them, therefore, is of the greatest importance to a right understanding of the strange and varying phases of Israelitish history, from the death of Joshua till the establishment of the monarchy. served Baalim--The plural is used to include all the gods of the country.
This site's exposition
Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges
on Judges 2:16-17
The word nevertheless is the turn the whole book runs on, and it arrives before anyone has repented. The judges of this book are deliverers rather than men who sit and hear cases, and the text says God raised them up rather than that Israel chose them. Verse 17 adds the thing that makes the pattern worse than a simple cycle: they would not hearken unto their judges either, so the rescue is refused while it is happening.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Judges - Supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by his particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God's laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies, to preserve and purge religion, and to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Adonoy established judges. Continuously, in successive generations, as enumerated in this book, judge succeeding judge.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Wherever they went, the hand of Adonoy was destructive to them. This refers to Elimelech, Machlon, and Chilyon— 13 Naomi’s husband and two sons, mentioned in the opening passages of the Book of Rus. They were punished with poverty and then death. See Rashi to Megilas Rus, ch.1. Seder Olam.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֥קֶם | vaiyakem | and he raised up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שֹֽׁפְטִ֑ים | shofetim | judges | H8199 → | 202 times |
| וַיּ֣וֹשִׁיע֔וּם | vaiyooshium | and they delivered them | H3467 → | 206 times |
| מִיַּ֖ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| שֹׁסֵיהֶֽם׃ | shoseihem | plunderers their | H8154 → |
וַיָּ֥קֶםand he raised up
vaiyakemH6965 →628 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שֹֽׁפְטִ֑יםjudges
shofetimH8199 →202 times
וַיּ֣וֹשִׁיע֔וּםand they delivered them
vaiyooshiumH3467 →206 times
מִיַּ֖דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
שֹׁסֵיהֶֽם׃plunderers their
shoseihemH8154 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 12:11So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.
it leads to
- Judges 6:32
So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.
- Judges 4:6
She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Surely the LORD, the God of Israel, is commanding you: ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, taking with you ten…
- Judges 6:32
Through
Judges 3:15And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
it leads to
- Judges 3:9
But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
- Psalms 78:34
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Judges 20:16
Among all these soldiers there were 700 select left-handers, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair without missing.
- Jeremiah 33:3
Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- Judges 3:9
Through
Nehemiah 9:27So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:41–45
He delivered them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.
- Psalms 106:41–45
Through
Acts 13:20All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:20
So all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 3:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
