In chapters 6-8, we have the story of Gideon. In terms of length, we can consider Gideon as a 'major' judge. Yet the character of Gideon is 'flawed' at certain points - he is hiding out in the wine press to thresh wheat, he pulls down the atlar of ba'al at night, he asks God twice for a sign. we can already see that the judges are increasingly of a inferior quality. chapter 9 is about Gideon's son, Abimelech, who is not considered a judge but his story is included to show the level the israelites were descending into. chapter 10 records the stories of two minor judges, Tola and Jair. chapters 11-12 record the next judge, Jephthah, who has a longer account of his exploits. again, we see the flawed character of the judge - he hastily makes a vow to sacrifice wahtever came out of his house upon his return from victory. we all know the story - his daughter came out to greet her father! at the end of chapter 12 are recorded short accounts of 3 minor judges - Ibzan, Elon and Abdon. chapters 13-16 detail the last judge, Samson. it is an amazing thing that despite his very flawed character, Samson gets that many chapters. perhaps we can learn lessons in reverse pyschology - what not to do!Samson literally 'brought the house down'!the most ironic part is perhaps the statement that Samson killed more people in his death than those he killed in his lifetime.
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