Judges2

Judges chapter two begins with an angel of the LORD rebuking Israel at Bochim for failing to obey His covenant by not driving out the land's inhabitants and throwing down their altars. The people wept and sacrificed, but after Joshua and his generation died, a new generation arose that knew not the LORD. This led to widespread idolatry, provoking God's anger and His delivering them into the hands of their enemies. Though God raised up judges to deliver them, Israel repeatedly returned to their corrupt ways after each judge's death.

The Angel's Rebuke at Bochim

1
Now the angel of ADONAI came up from Gilgal to Bokhim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt, led you to the land I swore to your fathers and said, 'I will never break my covenant with you; ​
2
you, for your part, are not to make any covenant with the inhabitants of this land but must tear down their altars.' However, you have paid no attention to what I said. What is this you have done? ​
3
This is why I also said, 'I will not drive them out before you; but they will be on your flanks, and their gods will become a snare for you.'" ​
4
When the angel of ADONAI spoke these words to all the people of Isra'el, they began crying and wailing at the top of their voices.
5
So they called the name of that place Bokhim [crying] and sacrificed there to ADONAI. ​

Death of Joshua and a Faithful Generation

6
When Y'hoshua had sent the people away, the people of Isra'el had gone each one to his assigned property in order to take possession of the land. ​
7
The people served ADONAI throughout Y'hoshua's life and throughout the lives of all the older men who outlived Y'hoshua and who had seen all the great work of ADONAI which he had done for Isra'el. ​
8
When Y'hoshua the son of Nun, the servant of ADONAI, died, he was 110 years old;
9
and they buried him near the boundary of his property in Timnat-Heres, in the hills of Efrayim, north of Mount Ga'ash.
10
When that entire generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation arose that knew neither ADONAI nor the work he had done for Isra'el. ​

Israel's Apostasy and Divine Punishment

11
Then the people of Isra'el did what was evil from ADONAI's perspective and served the ba'alim. ​
12
They abandoned ADONAI, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, selected from the gods of the peoples around them, and worshipped them; this made ADONAI angry. ​
13
They abandoned ADONAI and served Ba'al and the 'ashtarot.
14
The anger of ADONAI blazed against Isra'el; and he handed them over to pillagers, who plundered them, and to their enemies around them; so that they could no longer resist their enemies. ​
15
Whenever they launched an attack, the power of ADONAI was against them, so that things turned out badly - just as ADONAI had said would happen and had sworn to them. They were in dire distress.

The Cycle of Oppression and Deliverance

16
But then ADONAI raised up judges, who rescued them from the power of those who were plundering them. ​
17
Yet they did not pay attention to their judges, but made whores of themselves to other gods and worshipped them; they quickly turned away from the path on which their ancestors had walked, the way of obeying ADONAI's mitzvot - they failed to do this. ​
18
When ADONAI raised up judges for them, ADONAI was with the judge and delivered them from the hands of their enemies throughout the lifetime of the judge; for ADONAI was moved to pity by their groaning under those oppressing and crushing them. ​
19
But after the judge died, they would relapse into worse behavior than that of their ancestors, following other gods to serve and worship them; they abandoned none of their practices or stubborn ways. ​

Remaining Nations Become a Test

20
So the anger of ADONAI blazed against Isra'el; he said, "Because this nation violates my covenant, which I ordered their fathers to obey; and they don't pay attention to what I say; ​
21
in the future, I will not expel ahead of them any of the nations that Y'hoshua left when he died.
22
This is how I will test Isra'el, to see whether or not they will keep the way of ADONAI, living according to it, as their ancestors did." ​
23
So ADONAI allowed those nations to remain where they were, without quickly driving them out; he did not hand them over to Y'hoshua. ​

Study Notes for Judges 2

Verse 1

The 'angel of the LORD' (often interpreted as a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ or the Divine Messenger) speaks with divine authority, referencing the unconditional covenant made at the Exodus.

Verse 2

The command to avoid treaties and destroy altars was crucial for maintaining Israel's distinct identity and monotheism, as stipulated in the Mosaic Law (Exodus 23:32).

Verse 3

This is a crucial statement of divine judgment. Because Israel failed to fulfill its obligations, God allows the remaining Canaanites to become a source of affliction ('thorns') and temptation ('snare').

Verse 5

The place is named 'Bochim,' meaning 'weepers,' memorializing the spot where the people confessed their guilt and mourned their failure, though this repentance proved temporary.

Verse 6

This verse begins the transition from the successful conquest narrative (Joshua) to the failure narrative (Judges), establishing the setting for the subsequent decline.

Verse 7

The faithfulness of this initial generation stemmed from their personal experience of the powerful miracles of the Exodus and Conquest, contrasting sharply with their descendants.

Verse 10

This verse pinpoints the theological problem of the entire book: the failure to transmit the knowledge of Yahweh and His saving acts to the next generation, leading to spiritual ignorance.

Verse 11

'Doing evil in the sight of the LORD' is the recurring theological phrase used by the historian to describe covenant disobedience, specifically the worship of foreign deities (Baalim).

Verse 12

The rejection of Yahweh in favor of local Canaanite fertility gods (Baal and Ashtaroth) constituted the ultimate breach of the covenant, violating the First Commandment.

Verse 14

The result of apostasy is immediate divine judgment. God delivers them into the hands of 'spoilers' (raiders or neighboring enemies), initiating the cycle of sin and suffering.

Verse 16

This verse introduces the central mechanism of the book: God raising up temporary military and spiritual leaders (judges) as instruments of salvation in response to Israel’s distress.

Verse 17

The phrase 'went a whoring after other gods' is powerful prophetic imagery, describing idolatry as spiritual adultery, emphasizing the deep betrayal inherent in breaking the covenant bond.

Verse 18

God's intervention through the judges stemmed from His compassion ('it repented the LORD') in response to the people's groaning, demonstrating divine mercy overriding strict justice.

Verse 19

This verse highlights the downward spiritual spiral. Upon the judge's death, the people immediately relapsed, becoming 'more corrupted' than the preceding generation.

Verse 20

God reaffirms the judgment declared in verses 2-3. Since the people failed to obey the covenant, the judgment—leaving the Canaanites in place—will stand.

Verse 22

The purpose of sparing the nations is clearly stated: to 'prove Israel,' acting as a test of their faithfulness and obedience to the covenant way of life established by Moses and Joshua.

Verse 23

The remaining nations were not simply a leftover task but a deliberate divine choice designed to test the loyalty and spiritual maturity of the new, disobedient generation.

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