ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Judging the Judges: Finding value in these problematic characters

 

 

L R Martin

Theological Seminary Cleveland, U S A¹

 

 

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ABSTRACT

The biblical judges are well known for their less than exemplary behaviour. In the past, these judges have been appreciated largely as examples of how a charismatic leader should not behave. In spite of the judges' questionable morals, the writer of the book of Hebrews commends four of them (Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson) for their faith. This paper evaluates these judges in light of their characterisations in the book of Hebrews and in the book of Judges and suggests that our struggle with the judges parallels the contemporary integrity crisis in Christian leadership.

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1 Lee Roy Martin (DTh UNISA) is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at the Church of God Theological Seminary in Cleveland, TN USA and a Research Associate of UNISA, Department of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies.