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Judges: The Perils of Possession
In The Perils of Possession, Rabbi Michael Hattin offers a highly readable introduction to the biblical book of Judges that combines imaginative sweep with analytic depth. Utilizing literary techniques, ancient and modern commentaries, as well as current academic research, Hattin draws us into the book's epic accounts of mighty leaders and their exploits, stories that both shock and inspire. As each successive judge falls farther from the ideal of good governance, an urgent question takes How can the downward spiral be halted?
236 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2020
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July 10, 2020
The judges in the biblical book Judges did not judge
People may think that they know about the biblical book Judges and that they understand what Michael Hattin’s new book “Judges” contains. Hattin’s Judges is 207-page book with 19 chapters which devotes one or more of the 19 chapters to the 21 chapters in the biblical book. “Judges,” is part of a series of Maggid Books, a division of Koren Publishers Jerusalem, that uses an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates traditional rabbinic interpretations with scholarly literary techniques to explore the characters, themes, and text of the Hebrew Bible.
The book
The book explains what the Bible text is saying, not what people read into it. He writes in clear easy to read language offers the opinions of Jewish and non-Jewish commentators, predominantly the former, and refers frequently to suggested explanations of events contained in the Talmuds and Midrashim as well as classical Bible commentators such as Rashi and Radak, and his own views. He is very sharp in identifying difficulties and obscurities in the text, and his suggested explanations are generally clever and enlightening. He tells us that a close study of the vocabulary, grammar, and literary structure of the biblical book are critical to the understanding of the events which may result in a misunderstanding of what occurred if this is not done. This is necessary because the Hebrew Bible uses an economy of words. For example, the Bible does not say how Deborah and Barak won their battle against six hundred chariots, but an examination of words suggests that there was a flood and the chariots were mired in mud.
Rabbi Michael Hattin is the author of another book in the series, on Joshua, which was generally given five stars by reviewers. He is the director of the Beit Midrash for the Pardes Center for Jewish educators in Israel and has served as scholar in residence in many cities in North America and Europe.
Prior history
He tells readers that although Joshua, who led the twelve tribes after the death of Moses, attempted to lead his people to conquer Canaan, he was only partially successful. The tribes were united during the lifetimes of Moses and Joshua, but after their death the tribes separated from each other, each looked after their own interests, generally did not join other tribes to assist them, and began to accept the idols of the Canaanites and intermarried with them contrary to the prohibition in the Torah. God punished them by allowing pagan tribes to defeat and control one or more tribes who then called out to God for assistance. God responded by sending charismatic leaders called Judges who rescued the embattled tribes. This situation continued in a downward spiral worsening each year until the end of the period of the judges when the tribes even ceased begging divine help.
The period of the judges
The period of the Judges describes the struggles of the disjointed twelve tribes of Israel to overcome their many enemies as well as the internal differences between the tribes. The book is filled with warfare that lasted centuries. We do not know why the leaders were called Judges. There is no indication in this biblical book that they ever judged the people they helped. We can only guess that perhaps along with aiding a tribe in time of peril, they also served as judges for the people, but, as stated previously, the Bible does not say they did so.
It is clear that none of the judges led or otherwise helped all twelve tribes. They were regional leaders, usually for a single tribe. We do not know if two or more judges functioned in more than one tribe at the same time, although this seems reasonable, therefore, because of this possible overlap, we have no idea how long the period of the Judges lasted. Hattin suggests that the period lasted for three or four hundred years (although other scholars suggest just over 200 years).
The judges
Hattin identifies thirteen judges for the twelve tribes. Not all the tribes had a Judge. Some had more than one at different times. All of them were men except for Deborah whom some later rabbis disparaged because she was a woman. Some of the judges have more than a single chapter devoted to their activities. The judge Shamgar has only a single verse. The four early Judges were God fearing, those during the middle period of the Judges were not so pious such as Gideon who was frequently doubtful and hesitant. The last judge Samson did not work with God until the day he died. When he was captured, blinded, weakened, he prayed to God for strength to kill 3.000 Philistines even though what he would do would kill him as well. Hattin shows how it was not only the fourth time that Samson revealed to Delilah that if his hair was cut he would lose his strength. He was so enamored with Delilah that he wanted to reveal his weakness all along. He hinted this fact in his responses to her during the first three times that he spoke to her. He is not remembered fondly in the biblical books.
The end
The biblical book ends with idol worship, the murder of innocent Canaanites, rape, civil war, and the near destruction of one of the twelve tribes. In the next biblical book, Samuel, the people realize they need a king to unite the tribes, control them, and lead them to fight the nations that are persecuting them. The Bible does not call Samuel a judge, but unlike the judges in the book Judges, he judged the people.
People may think that they know about the biblical book Judges and that they understand what Michael Hattin’s new book “Judges” contains. Hattin’s Judges is 207-page book with 19 chapters which devotes one or more of the 19 chapters to the 21 chapters in the biblical book. “Judges,” is part of a series of Maggid Books, a division of Koren Publishers Jerusalem, that uses an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates traditional rabbinic interpretations with scholarly literary techniques to explore the characters, themes, and text of the Hebrew Bible.
The book
The book explains what the Bible text is saying, not what people read into it. He writes in clear easy to read language offers the opinions of Jewish and non-Jewish commentators, predominantly the former, and refers frequently to suggested explanations of events contained in the Talmuds and Midrashim as well as classical Bible commentators such as Rashi and Radak, and his own views. He is very sharp in identifying difficulties and obscurities in the text, and his suggested explanations are generally clever and enlightening. He tells us that a close study of the vocabulary, grammar, and literary structure of the biblical book are critical to the understanding of the events which may result in a misunderstanding of what occurred if this is not done. This is necessary because the Hebrew Bible uses an economy of words. For example, the Bible does not say how Deborah and Barak won their battle against six hundred chariots, but an examination of words suggests that there was a flood and the chariots were mired in mud.
Rabbi Michael Hattin is the author of another book in the series, on Joshua, which was generally given five stars by reviewers. He is the director of the Beit Midrash for the Pardes Center for Jewish educators in Israel and has served as scholar in residence in many cities in North America and Europe.
Prior history
He tells readers that although Joshua, who led the twelve tribes after the death of Moses, attempted to lead his people to conquer Canaan, he was only partially successful. The tribes were united during the lifetimes of Moses and Joshua, but after their death the tribes separated from each other, each looked after their own interests, generally did not join other tribes to assist them, and began to accept the idols of the Canaanites and intermarried with them contrary to the prohibition in the Torah. God punished them by allowing pagan tribes to defeat and control one or more tribes who then called out to God for assistance. God responded by sending charismatic leaders called Judges who rescued the embattled tribes. This situation continued in a downward spiral worsening each year until the end of the period of the judges when the tribes even ceased begging divine help.
The period of the judges
The period of the Judges describes the struggles of the disjointed twelve tribes of Israel to overcome their many enemies as well as the internal differences between the tribes. The book is filled with warfare that lasted centuries. We do not know why the leaders were called Judges. There is no indication in this biblical book that they ever judged the people they helped. We can only guess that perhaps along with aiding a tribe in time of peril, they also served as judges for the people, but, as stated previously, the Bible does not say they did so.
It is clear that none of the judges led or otherwise helped all twelve tribes. They were regional leaders, usually for a single tribe. We do not know if two or more judges functioned in more than one tribe at the same time, although this seems reasonable, therefore, because of this possible overlap, we have no idea how long the period of the Judges lasted. Hattin suggests that the period lasted for three or four hundred years (although other scholars suggest just over 200 years).
The judges
Hattin identifies thirteen judges for the twelve tribes. Not all the tribes had a Judge. Some had more than one at different times. All of them were men except for Deborah whom some later rabbis disparaged because she was a woman. Some of the judges have more than a single chapter devoted to their activities. The judge Shamgar has only a single verse. The four early Judges were God fearing, those during the middle period of the Judges were not so pious such as Gideon who was frequently doubtful and hesitant. The last judge Samson did not work with God until the day he died. When he was captured, blinded, weakened, he prayed to God for strength to kill 3.000 Philistines even though what he would do would kill him as well. Hattin shows how it was not only the fourth time that Samson revealed to Delilah that if his hair was cut he would lose his strength. He was so enamored with Delilah that he wanted to reveal his weakness all along. He hinted this fact in his responses to her during the first three times that he spoke to her. He is not remembered fondly in the biblical books.
The end
The biblical book ends with idol worship, the murder of innocent Canaanites, rape, civil war, and the near destruction of one of the twelve tribes. In the next biblical book, Samuel, the people realize they need a king to unite the tribes, control them, and lead them to fight the nations that are persecuting them. The Bible does not call Samuel a judge, but unlike the judges in the book Judges, he judged the people.
July 27, 2026
Shoftim is such a crazy book. When you finish reading it, you're shocked at how violent and craven ancient Israel was. It starts out ok, with stories about individual judges saving the Jews/some tribes from their oppressors and then the stories get worse and worse. The final two stories are shocking.
Moshe's grandson worshipping idols? It's truly sad but shows how no one is immune. We can try to raise our kids with the best ideals and still fall short.
Pilegesh B'Giva? Simply horrific. And the tribes' solution to the 600 wiveless Benjaminites just makes the problem worse; killing an entire city for 400 virgins and then instructing the remaining 200 to kidnap girls. Unbelievable. It is alao incredibly sad that Hashem said that Judah should go first to attack Benjamin- Judah, who stood up to Joseph and offered to be his slave instead of Benjamin.
Michael Hattin's comments were insightful, relevant, and non-apologetic.
His explanation of Samson giving over his secret to Delilah was the only one that ever made sense to me. I never got it, but Michael Hattin proposes a unique and insightful explanation.
The book of Shoftim also has some very clear parallels to earlier and later writing, ie, Gideon's hesitancy to assume leadership and Moshe amd Saul's recalcitrance. It also has the same למה זה תשאל לשמי?
Altogether, the book clearly shows the decline of the Jewish people and by emphasizing that "in those days there was no king," sets up the need for a king in the next books.
Things I find fascinating when reading ancient Jewish history:
1. How the Jews were so divided by tribe. To the point where Ephraim pronounced Shibolet 'Sibolet.' And obviously that they were willing to war with each terribly. Say what you will about the state of Jewry today- we don't do that.
2. The timeline. I understand that it it hard to know if rulership overlapped given that judges ruled over their local territory.
3. How so many of the judges just got one line. I guess their stories weren't as compelling? I liked his discussion of the 1 judge per tribe idea. (Spoiler, I agree with the author that that seems more like a neat concept rather than reality.)
Altogether, very interesting. Also read the original text in Hebrew for the first third and English for the rest.
Moshe's grandson worshipping idols? It's truly sad but shows how no one is immune. We can try to raise our kids with the best ideals and still fall short.
Pilegesh B'Giva? Simply horrific. And the tribes' solution to the 600 wiveless Benjaminites just makes the problem worse; killing an entire city for 400 virgins and then instructing the remaining 200 to kidnap girls. Unbelievable. It is alao incredibly sad that Hashem said that Judah should go first to attack Benjamin- Judah, who stood up to Joseph and offered to be his slave instead of Benjamin.
Michael Hattin's comments were insightful, relevant, and non-apologetic.
His explanation of Samson giving over his secret to Delilah was the only one that ever made sense to me. I never got it, but Michael Hattin proposes a unique and insightful explanation.
The book of Shoftim also has some very clear parallels to earlier and later writing, ie, Gideon's hesitancy to assume leadership and Moshe amd Saul's recalcitrance. It also has the same למה זה תשאל לשמי?
Altogether, the book clearly shows the decline of the Jewish people and by emphasizing that "in those days there was no king," sets up the need for a king in the next books.
Things I find fascinating when reading ancient Jewish history:
1. How the Jews were so divided by tribe. To the point where Ephraim pronounced Shibolet 'Sibolet.' And obviously that they were willing to war with each terribly. Say what you will about the state of Jewry today- we don't do that.
2. The timeline. I understand that it it hard to know if rulership overlapped given that judges ruled over their local territory.
3. How so many of the judges just got one line. I guess their stories weren't as compelling? I liked his discussion of the 1 judge per tribe idea. (Spoiler, I agree with the author that that seems more like a neat concept rather than reality.)
Altogether, very interesting. Also read the original text in Hebrew for the first third and English for the rest.
August 29, 2022
The Maggid Studies are a careful reading that are approachable without a background in Biblical Studies. Michael Hattin’s study of Judges has some keen insights from both his own readings and the Jewish history of interpretation into the reception of this unusual piece of scripture. The organization of the comments is more topical than textual
June 9, 2023
Brilliant commentary on the Book of Judges. I read along with the Steinsaltz Neviim translation and notes, also with Jonathan Livi's 'The Navi Podcast' read-through/commentary.
December 31, 2025
Another great work
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews