JugesChapitre 2

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Show the cycleThe recurring pattern in the time of the Judges

Judges chapter 2 introduces the tragic pattern that repeats throughout the book: sin → punishment → cry for help → deliverance → peace → new sin. This cycle repeated itself in seven rounds over about 350 years.

The People Forsake the Lord

After Joshua's death, the Israelites abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth—the gods of the peoples around them.

v.10, 11, 12, 13

The Lord's Anger

The Lord's anger burned against Israel. He handed them over to raiders and sold them into the hands of their enemies around them.

v.14, 15

The People Cry Out

When their distress became too great, the people cried out to the Lord for help.

v.18

The Lord Raises Up a Judge

The Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of their raiders. The Lord was with the judge and saved them as long as the judge lived.

v.16, 18

Peace in the Land

As long as the judge lived, the people had peace from their enemies.

v.18

The Cycle Repeats

But when the judge died, the people turned back and acted even more wickedly than their ancestors. They followed other gods, served them and worshiped them. They did not give up their evil ways.

v.19

The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said: "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you,

and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?

So now I say: I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you."

When the angel of the LORD had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people lifted up their voices and wept.

So they named that place Bochim, and there they sacrificed to the LORD.

When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites went out, each to his own inheritance, to take possession of the land.

The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him, men who had seen all the great work the LORD had done for Israel.

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten.

They buried him within the borders of his inheritance, at Timnath-heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

That whole generation, too, was gathered to their fathers, and another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD or what he had done for Israel.

Then the Israelites did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals.

They abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, the gods of the peoples around them. They bowed down to them and provoked the LORD to anger.

They abandoned the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths.

So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel. He handed them over to raiders who plundered them, and he sold them into the power of the enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies.

Wherever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, just as the LORD had said and sworn to them. They were in great distress.

Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hand of those who plundered them.

Yet they would not listen to their judges either, but prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down to them. They quickly turned from the way their fathers had walked in obedience to the LORD's commands; they did not do as their fathers had done.

Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, the LORD was with the judge and saved them from the hand of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them.

But when the judge died, they would turn back and become more corrupt than their fathers, following other gods to serve them and bow down to them. They would not give up their practices or their stubborn ways.

So the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he said, "Because this nation has violated the covenant I laid down for their fathers and has not listened to my voice,

I in turn will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died.

I will use them to test Israel, to see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their fathers did, or not."

So the LORD let those nations remain; he did not drive them out at once or hand them over to Joshua.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 2

Main Theme: Israel's repeated apostasy from God and the introduction of the cycle of judges as a pattern for the rest of the book.

Content: The angel of the Lord rebukes Israel at Bochim for breaking the covenant by failing to tear down the altars of the Canaanites. After Joshua's death and the passing of the generation that had witnessed God's mighty works, a new generation arose who did not know the Lord and worshiped Baal and Ashtoreth. So God allowed enemies to plunder them, but raised up judges to deliver them—yet each time a judge died, the people returned to idolatry. God decided to leave the remaining nations in the land to test Israel.

Key Words/Images:

Bochim ("the weeping ones"): The place where the angel of the Lord spoke and the people wept over their disobedience.
The Cycle of Judges: The repeated pattern of sin, punishment, crying out for help, and deliverance through a judge.
Covenant Breaking: Israel broke the covenant by making agreements with the Canaanites and failing to destroy their altars.
Baal and Ashtoreth: Canaanite gods whom Israel turned to instead of the Lord.

Contexte historique

Places

Gilgal (הַגִּלְגָּל) is mentioned as the starting point for the angel of the Lord (v. 1). This was the Israelites' first campsite after crossing the Jordan and served as an important cultic center during the conquest. The fact that the angel came from Gilgal emphasizes continuity with the covenant relationship established during the conquest period.

Bochim (בֹּכִים), meaning "the weepers," received its name from the people's reaction to the angel's message (vv. 4–5). The exact location of this place is uncertain; the Septuagint places it near Bethel. The name was given as a memorial to this national sorrow, and the people offered sacrifices there to the Lord.

Timnath-Heres (תִּמְנַת־חֶרֶס) in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash, was Joshua's inheritance and burial place (v. 9). The name is written as "Timnath-Serah" (תִּמְנַת־סֶרַח) in Joshua 19:50 and 24:30 – the letters have been transposed (metathesis).

Events and Customs

The chapter describes the Israelites' practice of making covenants with the Canaanites and failing to tear down their altars – both actions directly contrary to God's command (Deut. 7:2–5). Such covenants often involved religious obligations toward the other party's gods, which explains the theological seriousness of the prohibition.

The expressions "they were gathered to their fathers" (v. 10) and that a new generation "did not know the Lord" describe the critical transition from the conquest generation to the next. "To know" (יָדַע) involves not only intellectual knowledge but personal experience and covenant relationship – the new generation had not personally experienced God's mighty deeds.

Key Terms

Baal and Ashtoreths (הַבְּעָלִים וְלָעַשְׁתָּרוֹת) represent respectively male and female Canaanite deities (vv. 11, 13). Baal (plural: ba'alim) was the storm and fertility god. Ashtoreths (plural of Ashtoreth/Ashtart) was the goddess of fertility and war. The worship of these gods involved practices that stood in sharp contrast to the worship of the Lord.

Judges (שֹׁפְטִים) in this context do not primarily refer to legal judges, but charismatic leaders whom God raised up to deliver Israel from enemies (vv. 16, 18). The Hebrew verb שָׁפַט encompasses judging, ruling, and restoring justice. The Israelite judges were not hereditary rulers but were called by God in times of crisis.

"To commit whoredom" (זָנוּ) is used metaphorically in verse 17 regarding Israel's unfaithfulness to God. This marriage metaphor for the covenant relationship between God and Israel expresses that idolatry is spiritual adultery.

Chapter-Specific Observations

Verses 6–9 repeat almost verbatim Joshua 24:28–31, but in a different order. In Joshua, the people's service comes before Joshua's death; here, Joshua's death (v. 8) comes before the description of the people's service. This structural difference emphasizes that Judges 2 focuses on the transition to a new era after Joshua's death.

Verses 11–19 introduce the cyclical pattern that characterizes the entire book of Judges: sin → oppression → crying out → deliverance → relapse. This is the theological key to the book and is presented programmatically here before the individual judge narratives begin.

Personnages4

Joshua3 Ba'al (Canaanite god worshipped by the Israelites)1 Astarte1 Nun (Joshua's father)1

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Mots-clés8

Judges — Leaders chosen by God to rescue the people of Israel from oppression and help them settle legal disputes.
Israelites — An ancient people who were descendants of the patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel. They were chosen by God to be His special people.
Canaan — A region in the Middle East that the Israelites conquered and settled after their time in Egypt and their journey through the wilderness.
Baal — A Canaanite god whom the Israelites began to worship, causing them to turn away from God.
Asherah — A Canaanite goddess of fertility whom the Israelites also began to worship alongside Baal.
Cycle — The repeating pattern in the book of Judges where the Israelites sinned, were oppressed, repented, and were saved by a judge.
Covenant — An agreement between God and the Israelites that included promises and obligations from both sides.
Repentance — The feeling of regret and sorrow over having sinned or done wrong, which often led the Israelites to seek God's forgiveness.