A Quick Look at Ten Judges of Israel Quiz

Answer: Othniel

Othniel was the first judge of Israel. According to the Website Christiananswers.com, Othniel is the only judge mentioned in Scripture connected with the tribe of Judah. Under him the land had peace for forty years.

Othniel was the younger brother of Caleb and his father was Kenash. His wife was Achsah. Othniel served for 40 years after overthrowing Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia; or Aram Naharaim in the NIV Bible.

Judges 3:10-11, in the NKJV Bible, states: "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died."

Answer: Ibzan

Ibzan had thirty sons and thirty daughters, but there is no mention of the number of wives he had. He replaced Jephthah as judge and was followed by Elon.

Ibzan's time as a judge is limited to three verses. Judges 12:8-10, in the NKJV, state: "After him [Jephthah], Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons. And he gave away thirty daughters in marriage, and brought in thirty daughters from elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem."

Incidentally, Jair, another judge of Israel, also had thirty sons as per Judges 10:4. But there is no mention of how many daughters he had.

Answer: Samson

Samson is best known for his affair with his mistress Delilah, but he also had a wife and spent time with a prostitute. Judges 14:1-5 tells of Samson marrying a woman (who is not named) from Timnah, with Scripture going on to tell of Samson having a falling out with his wife and giving her to his "companion who had been his best man."

Judges 16 goes on to tell of Samson spending time with a harlot in Gaza. However, no name is given for the woman.

Answer: Ehud

According to Judges 3:15, Ehud was a left-handed Benjaminite who was a "deliverer" from God. The second judge of Israel is known for killing Eglon, the "very fat" king of Moab. Scripture goes into some gory details about the king's death.

Judges 3:20-22, in the NIV Bible, states: "Ehud then approached him (Eglon) while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, 'I have a message from God for you.' As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it."

Scripture goes on to tell of Ehud making his escape through the porch and locking the doors of the upper room behind him. Only when Ehud was long gone did his assistants discover Eglon "fallen dead on the floor."

Answer: Eli

Eli's sons Hophni and Phinehas were out of control and simply refused to listen to him. 1 Samuel 2 tells of the sons disobeying sacred protocol when people came to the tabernacle of meeting to offer a sacrifice.

Verse 22 in the same chapter tells of the men having sexual relations with the women "who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."

The chapter goes on to tell of an unnamed man of God telling Eli his two sons would be killed through divine retribution.

The fourth chapter of 1 Samuel tells of the Philistines capturing the ark of God and Hophni and Phinehas being killed in battle with Eli dying shortly afterwards.

1 Samuel 4:17-18 tells of a messenger breaking the news to Eli: "So the messenger answered and said, 'Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead; and the ark of God has been captured.' Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years."

Answer: Gideon

According to the seventh chapter of Judges, Gideon led the handful of soldiers to victory over a gigantic number of men battling for the Midianites. Judges 7:1-7 tells of Gideon having 32,000 soldiers and the number being reduced to 10,000 when 22,000 of them were excused for being fearful of fighting the Midianites. Then the LORD instructed Gideon to lead 10,000 men to water where they were apparently told to drink.

Then things got downright interesting. The men who drank by lapping the water from their cupped hands like a dog were selected for battle while those who knelt down to drink were rejected. Only 300 men lapped water like a dog, yet those were the ones the LORD told Gideon to take into battle. Sure enough, the chapter ends with an amazing victory by Gideon's three hundred men over their opposition.

According to Judges 6:12 in the NIV Bible, Gideon means "Mighty Warrior."

Answer: Jair

Jair is the correct answer. Not much is known about Jair, apart from the fact he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. There is no mention of the number of wives he had, or the number of daughters. He succeeded Tola and was replaced by Jephthah.

Judges 10:3-5 gives this account: "After him [Tola] arose Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years. Now he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty towns, which are called 'Havoth Jair' to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died and was buried in Camon."

Incidentally, Ibzan, another judge of Israel, also had thirty sons. However, making Ibzan different is the fact Scripture says he also had thirty daughters, as per (Judges 12:8-10). There is no mention of Ibzan's sons riding on thirty donkeys, however.

Answer: Shamgar

Shamgar killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad, according to Scripture.

However, little is known about him as he rates only a verse in the Bible.

He seceeded Ehud and was replaced by Deborah.

Judges 3:31, in the NKJV, simply states "After him [Ehud] was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel."

Answer: Deborah

Deborah is the correct answer. There's no doubt she was a spark plug who made things happen. Her story is told in the fourth and fifth chapters of Judges. According to Judges 4:2, Jabin king of Canaan ruled over the Israelites who were cruelly oppressed by Sisera, the commander of his army. Things changed dramatically, however, when Deborah rose to power.

The Israelites, led by Deborah and her general Barak, scored a decisive military victory over Sisera and their freedom was gained. According to Judges 4:16, "all Sisera's troops fell by the sword; not a man was left." Notes in the NIV Study Bible indicate Deborah was the only judge referred to as a prophetess. And according to Wikipedia, she was the "fourth, and the only female, Judge of pre-monarchic Israel in the Old Testament (Tanakh)."

Her husband's name was Lappidoth, but little is known about him as he is mentioned in passing reference.

Answer: Samuel

Samuel was basically the last judge of Israel, although he appointed his two sons Joel and Abiah to the position. It seems they didn't last long as Scripture tells of the two perverting justice.

Not counting Samuel's two sons, Israel was ruled by fifteen judges. They are:
1.) Othniel, Judges 1:11-13; 3:7-11
2.) Ehud, Judges 3:12-30
3.) Shamgar, Judges 3:31;5:6
4.) Deborah, Judges 4-5
5.) Gideon, Judges 6-8
6.) Abimelech, Judges 8:33-9:57
7.) Tola, Judges 10:1-2
8.) Jair, Judges 10:3-5
9.) Jephthah, Judges 11:1-12:7
10.) Ibzan, Judges 12:8-10
11.) Elon, Judges 12:11-12
12.) Abdon, Judges 12:13-15
13.) Samson, Judges 13-16
14.) Eli, 1 Samuel 1:1-4:1
15.) Samuel, 1 Samuel 4:1-7:17.

After Samuel, Israel was ruled by kings with the first king being Saul.