The children of Israel during the era of the judges...
Selections from the Book The King Prophets...
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi...
Episode (9)
The men of the Children of Israel remained in the Holy Land (Palestine), after they crossed it with Musa` (peace be upon him) boy, their leader, Joshua bin Nun. Thus, the life of nomadism, roughness, and travel ended, leading to a stable semi-civilization. They lived in cities and palaces after tents in the desert, and yet they were in constant wars with their neighboring Philistines, and internal wars with their twelve tribes, and chaos and decline in worship also prevailed among them.
The era of judges begins with the death of Joshua bin Nun, and ends with the establishment of the monarchy at the hands of Saul. There are two types of judges.
A- The first type:
They are the ones who decide the case between the two disputants. Moses (peace be upon him) used to judge the people alone from morning to evening. So Jethro advised him to teach the people the duties and laws of religion, then choose capable people who fear Allah and hate bribes, and appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, hundreds, and dozens to judge small cases for the people. As for major claims, they bring them to Moses (peace be upon him).
The number of judges of this type was very large and they were present from the beginning of the wandering with Moses (peace be upon him) and after him.
B- The second type:
This type means the Savior, which is what was mentioned in the Scripture of Judges (And the Lord appointed judges for them, and they saved them from the hand of those who plundered them). The history books that relied on the Scripture of Judges and other books mentioned that the children of Israel apostatized from the worship of Allah seven times, and worshiped idols, which was the reason for the dominance of enemies over them, and among their judges were those who gathered up the scattered people and reunited them. Some of them repelled an attack or repelled an enemy from them, some of them held power throughout their lives, and some of them corrupted their rule and put their children in charge of the judiciary. The Scripture of Judges recorded their biography, their conditions, and the calamities that befell them.
From reading the era of the Judges through the Scripture of Judges, we conclude: that the era of the Judges is the worst of the eras of the children of Israel. Vices and abominations spread among them, they worshiped idols, killed the righteous, and adultery spread among them. As a result, during the reign of the judges, they were exposed to calamities and were attacked by others.
Many books have spoken about the names of the judges, their biography, their era, their characteristics, and their term, and they differed clearly in this matter. The most important of these books are:
- The Children of Israel from their entry into Palestine until the Roman diaspora in 135 AD, Dr. Muhammad Bayoumi Mahran.
- Introduction to the study of the Torah and the Old Testament, by Muhammad Ali Al-Bar.
- Studies in Jewish and Christian religions, by Dr. Saud Abdul Aziz Al-Khalaf.
- Studies in Judaism and Christianity in the Religions of India, by Dr. Muhammad Zia Al-Azami.
- Historical Studies of the Qur’an in the Levant, by Dr. Muhammad Bayoumi Mahran.
- The military history of the Children of Israel through their books (A New Reading of the Old Testament), written by retired Major General Dr. Yassin Suwaid.
As for the most likely opinion regarding the duration of the judges’ reign, we can take help in this matter from what Ibn Khaldun mentioned in his introduction when he said: The state has natural ages like people, and he mentioned the analogy of the lineage, saying: It is common on people’s tongues in the popular opinion that the lifespan of the state is one hundred years, so consider it and take it as a law that corrects for you the number of fathers in the lineage column that you want by knowing the past years. If you have come close in their number and the past years since the first of them are your sum, then count for every hundred years three fathers. If you carry out all this measurement and you run out of numbers, then it is correct. If you decrease it by a generation, then their number is incorrect by adding one in the lineage column, and if it increases by a similar amount, then one is omitted, and likewise the number of years is delayed from their number. If you have an estimate, consider it, and you will find it correct.
Therefore, the duration of the judges’ reign is 120-130 years. Allah knows best.
There is no doubt that the books of the Old Testament related to the Scripture of Joshua and the Scripture of Judges were subjected to exaggerations and lies far from accuracy, truth and credibility, and they were also subjected to distortion and alteration due to whims. They tried to convince people by falsifying historical facts that their historical roots in the Holy Land lasted for several centuries, most of which passed in wars and skirmishes with the original inhabitants of the land - the Philistines - and even if they built their greatest kingdom there, it was based on the pure monotheism of Allah, and yet it did not last more than a century - The kingdom of David and Solomon, peace be upon them - due to their apostasy, rebellion, and disobedience. They associated partners with Allah and worshiped idols and fetishes, so those who tore up their kingdom were given power over them because of what their hands had earned. Allah is Mighty and Vengeful. Their removal is Allah’s law of succession, rebuilding, and empowerment on earth.
Episode references:
- Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi, The King Prophets, first edition, Dar Ibn Kathir, 2023, pp. 54-58.
- David in the Jewish Scriptures, Mai Al-Madhoun, master’s Thesis, Umm Al-Qura University - Mecca, 1420 - 1421 AH, p. 615.
- Introduction Ibn Khaldun, pp. 171-172
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of King Prophets on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad Al-Sallabi:
https://www.alsalabi.com/salabibooksOnePage/689
