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Judges 2

KJV · Chapter 2/21

1And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

2And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

3Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

4And it came to pass, when the angel of the Lord spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

5And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the Lord.

6And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.

7And the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord, that he did for Israel.

8And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

9And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath–heres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.

10And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

11And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim:

12And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

13And they forsook the Lord, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

14And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.

15Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

16Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.

17And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the Lord; but they did not so.

18And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.

19And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.

20And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;

21I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:

22That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.

23Therefore the Lord left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

An angel of the Lord rebukes Israel for making a covenant with the Canaanites. After the death of Joshua and his generation, the people turn to other gods, beginning the cycle of sin, oppression, crying out, and deliverance.

Explanation

This chapter functions as a theological summary of the entire book of Judges, explaining the cyclical pattern that will repeat dozens of times: Israel abandons God, is handed over to oppressors, cries out for help, God raises up a deliverer-judge, there is peace for a time, and then the cycle begins again, usually worse than before. The key phrase is that a 'generation that did not know the Lord' arose, showing that genuine faith is not automatically passed down — it must be actively taught and lived out before one's children. God allows the remaining nations to stay as a test of Israel's faithfulness, revealing that trials and temptations serve a formative purpose and are not merely random obstacles.

Fun facts

  • The place called 'Bochim' (meaning 'those who weep') received its name because of the people's weeping in response to the angel of the Lord's rebuke, becoming a geographic landmark of national mourning.
  • The cycle of Judges — sin, oppression, crying out, deliverance, peace — repeats at least seven times throughout the book, considered one of the most tightly structured literary patterns in the Old Testament.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Judges 2:1The angel of the Lord goes up from Gilgal to Bochim and reminds Israel that God brought them out of Egypt and promised never to break the covenant made with the people.
  2. Judges 2:2God had commanded them to make no covenant with the peoples of the land and to tear down their altars, but Israel did not obey. This is the direct accusation that opens the angel’s speech.
  3. Judges 2:3Because of this disobedience, God warns that He will no longer drive out the peoples who remain; they will be thorns among Israel, and their gods a snare. This explains the suffering described in the chapters that follow.
  4. Judges 2:4On hearing these words from the angel, the people weep loudly, showing that they felt the weight of the rebuke.
  5. Judges 2:5Because of this weeping, the place is named Bochim, meaning “those who weep,” and there the people offer sacrifices.
  6. Judges 2:6The text now steps back in time: after Joshua sent the people away, each tribe went to take possession of its own inheritance of land.
  7. Judges 2:7The people served the Lord throughout Joshua’s whole life and also throughout the lives of the elders who outlived him and had seen with their own eyes the great works of God.
  8. Judges 2:8Joshua dies at the age of 110, the same age as Joseph, his predecessor in leading the people back in Egypt centuries earlier, a number the Egyptians considered ideal for a complete life.
  9. Judges 2:9He is buried in his own inheritance, at Timnath-heres, in the mountains of Ephraim.
  10. Judges 2:10That whole generation also dies, and another rises up that did not know the Lord or what He had done for Israel. It is this generation that opens the door to the cycle of unfaithfulness that dominates the book.
  11. Judges 2:11The Israelites begin doing evil in the sight of the Lord and serving the Baalim, the local gods. This is the first time the book describes this pattern, which will keep repeating.
  12. Judges 2:12They abandon the Lord, who had brought them out of Egypt, and follow after the gods of the surrounding peoples, provoking God’s anger.
  13. Judges 2:13More specifically, they serve Baal and Ashtaroth, the chief Canaanite gods of the time.
  14. Judges 2:14The Lord’s anger burns, and He hands Israel over to plunderers and surrounding enemies, to the point that they can no longer stand against them.
  15. Judges 2:15Wherever Israel went, the hand of the Lord was against them, exactly as He had sworn before. The people live under great distress.
  16. Judges 2:16A judge in this book is not someone who presides over a courtroom; he is a charismatic military leader, raised up in a specific crisis to deliver the people from an oppressor. Once the danger passes, he does not rule as a king, and the position is not hereditary.
  17. Judges 2:17Even so, the people would not listen even to the judges: they ran after other gods and quickly turned aside from the path their fathers had followed in obedience to the commandments of the Lord.
  18. Judges 2:18The pattern described here repeats throughout the whole book: the people drift from God, are oppressed, cry out, receive a judge who brings relief for as long as he lives, and fall back into corruption as soon as he dies. It is this cycle of unfaithfulness, oppression, crying out, and deliverance that gives structure to nearly all the chapters that follow.
  19. Judges 2:19But as soon as the judge died, the people would return to corruption, worse than their fathers, following other gods without giving up any of their evil ways. This is the final stage of the cycle that repeats throughout the book.
  20. Judges 2:20The Lord’s anger burns against Israel because the people broke the covenant He had commanded their ancestors and did not listen to His voice.
  21. Judges 2:21Because of this, God decides not to drive out any more of the nations that Joshua left behind when he died.
  22. Judges 2:22The reason is to test Israel, to see whether the people will keep the way of the Lord as their ancestors kept it, or not.
  23. Judges 2:23So the Lord let those nations remain, neither driving them out quickly nor handing them over into Joshua’s hand.

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