Bible Strands
Judges 2:16
Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records Yahweh’s response to Israel’s distress following repeated covenant violation. This moment occurs within the established cycle of apostasy, foreign oppression, and subsequent deliverance that structures the book.
The words — וַ/יָּ֥קֶם (va/Ya.kem) translates literally as “and he raised up,” emphasizing divine initiative in appointing leaders. The noun שֹׁפְטִ֑ים (sho.fe.Tim) refers to “judges” or military deliverers who intervene to rescue the people.
The thread — This recurring pattern of God raising deliverers during periods of foreign oppression is noted in Acts 13:20 and summarized in 1 Samuel 12:11. Psalm 106:43 documents the same cycle, highlighting repeated rescue amid persistent rebellion.
Why it lands — The text states that Yahweh actively intervenes to save a rebellious people without endorsing their idolatry. It requires the reader to recognize that divine mercy operates within a historical pattern of human failure and repeated deliverance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
Cross-references
- Acts 13:20 All this took about 450 years. After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet.
- 1 Samuel 12:11 So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.
- Psalms 106:43 Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.
- Judges 3:15 And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
- Nehemiah 9:27 So You delivered them into the hands of enemies who oppressed them, and in their time of distress they cried out to You. From heaven You heard them, and in Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who saved them from the hands of their enemies.
- Judges 3:9 But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
- Judges 4:5 And she would sit under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where the Israelites would go up to her for judgment.
- Judges 6:14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”