Judges 2

שופטים פרק ב׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: Judges | Chapter: 2 of 21 | Day: 26 of 742

Date: March 9, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Judges 2 is arguably the most structurally significant chapter in the entire book, functioning as a theological prologue that establishes the cyclical pattern governing all subsequent narratives. The chapter divides neatly into two distinct sections: a dramatic prophetic rebuke at Bochim (verses 1-5), and a sweeping historical-theological overview of the period of the judges (verses 6-23). Together, these sections transform what might otherwise read as a series of disconnected hero stories into a coherent theological argument about covenant fidelity and its consequences.

The opening scene is striking in its directness. A messenger of God (malakh Hashem) ascends from Gilgal — the site of Israel’s first encampment after crossing the Jordan, laden with associations of covenant renewal — to a place that will be named Bochim (“weepers”) only after his speech concludes. The Sages in Seder Olam identify this messenger as Pinchas, the zealous priest, lending the rebuke both prophetic authority and a pointed irony: the man who once acted decisively against idolatry at Baal Peor now confronts a generation that has made peace with the very Canaanite culture they were commanded to uproot. The indictment is framed as a broken covenant (berit): God fulfilled His side by bringing Israel out of Egypt and into the land, but Israel failed to demolish the altars of the land’s inhabitants or refrain from making treaties with them. The people’s weeping and sacrifices at Bochim suggest genuine remorse, yet the remainder of the chapter reveals how fleeting that remorse proves to be.

The second half of the chapter (verses 6-23) performs a remarkable literary maneuver, rewinding the clock to Joshua’s death before fast-forwarding through the entire era of the judges in a single sweep. Verse 10 marks the hinge point of the narrative: “Another generation arose after them, which had not experienced God” (asher lo yade’u et Hashem). This is not merely ignorance of theology but absence of lived experience — the generation that witnessed the Jordan’s parting and the walls of Jericho’s collapse has died, and with them the visceral memory that anchored faith. The text thus raises a question that echoes through Jewish thought: how does a community transmit covenantal commitment when direct encounter with the divine fades into inherited tradition?

From this pivot, the chapter articulates the famous “cycle of the judges” with almost formulaic precision: sin (worship of the Baalim and Ashtaroth), punishment (subjugation by enemies), crying out, deliverance through a God-appointed judge (shofet), temporary faithfulness, and then — upon the judge’s death — renewed and even worsened apostasy. Verse 19 is particularly devastating in its assessment: “they omitted none of their practices and stubborn ways” (lo hipilu mima’aleihem u-midarkam ha-kashah). The Metzudat David’s observation that Israel’s repentance was driven only by the judge’s rebuke rather than genuine conviction captures the chapter’s tragic insight — that external pressure can produce behavioral change without internal transformation.

The chapter’s final verses (20-23) offer a theological explanation for why the remaining Canaanite nations were never fully expelled. What began in Joshua’s time as a practical strategy of gradual conquest (Exodus 23:30) now becomes a deliberate divine instrument of testing (le-ma’an nassot bam et Yisrael). The nations left behind serve a dual purpose: they are both punishment for covenant violation and an ongoing examination of Israel’s capacity for faithfulness. This reframing is theologically sophisticated — it transforms a military failure into a moral proving ground, suggesting that the challenge of living among competing cultures and ideologies is itself part of the covenantal design. The chapter thus sets the stage not only for the narratives that follow in Judges but for a perennial Jewish question about maintaining spiritual identity amid the pressures of surrounding civilization.

פרק ב׳ · Chapter 2

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֧עַל מַלְאַךְ־יְהֹוָ֛ה מִן־הַגִּלְגָּ֖ל אֶל־הַבֹּכִ֑ים {פ}וַיֹּ֩אמֶר֩ אַעֲלֶ֨ה אֶתְכֶ֜ם מִמִּצְרַ֗יִם וָאָבִ֤יא אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֗רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי֙ לַאֲבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וָאֹמַ֕ר לֹֽא־אָפֵ֧ר בְּרִיתִ֛י אִתְּכֶ֖ם לְעוֹלָֽם׃

English:

An angelaAn angel Lit. “a messenger.” of GOD came up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you up from Egypt and I took you into the land that I had promised on oath to your fathers.bfathers See note at Josh. 1.6. And I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וְאַתֶּ֗ם לֹֽא־תִכְרְת֤וּ בְרִית֙ לְיֽוֹשְׁבֵי֙ הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֔את מִזְבְּחוֹתֵיהֶ֖ם תִּתֹּצ֑וּן וְלֹא־שְׁמַעְתֶּ֥ם בְּקוֹלִ֖י מַה־זֹּ֥את עֲשִׂיתֶֽם׃

English:

And you, for your part, must make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you must tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me—look what you have done!

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וְגַ֣ם אָמַ֔רְתִּי לֹא־אֲגָרֵ֥שׁ אוֹתָ֖ם מִפְּנֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָי֤וּ לָכֶם֙ לְצִדִּ֔ים וֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם יִהְי֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ��

English:

Therefore, I have resolved not to drive them out before you; they shall become your oppressors,coppressors So Targum and other ancient versions. Meaning of Heb. uncertain. and their gods shall be a snare to you.”

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֗י כְּדַבֵּ֞ר מַלְאַ֤ךְ יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֶֽל־כׇּל־בְּנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּשְׂא֥וּ הָעָ֛ם אֶת־קוֹלָ֖ם וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃

English:

As the angel of GOD spoke these words to all the Israelites, the people broke into weeping.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַֽיִּקְרְא֛וּ שֵֽׁם־הַמָּק֥וֹם הַה֖וּא בֹּכִ֑ים וַיִּזְבְּחוּ־שָׁ֖ם לַיהֹוָֽה׃ {פ}

English:

So they named that place Bochim,dBochim I.e., “weepers.” and they offered sacrifices there to GOD.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיְשַׁלַּ֥ח יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיֵּלְכ֧וּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אִ֥ישׁ לְנַחֲלָת֖וֹ לָרֶ֥שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

English:

When Joshua dismissed the people, the Israelites went to their allotted territories and took possession of the land.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וַיַּעַבְד֤וּ הָעָם֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ וְכֹ֣ל ׀ יְמֵ֣י הַזְּקֵנִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֶאֱרִ֤יכוּ יָמִים֙ אַחֲרֵ֣י יְהוֹשׁ֔וּעַ אֲשֶׁ֣ר רָא֗וּ אֵ֣ת כׇּל־מַעֲשֵׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ הַגָּד֔וֹל אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

The people served GOD during the lifetime of Joshua and the lifetime of the older people who lived on after Joshua and who had witnessed all the marvelous deeds that GOD had wrought for Israel.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֛מׇת יְהוֹשֻׁ֥עַ בִּן־נ֖וּן עֶ֣בֶד יְהֹוָ֑ה בֶּן־מֵאָ֥ה וָעֶ֖שֶׂר שָׁנִֽים׃

English:

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of GOD, died at the age of one hundred and ten years,

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַיִּקְבְּר֤וּ אוֹתוֹ֙ בִּגְב֣וּל נַח��לָת֔וֹ בְּתִמְנַת־חֶ֖רֶס בְּהַ֣ר אֶפְרָ֑יִם מִצְּפ֖וֹן לְהַר־גָּֽעַשׁ׃

English:

and was buried on his own property, at Timnath-hereseTimnath-heres Some mss. read “Timnath-serah”; cf. Josh. 24.30. in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וְגַם֙ כׇּל־הַדּ֣וֹר הַה֔וּא נֶאֶסְפ֖וּ אֶל־אֲבוֹתָ֑יו וַיָּ֩קׇם֩ דּ֨וֹר אַחֵ֜ר אַחֲרֵיהֶ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹא־יָֽדְעוּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה וְגַם֙ אֶת־הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָׂ֖ה לְיִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ {פ}

English:

And all that generation were likewise gathered to their ancestors.Another generation arose after them, which had not experienced GOD’s deliverancefwhich had not experienced GOD’s deliverance Lit. “which did not know GOD.” or the deeds that had been wrought for Israel.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַיַּעֲשׂ֧וּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אֶת־הָרַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיַּעַבְד֖וּ אֶת־הַבְּעָלִֽים׃

English:

And the Israelites did what was offensive to GOD. They worshiped the Baalim

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַיַּעַזְב֞וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה ׀ אֱלֹהֵ֣י אֲבוֹתָ֗ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אוֹתָם֮ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֒יִם֒ וַיֵּלְכ֞וּ אַחֲרֵ֣י ׀ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֗ים מֵאֱלֹהֵ֤י הָֽעַמִּים֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ סְבִיב֣וֹתֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם וַיַּכְעִ֖סוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

and forsook the ETERNAL, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods, from among the gods of the peoples around them, and bowed down to them; they provoked GOD.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַיַּעַזְב֖וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיַּעַבְד֥וּ לַבַּ֖עַל וְלָעַשְׁתָּרֽוֹת׃

English:

They forsook GOD and worshiped Baal and the Ashtaroth.gthe Ashtaroth Manifestations of the Canaanite goddess Ashtoreth.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֤ף ��ְהֹוָה֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַֽיִּתְּנֵם֙ בְּיַד־שֹׁסִ֔ים וַיָּשֹׁ֖סּוּ אוֹתָ֑ם וַֽיִּמְכְּרֵ֞ם בְּיַ֤ד אֽוֹיְבֵיהֶם֙ מִסָּבִ֔יב וְלֹא־יָכְל֣וּ ע֔וֹד לַעֲמֹ֖ד לִפְנֵ֥י אוֹיְבֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

Having become incensed at Israel, GOD then handed them over to foeshfoes Lit. “plunderers.” who plundered them, surrendering them to their enemies on all sides; they could no longer hold their own against their enemies.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

בְּכֹ֣ל ׀ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָצְא֗וּ יַד־יְהֹוָה֙ הָֽיְתָה־בָּ֣ם לְרָעָ֔ה כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ דִּבֶּ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה וְכַאֲשֶׁ֛ר נִשְׁבַּ֥ע יְהֹוָ֖ה לָהֶ֑ם וַיֵּ֥צֶר לָהֶ֖ם מְאֹֽד׃

English:

In all their campaigns, GOD’s hand was against them to their undoing—as GOD had declared and as GOD had sworn to them—and they were in great distress.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֥קֶם יְהֹוָ֖ה שֹׁפְטִ֑ים וַיּ֣וֹשִׁיע֔וּם מִיַּ֖ד שֹׁסֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

Then GOD raised up chieftains who delivered them from those who plundered them.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וְגַ֤ם אֶל־שֹֽׁפְטֵיהֶם֙ לֹ֣א שָׁמֵ֔עוּ כִּ֣י זָנ֗וּ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲו֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם סָ֣רוּ מַהֵ֗ר מִן־הַדֶּ֜רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֨ר הָלְכ֧וּ אֲבוֹתָ֛ם לִשְׁמֹ֥עַ מִצְוֺת־יְהֹוָ֖ה לֹא־עָ֥שׂוּ כֵֽן׃

English:

But they did not heed their chieftains either; they went astray after other gods and bowed down to them. They were quick to turn aside from the way their ancestors had followed in obedience to GOD’s commandments; they did not do right.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְכִי־הֵקִ֨ים יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ לָהֶם֮ שֹׁפְטִים֒ וְהָיָ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ עִם־הַשֹּׁפֵ֔ט וְהֽוֹשִׁיעָם֙ מִיַּ֣ד אֹֽיְבֵיהֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י הַשּׁוֹפֵ֑ט כִּֽי־יִנָּחֵ֤ם יְהֹוָה֙ מִנַּֽאֲקָתָ֔ם מִפְּנֵ֥י לֹחֲצֵיהֶ֖ם וְדֹחֲקֵיהֶֽם׃

English:

When GOD raised up chieftains for them, GOD would be with that chieftain—and would save them from their enemies during that chieftain’s lifetime; for GOD would be moved to pity by their moanings because of those who oppressed and crushed them.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ בְּמ֣וֹת הַשּׁוֹפֵ֗ט יָשֻׁ֙בוּ֙ וְהִשְׁחִ֣יתוּ מֵֽאֲבוֹתָ֔ם לָלֶ֗כֶת אַֽחֲרֵי֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים לְעׇבְדָ֖ם וּלְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺ֣ת לָהֶ֑ם לֹ֤א הִפִּ֙ילוּ֙ מִמַּ֣עַלְלֵיהֶ֔ם וּמִדַּרְכָּ֖ם הַקָּשָֽׁה׃

English:

But when the chieftain died, they would again act basely, even more than the preceding generationithe preceding generation Lit. “their ancestors.”—following other gods, worshiping them, and bowing down to them; they omitted none of their practices and stubborn ways.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֥ף יְהֹוָ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיֹּ֗אמֶר יַ֩עַן֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָבְר֜וּ הַגּ֣וֹי הַזֶּ֗ה אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּ֣יתִי אֶת־אֲבוֹתָ֔ם וְלֹ֥א שָׁמְע֖וּ לְקוֹלִֽי׃

English:

Then GOD, having become incensed against Israel, said, “Since that nation has transgressed the covenant that I enjoined upon their ancestors and has not obeyed Me,

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

גַּם־אֲנִי֙ לֹ֣א אוֹסִ֔יף לְהוֹרִ֥ישׁ אִ֖ישׁ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם מִן־הַגּוֹיִ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־עָזַ֥ב יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ וַיָּמֹֽת׃

English:

I for My part will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died.”

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

לְמַ֛עַן נַסּ֥וֹת בָּ֖ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל הֲשֹׁמְרִ֣ים הֵם֩ אֶת־דֶּ֨רֶךְ יְהֹוָ֜ה לָלֶ֣כֶת בָּ֗ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר שָׁמְר֥וּ אֲבוֹתָ֖ם אִם־לֹֽא׃

English:

For it was in order to test Israel by them—[to see] whether they would faithfully walk in GOD’s ways, as their ancestors had done—

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַיַּנַּ֤ח יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה לְבִלְתִּ֥י הוֹרִישָׁ֖ם מַהֵ֑ר וְלֹ֥א נְתָנָ֖ם בְּיַד־יְהוֹשֻֽׁעַ׃ {פ}

English:

that GOD had left those nations, instead of driving them out at once, and had not delivered them into the hands of Joshua.

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