outline of Judges

1.  Introduction:  Questions of Leadership and Conquest Completion (1:1-2:5)

1. The Promise to Judah (1:1, 2)
2. Various Tribes in the Conquest (1:3-36)

1.  Judah's Successes (1:3-20)
2.  Benjamin's Failure to Take Jerusalem (1:21)
3.  Joseph's Success at Bethel (1:22-26)
4.  Failures in Conquest by the Rest of the Tribes (1:27-36)

3. God's Judgment for Disobedience (2:1-5)

2.  Cycles of the Judges (2:6-16:31)

1. Pattern for All That Follows (2:6-3:6)

1.  Joshua and the Generation After Him (2:6-10)
2.  The Pattern of Israel's Covenant Obedience (2:11-19)
3.  God's Judgment for Covenant Disobedience (2:20-3:6)
     a.  The Purpose in God's Judgment (2:20-23)
     b.  The Instruments of God's Judgment (3:1-6)

2. The Failure of Twelve Judges to Maintain Faithfulness to the Covenant (3:7-16:31)

1.    Othniel (3:7-11)
2.    Ehud (3:12-30)
3.    Shamgar (3:31)
4.    Deborah and Barak (chs. 4; 5)
5.    Gideon and His Son Abimelech (chs. 6-9)
       a.  Gideon (6:1-8:32)
       b.  Abimelech (8:33-9:57)
6.    Tola (10:1, 2)
7.    Jair (10:3-5)
8.    Jephthah (10:6-12:7)
9.    Ibzan (12:8-10)
10.  Elon (12:11, 12)
11.  Abdon (12:13-15)
12.  Samson (chs. 13-16)

3.  Two Grievous Sins (chs. 17-21)

1. The Danites and Idolatry (chs. 17; 18)
2. Civil War:  Israel Against Benjamin (chs. 19-21)