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After Moshe dies, Yehoshua leads the conquest of the land. The walls of Yericho fall to the sound of shofars. Then comes a 200-year period without a king, judges (more accurately: tribal warlords and prophets) rise as needed. Devorah, Gidon, Yiftach, Shimshon. The book closes with the famous line: "in those days there was no king in Israel, every man did what was right in his own eyes."
Cultural note, IDF Operation Shoftim, the Yericho IDF base, the kibbutz Yiftach, the Shimshon Battalion (combat infantry), all named for these figures. שׁוֹפֵט today is the modern Hebrew word for "judge" in the legal sense (בית המשפט = court). Devorah is one of the most popular Israeli girls\' names.
Yehoshua (Conquest)
The Judges (selected)
Key Vocabulary
Shimshon Vocabulary
Yehoshua\'s Charge: Joshua 1:6-9
God\'s opening words to Yehoshua after Moshe\'s death. The repeated phrase "חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ", "be strong and courageous", is also IDF officer-school motto and appears on countless Israeli memorial plaques.
Devorah\'s Song: Judges 5:1-3 (excerpt)
After defeating Sisera, Devorah and Barak sing this victory song. One of the oldest Hebrew poems, possibly older than the Torah\'s prose narratives.