Judges

The Israelites failed to drive out the remaining Canaanites after Joshua's death and instead intermarried and worshiped their gods, leading to God's anger and Israel's subjugation to various nations. God raised up judges to deliver the Israelites, but they repeatedly disobeyed God and turned to idolatry after the judges' deaths. The judges, including Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson, each delivered the Israelites from their enemies, but the Israelites continued to cycle through disobedience and deliverance. The book also tells the story of Abimelech's rise and fall, the Danites' conquest of Laish, and the civil war sparked by the brutal killing of a Levite's concubine, which nearly destroyed the tribe of Benjamin.