Place Written: Israel

Writing Completed: c. 1100 B.C.E.

3. When was Judges written?

³ When was Judges written? Two expressions in the book help us to find the answer. The first is this: “But the Jebusites keep on dwelling . . . in Jerusalem down to this day.” (Judg. 1:21) Since King David captured “the stronghold of Zion” from the Jebusites in the eighth year of his reign, or in 1070 B.C.E., Judges must have been written before that date. (2 Sam. 5:4-7) The second expression occurs four times: “In those days there was no king in Israel.” (Judg. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) Hence, the record was written down at a time when there was a “king in Israel,” that is, after Saul became the first king in 1117 B.C.E. It must therefore be dated between 1117 and 1070 B.C.E.