Judg 3:7-11 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Judg 3:7-11: 3:7-11 The account of Othniel is typical of the cycles in Judges. Evildoing led to apostasy, most frequently in the Baal and Asherah cults (see study notes on 2:11-13; 6:25-32). Apostasy provoked the Lord and resulted in foreign oppression. Then the cry of the people evoked divine compassion and the raising up of a rescuer-judge as the agent of God’s Spirit. The rescuer ended the oppression, and the land enjoyed a period of peace before the cycle started again. Othniel depicts an ideal judge.

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‏ Judges 3:7-11

Summary for Judg 3:7-11: 3:7-11 ^a The account of Othniel is typical of the cycles in Judges. Evildoing led to apostasy, most frequently in the Baal and Asherah cults (see study notes on 2:11-13; 6:25-32). Apostasy provoked the Lord and resulted in foreign oppression. Then the cry of the people evoked divine compassion and the raising up of a rescuer-judge as the agent of God’s Spirit. The rescuer ended the oppression, and the land enjoyed a period of peace before the cycle started again. Othniel depicts an ideal judge.
3:8 ^b Cushan-rishathaim means “Cushan of Double Wickedness.”

• Aram-naharaim means “Aram of the Two Rivers”; it is thought either to refer to the region between the Euphrates and Balih Rivers in Mesopotamia or to be equivalent to Mesopotamia (a word that means “Midst of the Two Rivers,” the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates).