Othniel [Ŏth'nĭel] means powerful one or lion of God. Othniel was from the tribe of Judah, and was the son of Kenaz, and younger brother of Caleb. Othniel was one of the Judges of Israel, perhaps the first. He ruled in that capacity for 40 years before his death.

Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger brother Kenaz, and "The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord delivered Cushan-rishathaim, king of Aram, into his power, so that he made him subject. The land was at rest for 40 years, until Othniel, son of Kenaz, died." (Judges 3:9-11).

Othniel's defeat of Cushan-rishathaim was a great victory. But Othniel had another victory years earlier. When the Judahites were marching against the Canaanites, they came up against the inhabitants of Debir. Caleb vowed to give his daughter, Achsah, in marriage to the one who attacks Debir and captures it. Responding to his uncle Caleb's challenge, Othniel captured Debir and restored it to the Israelites. And then wed Achsah.

Ehud [Ē'hŭd] means strong or union. Ehud was the second Judge of Israel. He followed Othniel. He was a left handed man from the tribe of Benjamin. Israel was subjected to king Eglon of Moab at the time, for 18 years. The Israelites cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord helped them by raising up Ehud. It was by Ehud the Israelites sent their tribute to Eglon.

Ehud made himself a double edged dagger a foot long and wore it under his clothes on his right thigh. He gave the tribute to Eglon, and then told Eglon that he had a message from God for him. The king had all the attendants leave the room and stood up to hear the message. Then Ehud drew the dagger from his right thigh with his left hand, and thrust it into Eglon's belly. Eglon was so overweight, the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade. Ehud left the dagger in Eglon, and escaped back to Israel. Ehud then raised an army, attacked, and beat the Moabites. "Thus was Moab brought under the power of Israel at that time: and the land had rest for eighty years." (Judges 3:12-30)

Shamgar [Shăm'gär] means cupbearer or a surprised stranger. The third Judge of Israel. He delivered the nation from oppression by the Philistines. Shamgar slew 600 Philistines with an oxgoad, and rescued Israel. The Bible does not state how long he ruled as a Judge (Judges 3:31).

Deborah means a "bee", She was a prophetess and an effective agitator who stirred up Israel’s concern about its low spiritual condition (jud. 4:4). She raised up the people to fight the Cannanites when she sent for Barak, the son of Abinoam of Naphtali, to lead her forces and deliver the country (jud. 4:6-24). Barak defeated the army of Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor and his commander Sisera.

Gideon, Gedeon [Gĭd'eon, Gĕd'e on] means a cutting down, he that bruises or great warrior. Gideon was the son of Joash the Abiezrite from the town of Ophrah. He was Israel's fifth Judge. During Gideon's time, a large army of Midianites and other nations had gathered against Israel. The Lord told Gideon that he would be made strong and that he was to save Israel from the Midianites.

Gideon raised an army of 32,000, but after several tests by the Lord, the army was whittled down to 300 men. God did this so that the people of Israel would not boast to him that they saved themselves by their own strength. At night, Gideon and his 300 men lit torches, blew trumpets and shouted. Then they stood by and watched as the enemy panicked and began fighting and killing each other.

Midian never recovered from this defeat, and there was peace for 40 years during Gideon's lifetime. Gideon lived to be an old man. After he died he was buried near his father in the town of Ophrah. His victory over the Midianites was remembered for many generations as the "Day of Midian" (Isaiah 9:4). The story of Gideon is found in Judges, chapters 6-8.

Abimelech [Ăbĭm'elĕch] means father of the king. Abimelech (Abimelek), the judge, was the son of Gideon and became a Judge of Israel, but it was not by God's will. He was Gideon's son by a concubine from Shechem.

He tried to become king, and he did reign over Israel for three years (Judges 9:22). Abimelech was one of 70 sons of Gideon's many wives. With a great desire to lead Israel, and with the help of his mother's clan in Shechem, he assassinated all his brothers but one. Only his youngest brother, Jotham, escaped. The people of Shechem got tired of their king once he moved his residence south to Arumah, and they turned to Gaal son of Ebed, who stirred up a rebellion against Abimelech. Abimelech retaliated with a strike at Shechem, and razed the city. He, then, fought the rebels at Thebez.

There was a strong tower in the middle of the city, in which all the men and women of Thebez fled and shut themselves in, going up to the roof of the tower. Abimelech came right up to the door of the tower to set it on fire. But a woman dropped part of a millstone down on Abimelech's head, and it fractured his skull. He immediately called his armor bearer and told him to kill him, so that no one would be able to say that he had been killed by a woman. His servant then killed him with a sword. These events are described in Judges 9:50-56, which is in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Tola [Tō'lă] means scarlet, from the color of a worm. After the death of Abimelech there rose to save Israel the Issacharite Tola, son of Puah, son of Dodo, a resident of Shamir in the mountain region of Ephraim. When he had judged Israel twenty-three years, he died and was buried in Shamir" (Judges 10:1-2). That is all the Bible says about Tola, the seventh Judge of Israel.

Jair [Jā'ur]  means Jehovah enlightens, arouseth or who diffuses light. Jair the Gileadite came after Tola and judged Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who rode on thirty saddle-asses and possessed thirty cities in the land of Gilead; these are called Havvoth-jair to the present day. Jair died and was buried in Kamon. (Judges 10:3-5). That's all the Bible says about Jair, the eighth Judge of Israel.

Jephthah, Jephthae [Jĕph'thah,Jĕph'tha ē] means he does open or set free. Jephthah was the ninth Judge of Israel. Being an illegimate child, he was kicked out of the family by his half-brothers to prevent him from sharing in the inheritance. He fled to "the land of Tob", and gathered a group of "worthless men" and engaged in raids throughout the surrounding area. The elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to free them from the oppression of the Ammonites. He insisted on a position of leadership in Gilead if he succeeded in fighting the Ammonites. He was assured of this, and went to war. He launched an attack through Mizpah of Gilead and defeated the Ammonites "with a very great slaughter."

Jephthah had made a vow to God, that if he was able to return home in triumph from war, he would sacrifice whoever first appeared at the door of his house. Unfortunately, it was his daughter, his only child, who greeted his victorious return "with timbrels and with dances." Jephthah tore his clothing in distress as he realized the terrible rashness of his vow. The following verses seem to indicate he followed through on his vow. Before his six years of judging had ended, Jephthah had to put down an uprising by the men of Ephraim, his fellow Israelites, who were angry by his failure to ask them to join the fight against the Ammonites. The two armies went to battle, and Jephthah's army, the Gileadites, killed 42,000 Ephraimites. Although, his weakness was his rash, thoughtless behavior, he is listed in the Book of Hebrews as one of the heroes of faith (Heb. 11:32). After his death, he was buried in a city of Gilead. Jephthah's story is found in Judges chapter 11, and chapter 12:1-7.

Ibzan [Ĭb'zăn] means splendid or active. Ibzan was the tenth Judge of Israel. "After him (Jephthah) Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had thirty sons. He also had thirty daughters married outside of the family, and he brought in as wives for his sons thirty young women from outside the family. After having judged Israel for seven years, Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem. (Judges 12:8-10).

Elon [Ē'lŏn] means an oak or strong. Elon was the eleventh Judge of Israel. "After him (Ibzan) the Zebulunite Elon judged Israel. When he had judged Israel for ten years, the Zebulunite Elon died and was buried in Elon in the land of Zubulun.” (Judges 12:11-12).

Abdon [Ăb'dŏn] means servile, service or cloud of judgment. Abdon was the twelfth Judge of Israel. "After him (Elon) the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, judged Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy saddle-asses. After having judged Israel for eight years, the Pirathonite Abdon, son of Hillel, died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim on the mountain of the Amalekites." (Judges 12:13-15).

Samson [Săm’son] means distinguished, strong or sun-man. Samson, a member of the tribe of Dan, was one of the Judges of Israel. He judged Israel for 20 years. Samson's mother received a visit from an angel, who told her she would give birth to an unusual son, a Nazirite, and not to cut his hair. Samson had great strength, he killed a lion with his bare hands, and later killed 1,000 Philistines with a jawbone of a donkey. He had romantic encounters with three Philistine women.

He fell in love with one of the women, Delilah. The five leaders of the Philistine nation went to Delilah, and demanded that she find out from Samson what made him so strong, so they could subdue him. She eventually found out it was because his hair had never been cut. While asleep, Samson's hair was cut off. Losing his strength, he was captured by the Philistines, who gouged out his eyes, and made him grind grain in prison.

Later, the Philistines stood Samson in the center of a temple during a celebration, his hair had now grown back. Samson was placed between the two main pillars of the temple. He asked God to strengthen him one more time "so that I may pay back the Philistines for the loss of at least one of my eyes." Then Samson pushed against the pillars with all his might. "Let me die with the Philistines," he prayed. The temple crashed, killing more Philistines at the time of his death, than during his entire lifetime. His brothers brought him back home and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, where his father, Manoah was buried. The story of Samson is found in the Book of Judges, chapters 13-16.

Eli [Ē'lī] means Jehovah is high or my god. Eli was High Priest, in the line of Ithamar. He was also Judge of Israel, at Shiloh, for 40 years. It was to him that Hannah entrusted her son, Samuel, to be raised (1 Samuel 1:21). Although he was High Priest, Eli failed to curb the sinful behavior of his sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who were priests.

God told Samuel that Eli's family would be punished for blaspheming God. Samuel told Eli about this and Eli said that the Lord should do what He thinks is best (1 Samuel 3:18). Later, Eli's sons were killed as they accompanied the Ark of the Covenant into a battle against the Philistines. When Eli had heard the news, he fell backwards while seated in a chair, broke his neck and died. He was 98-years old at the time

Eli's descendants continued in the office of High Priest up until the time of Solomon. At that time, Abiathar, who had supported Adonijah's bid for the throne, was replaced by Zadok, thus bringing an end to Eli's line (1 Kings 2:22, 35). This event is mentioned in (1 Kings 2:27) as the fulfillment of the prophecy against the house of Eli.

Samuel [Săm'uel] means heard, asked of god, offering of god or appointed by god. Samuel the son of Elkanah, and his wife Hannah, was a prophet and the last of Israel's Judges. Samuel grew up under Eli, who was the priest at Shiloh. He served a variety of roles in Israel. He was a prophet, a judge and a military leader. He was widely recognized throughout the country (1 Samuel 3:20). His home was in Ramah, were he headed groups of prophets.

At this time in Israel's history, the nation was ruled by judges who settled disputes, not kings. But the people demanded to have a king, like other nations. Samuel was opposed to having a king rule over Israel because he interpreted that as an act of apostasy and a rejection of the Kingship of God. God told Samuel to anoint Saul, son of Kish, as king, and so the people got what they wanted.

However, in time, the relationship between Saul and Samuel deteriorated and Saul took over certain functions that had belonged to a priest, not a king. In addition, Saul disobeyed God after the battle with the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:1-23). God had Samuel anoint young David to be the next king. The story of Samuel is found in the book named 1 Samuel, chapters 1-25. The Bible's book of 1 Samuel and the book of 2 Samuel are named after Samuel, and contain many details about his life. Some Bibles combine 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel into a singular book called Samuel.