Produced by Colin Bell, Julia Neufeld and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). Small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. Variations in spelling have been preserved except in obvious cases of typographical error. Hyphenation is inconsistent. As the oe ligature cannot be included in this format, it has been replaced with the separate letters as in "Phoenicia". THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE EDITED BY THE REV. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. Editor of "_The Expositor_" AUTHORIZED EDITION, COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED BOUND IN TWENTY-FIVE VOLUMES NEW YORK FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LAFAYETTE PLACE 1900 JUDGES AND RUTH. BY THE REV. ROBERT A. WATSON, D.D., AUTHOR OF "GOSPELS OF YESTERDAY." NEW YORK FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LAFAYETTE PLACE 1900 CONTENTS. _THE BOOK OF JUDGES._ I. PAGE PROBLEMS OF SETTLEMENT AND WAR 3 JUDGES I. 1-11. II. THE WAY OF THE SWORD 18 JUDGES I. 12-26. III. AT BOCHIM: THE FIRST PROPHET VOICE 31 JUDGES II. 1-5. IV. AMONG THE ROCKS OF PAGANISM 45 JUDGES II. 7-23. V. THE ARM OF ARAM AND OF OTHNIEL 61 JUDGES III. 1-11. VI. THE DAGGER AND THE OX-GOAD 77 JUDGES III. 12-31. VII. THE SIBYL OF MOUNT EPHRAIM 91 JUDGES IV. VIII. DEBORAH'S SONG: A DIVINE VISION 106 JUDGES V. IX. DEBORAH'S SONG: A CHANT OF PATRIOTISM 120 JUDGES V. X. THE DESERT HORDES; AND THE MAN AT OPHRAH 135 JUDGES VI. 1-14. XI. GIDEON, ICONOCLAST AND REFORMER 150 JUDGES VI. 15-32. XII. "THE PEOPLE ARE YET TOO MANY" 164 JUDGES VI. 33-VII. 7. XIII. "MIDIAN'S EVIL DAY" 178 JUDGES VII. 8-VIII. 21. XIV. GIDEON THE ECCLESIASTIC 195 JUDGES VIII. 22-28. XV. ABIMELECH AND JOTHAM 209 JUDGES VIII. 29-IX. 57. XVI. GILEAD AND ITS CHIEF 224 JUDGES X. I-XI. 11. XVII. THE TERRIBLE VOW 239 JUDGES XI. 12-40. XVIII. SHIBBOLETHS 254 JUDGES XII. 1-7. XIX. THE ANGEL IN THE FIELD 266 JUDGES. XIII. 1-18. XX. SAMSON PLUNGING INTO LIFE 279 JUDGES XIII. 24-XIV. 20. XXI.