Judges 3:10

Jdg 3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.

Ver. 10. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.] Calling him to the work, and by heroic virtues fitting him for it, and then mightily working upon his spirit to undertake it.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or, Syria.

He was stirred up by the Spirit of the Lord.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel, and went out to war--Impelled by a supernatural influence, he undertook the difficult task of government at this national crisis--addressing himself to promote a general reformation of manners, the abolition of idolatry, and the revival of pure religion. After these preliminary measures, he collected a body of choice warriors to expel the foreign oppressors.

the Lord delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim--No details are given of this war, which, considering the resources of so potent a monarch, must have been a determined struggle. But the Israelitish arms were crowned through the blessing of God with victory, and Canaan regained its freedom and independence.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. His hand prevailed] We are not told or what nature this war was, but it was most decisive; and the consequence was an undisturbed peace of forty years, during the whole life of Othniel. By the Spirit of the Lord coming upon him, the Chaldee understands the spirit of prophecy; others understand the spirit of fortitude and extraordinary courage, as opposed to the spirit of fear or faintness of heart; but as Othniel was judge, and had many offices to fulfil besides that of a general, he had need of the Spirit of God, in the proper sense of the word, to enable him to guide and govern this most refractory and fickle people; and his receiving it for these purposes, shows that the political state of the Jews was still a theocracy. No man attempted to do any thing in that state without the immediate inspiration of God, the pretension to which was always justified by the event.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(10) The Spirit of the Lord came upon him.—Here the Targum has “the spirit of prophecy” (comp. Isa_61:1), perhaps with reference to Num_11:25. They render the same phrase in Jdg_6:34, “spirit of courage from Jehovah.” This expression constantly recurs in this book (Jdg_6:34; Jdg_11:29; Jdg_13:25). For “came upon him” (literally “was upon him”), a stronger phrase is “clothed him” (Jdg_6:34; 1Ch_12:18; 2Ch_24:20). The Jews, however, placed Othniel highest among the judges, and applied to him the words of Son_4:7, “Thou art all fair; there is no spot in thee,” because he alone of the judges is represented as irreproachable. Further than this, they followed some dim traditional data in identifying him with Jabez (1Ch_4:10), and regarding him as a learned teacher of the law. (See Jdg_1:13.)

He judged Israel.—Some of the Rabbis explain “judged” (yishhab) here to mean “avenged,” as in Psa_43:1, “Avenge me, O God” (Shapetêni),possibly from disliking the notion of a Kenizzite, however distinguished, holding the office of a suffes, or judge. There is a difficulty about Othniel’s age; Caleb was eighty-five at the conquest, and, if Othniel was his brother, he could not have been less than fifty or sixty at that time. But even supposing him to have been Caleb’s nephew, and aged forty at his marriage, then, since Joshua lived to be 110, and Cushan-Rishathaim’s oppression did not begin till after the death of the elders who outlived Joshua, and lasted eight years, if Othniel was judge for forty years, this would make him quite 143 years old at his death. It is only another sign that the chronological data of the Book of Judges are not sufficiently definite to enable us to construct a system out of them.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. the spirit of the Lord came upon him] So the spirit came upon Jephthah Jdg_11:29, and clothed itself with Gideon Jdg_6:34, and impelled (Jdg_13:25) or rushed upon Samson Jdg_14:6; Jdg_14:19, Jdg_15:14, and Saul 1Sa_11:6. These heroes seemed to be possessed; their extraordinary feats of strength and daring struck the beholder as due to the presence of a superhuman power—the spirit of the Lord, i.e. Jehovah directly acting in the physical, as elsewhere in the intellectual and spiritual, sphere. In the O.T. the spirit is not realized as a distinct personality; the spirit of Jehovah is Jehovah Himself in operation, and, as the divine name implies, in redemptive operation on behalf of Israel.

and he judged Israel] See on Jdg_2:16. The verb means both ‘to give judgement’ and ‘to do justice,’ ‘to give a person his rights’; in the latter sense it is used in parallelism with ‘save,’ and can even be followed by ‘out of the hand of,’ 1Sa_24:15, 2Sa_18:19; 2Sa_18:31. In the, age before the monarchy the ‘judges’ or ‘deliverers’ exercised in Israel an intermittent function, to which they were specially summoned by Jehovah; hence the Dtc. compiler uses the word almost as the title of an office. When the national sense was more fully developed, the Israelites demanded a king to fulfil the same function permanently instead of intermittently: see 1Sa_8:20.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him,.... Moved him to engage in this work of delivering Israel, inspired him with courage, and filled him with every needful gift, qualifying him for it; the Targum interprets it the spirit of prophecy; it seems father to be the spirit of counsel and courage, of strength and fortitude of body and mind:

and he judged Israel; took upon him the office of a judge over them, and executed it; very probably the first work he set about was to reprove them for their sins, and convince them of them, and reform them from their idolatry, and restore among them the pure worship of God; and this he did first before he took up arms for them:

and he went out to war; raised an army, and went out at the head of them, to fight with their oppressor:

and the Lord delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim; gave him the victory over him and his army, so that he fell into his hands, became his captive, and perhaps was slain by him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him - The phrase occurs frequently in this book and in the books of Samuel and Kings. It marks the special office of the Judges. They were saviors (Jdg 3:9 margin; Neh 9:27) called and directed by the Holy Spirit, who endued them with extraordinary wisdom, courage, and strength for the work which lay before them (compare Jdg 6:34; Jdg 11:29; Jdg 13:25; Jdg 14:6, Jdg 14:19), and were in this respect types of Christ the “Judge of Israel” Mic 5:1, in whom “the Spirit of the Lord God” was “without measure” Isa 11:2; Isa 61:1; Mat 12:18-21; Job 1:32; Act 13:2.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

In him, to instruct and enable him both to rout the enemy, and to govern the people with prudence. (Haydock) --- Chaldean, "the spirit of prophecy." The oracle excited him to attack Chusan. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] v. 3.) He was entrusted with an extraordinary authority, in a wonderful manner, and God gave him all those virtues which were requisite for his exalted station. (Calmet) --- Him. Hebrew, "his hand was strong upon Chusan Rasathaim." He gained a complete victory over him, (Haydock) the particulars of which are not mentioned, though they must have been very interesting and extraordinary, as the power of Chusan was so extensive. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, with extraordinary influences, endowing him with singular wisdom, and courage, and resolution; and stirring him up to this great undertaking. Compare Jdg 6:34; 11:29.

He judged Israel, i.e. pleaded and avenged the cause of Israel against their oppressors; as that phrase is oft used, as Deu 32:36; Psa 10:18; 43:1.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

10. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him — This expression occurs six times in this book, and is by no means equivalent to the New Testament “gift of the Holy Ghost;” nor can it be used as certain proof of great spiritual purity or eminent piety in him to whom it is referred. It designates the sudden divine impulse that quickened the heroes of this age to marvellous feats of valour, and was chiefly of a physical and psychical character. It denotes the supernatural influence that thrilled all the heroic passions of the soul, and always led to deeds of bravery and power. Thus it is used of the supernatural impulse that led Gideon to blow the trumpet and assemble the people for war, (Jdg_6:34;) that inspired Jephthah to lead his army against Ammon, (Jdg_11:29;) that moved Samson to his early feats of strength, (Jdg_13:25,) and to rend the young lion of Timnath, (Jdg_14:6,) and to slay the thirty men of Ashkelon, (Jdg_14:19.) In Othniel’s case it seems to denote the divine guidance by which he both judged and fought. His high natural qualities, love of justice, love of country, courage, and military skill, were crowned with an unwavering faith in God, breathed into his soul by the Holy Spirit. There can be no great warrior and national saviour without a large infusion of the religious element into his nature.

He judged Israel — He was born to command. His generation of Hebrews yielded him instinctive and unquestioning obedience. The spirit which he infused into them, and the trust which he reposed in God, together with the unanimity of the nation in rallying to his standard, were sufficient credenda of his divine vocation to the leadership of Israel. He judged not in the narrow, technical sense, but he administered the military and civil government of the theocracy.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Spirit, etc. This marks Othniel as one of the extraordinary Shophetim, or judges, Divinely commissioned to save Israel. (Jud_1:6:34 11:29 13:25 14:6, 19)

Vers. 10, 11. The secret of individual and national greatness.

It was as a judge of Israel that Othniel first attained influence. This necessitated a righteous life and a consistent character. In this way he obtained command over his people, and was able to transfer their attachment and respect to the battle-field. So it was, as Israel learned to obey the servant of Jehovah in civil affairs, and learned to respect the law of righteousness, that it was able to face its enemies with an irresistible front. It is righteousness that exalteth a nation and a man.

I TO MAINTAIN AND ADVANCE A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE WE MUST BEGIN AT HOME.

II THE VICTORY OVER OUR ENEMIES CONSISTS MORE THAN HALF IN THE VICTORY OVER OURSELVES.

III HABITUAL RECTITUDE AND A GOOD CONSCIENCE PREPARE FOR SUDDEN AND ABIDING SUCCESS. M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Came upon him - With extraordinary influence, endowing him with singular wisdom and courage, and stirring him up to this great undertaking. Judged Israel - That is, pleaded and avenged the cause of Israel against their oppressors.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The Divine spirit visited him. R' Tanchuma expounded: He studied the statement of the Holy One, blessed is He, to Moshe in Mitzrayim, "I have surely seen (lit. 'seeing, I have seen') the tribulation of my people." What are the two sights? He said to him, "I see that they are destined to err with the golden calf—nevertheless, 'I have seen the tribulation of my people.'" Asniel expounded upon this, saying, whether innocent or guilty, He is obliged to save them.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.