The name Judges is a rough English translation of the Hebrew term Shophetim which may better be served by the dynamic translation
of "heroes" and the theme of the book is the rise of these heroes from the chaos and idolatry which ensued from the fact that Yahushua (Eng. Joshua) and Kelev (Eng., Caleb) were too busy taking the land to recruit and train the next leaders. The first hero to rule and bring peace and order out of the chaos was Kelev's nephew (the son of his younger brother Kenaz) who went by the name Ophniel; he prevailed in war against Mesopotamia and ruled for 40 years before he died. Another hero who ruled was the famous Gideon who is known for making sure that the source of his inspiration to rule Yisrael was from Yah by putting his fleece before Yahuah; he also brought confusion to the enemy by having his small screened army surround the camp of the enemy, blow trumpets, and break pitchers to cause them to fear, flee, and fight each other and brought on another 40 years of peace. Yet another such hero is the famous Sampson who is well known for falling into the trap of a Philistine temptress who cut his hair, robbing him of his
strength, and delivering him into the hands of her people the
Philistines who blinded him; there is a joke that says that Sampson was the greatest actor of all because he "brought down the house" which is funny because it takes advantage of the two possible meanings of the phrase, one of which alludes to the fact that he eventually regained his strength and pulled down the two pillars that literally brought the house down, destroying the Philistines along with himself. And so, of the many heroes who rescued Yisrael from their enemies from within and without there are three that stand out, namely: (1) Ophniel; (2) Gideon; and (3) Sampson.