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1–5. The appearance of the Angel of the Lord in Bochim and his admonition to the people. A general outline of the change and interconnection of events in the history of the Israeli people during the time of Judges (6–23). Judges 2:1. And the angel of the Lord came from Gilgal to Bochim [and to Bethel and to the house of Israel] and said [to them: Thus says the Lord]: I brought you out of Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to your fathers [to give you], and I said: “I will never break My covenant with you; Judges 2:2. and you shall not enter into an alliance with the inhabitants of this land; [do not worship their gods, break their images,] destroy their altars.” But you did not listen to My voice. What did you do? Judges 2:3. And therefore I say: [I will no longer resettle these people whom I wanted to drive out,] I will not drive them out from before you, and they will be a snare to you, and their gods will be a snare for you. After the Israelites did not fulfill the commandment of the Lord about expelling the peoples of Canaan from the promised land, the Angel of the Lord came from Gilgal (cf. Joshua 4:19-20) to Bochim, according to LXX, also to Bethel, to the representatives of the Israeli people, who in the name of the Lord pointed out to them their failure to fulfill the commandment of the Lord regarding the Canaanites and the divine punishment awaiting them for such failure to fulfill the will of God: the non-exiled nations will be a snare for the people of Israel and their gods will be an object of temptation. By the Angel of the Lord, some mean the Angel of the Lord who led the people of Israel to the promised land (cf. Ex. 32:34, 33:1–3), others - some prophet who appeared as a messenger of God (cf. Hag. 1:13, Mal. 3:1), others - the high priest Phinehas, since the high priest is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts (cf. Mal. 2:7). The town of Bochim (Weeping) can be identified with аllon bacuth (the oak of Weeping), which was located not far from Bethel (Gen. 35:8), where Bochim is supposed to be. Judges 2:4. When the Angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, the people raised a loud cry and wept. Judges 2:5. That’s why they call that place [Bokhim] 1. There they offered a sacrifice to the Lord. The speech of the Angel of the Lord evoked a feeling of repentance in the Israeli people who listened to it, so that the people shed tears, which is why this place was later called Bochim (Weeping, LXX - K λαυθυωνες). Judges 2:6. When Joshua had dismissed the people, and the children of Israel went up, every one to his own house, and every one to his own inheritance, to receive the land for an inheritance, Judges 2:7. Then the people served the Lord all the days of Jesus, and all the days of the elders, whose lives were prolonged after Jesus, and who saw all the great works of the Lord which he did to Israel. Judges 2:8. But when Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old, Judges 2:9. and they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-sarai, on Mount Ephraim, north of Mount Gaasha; Starting to characterize the time of the Judges, the writer, in order to more clearly characterize the events of this time, mentions the state of the people during the last days of Joshua and during the life of the elders of Israel, who saw the wondrous deeds of the Lord during the wanderings of the Jews in the Arabian desert. Wed. Nav. 24:28–31. Judges 2:10. and when all that people went to their fathers, and another generation arose after them, which did not know the Lord and His works that He did to Israel, - Judges 2:11. then the children of Israel began to do evil in the sight of the Lord and began to serve the Baals; Judges 2:12. they abandoned the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and turned to other gods, the gods of the nations surrounding them, and began to worship them, and provoked the Lord; Judges 2:13. They left the Lord and began to serve Baal and Ashtoreth. After the death of Joshua and the elders, who saw the works of the Lord and during the wanderings of the people through the Arabian desert, the descendants of the sons of Israel who appeared again forgot the Lord God and began to serve the gods of the Canaanite peoples, Baal and Astarte. Baal, in the plural Baal (Baalim) identified with the Babylonian Ben (Dan Bil), literally "Lord" (dominus), a Canaanite deity, was the personification of dominion, power, the productive forces of nature. In relation to individual moments of its manifestation and individual areas of influence, it received specific definitions and names. As the one standing above all, he was called Elion, Baal Tamiral (cf. Greek Ζευς Δημαρους). As the god of the sky he was called Baal Samin. As the sun god he was called Baal Shemesh, or Baal Hamman. As the productive force of nature, he was called Tammuz (Adon, cf. Greek Αδωνις). As the all-consuming power of the sun and as the formidable king of the universe, he was called Baal-Melech, or Moloch, and as the god of winds and weather - Baal Sephon. As the patron of the city (Tyre), he was called Baal Melqart. As the patron of covenants, he was called Baal Berith, as the patron of fertility - Baal-peor, etc. According to the various definitions of Baal, popular speech distinguished, as it were, many “Baals.” Astarte, in the plural Astarte (Aschtaroth), probably literally “Lady of happiness, fertility”, also called Asherah (Happy), a Canaanite deity, was the personification of the perceiving and giving birth force of nature, which is why she was called the “face of Baal” (facies Baali) and corresponded to the Babylonian Belita (wife of Vila). According to the various rituals of the manifestation of Baal, of which Astarte was a reflection, just as the light of the moon or Venus is a reflection of the light of the sun, Astarte was sometimes represented as the goddess of happiness and fertility (cf. Greek Aphrodite, Venus), sometimes as the goddess of war and vengeance (cf. Greek Artemis, Nemesis). According to the different definitions of Astarte, popular speech distinguished many “Astarte” (cf. Troitsky I.G. The religious social and state state of the Jews during the time of the judges, pp. 104–124; Palmova M.S. Idolatry among the ancient Jews, pp. 217–322, Zimmern H. und Winckler H. Die Keilinschriften und das alte Testament, von Eberhard Schrader (1902), II-te Halfte, I-te Liefer, SS. 354–358, 420–432. Iastrow Morris, Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, (1902), SS. 52–55, 61–83, 140–143, 214–218). The Israelis' deviation from faith in the true God and their infatuation with the cults of the Canaanite peoples occurred more than once during the time of the judges. Judges 2:14. And the wrath of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of robbers, and they were plundered; and he delivered them into the hands of the enemies who surrounded them, and they could no longer stand before their enemies. Judges 2:15. Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was to harm them, as the Lord spoke to them and as the Lord swore to them. And they were very cramped. For such deviation from the true God, the Lord, who punishes those whom He has mercy on, chose as an instrument for the unfaithful people of Israel the same nations that the Israelites left on their territory and whose gods they served: these nations were the oppressors of the Israelites. Judges 2:16. And the Lord raised up judges for them, who saved them from the hands of their robbers; When, under the influence of external oppression, the Israelites turned to the Lord, He raised up for them from among the people special persons who saved the people from external oppressors and were called judges (schofetim) of the people of Israel. The salvation of Israel was the main purpose of the judges. Their power, like the Roman dictators, ended with their lives and was not hereditary. In order to be a judge (Schofet) of the people, personal merit was required, and not descent from this or that person, even a noble person among the people. All the judges mentioned in the book of Judges were twelve. Judges 2:18. When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord Himself was with the judge and saved them from their enemies all the days of the judge: for the Lord had compassion on them, hearing their groan from those who oppressed and oppressed them. Judges were only an instrument of the Lord’s salvation, but the real Savior of the people was the Lord Himself, as the One and Supreme Ruler of the people. Judges 2:19. But as soon as the judge died, they again did worse than their fathers, turning aside to other gods, serving them and worshiping them. They did not lag behind their affairs and [did not deviate] from their obstinate path. During the life of the judges as leaders of the people, the Israelites remained faithful to the Lord. When one or another judge died, they again deviated from the Lord and, for the most part, fell into idolatry. This pattern of misfortune, conversion, salvation and reverse evasion is observed throughout the time of the judges. Judges 2:20. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He said: Because this people transgresses My covenant, which I made with their fathers, and does not listen to My voice, Judges 2:21. and I will no longer drive out from them any of those nations that Joshua [the son of Nun, on the earth] left when he died - Judges 2:22. to tempt Israel with them: will they keep the way of the Lord and walk in it, as their fathers did, or not? Judges 2:23. And the Lord forsaken these nations and did not quickly drive them out and deliver them into the hands of Jesus. As punishment for such instability of the Israeli people in faith in the True God and failure to fulfill the command of the Lord regarding evasion of idolatry, the Lord left some of the Canaanite peoples to live within the promised land for temptation through the Israelites themselves. You might be interested in: