The book of Judges is the second of Former Prophets. Its place was determined chrono­logically - it covers the period after Joshua's death at the end of the book of Joshua and before the anointing of Saul as king in 1 Samuel. The book is named after its central char­acters, "judges". The judges are mostly shown as tribal leaders who delivered their people from oppres­sion. Some were military leaders, some were lone warriors, and others were leaders and commanders.