The swift war that the sons of Israel waged for seven years (1272 - 1265) demanded faith and moral strength from them. And the generation of the conquest of the Earth, having shown the high qualities of the soul and firmness of spirit in the face of the enemy, was honored with the protection and help of Divine Providence. Thanks to this, the war did not become for them a chain of bloody battles. But the struggle of the people for territories vital to them could take tens of thousands of lives. 
 But, despite the help from Above, the settlement of vast territories remained a difficult task for all the tribes without exception. None of the tribes fulfilled the mission entrusted to the sons of Israel - to drive out the Gentiles and destroy everything that is connected with the service of foreign gods. Of great importance in the loss of the spiritual level of the people also played the absence of a leader. Unlike Moshe, Yehoshua, who passed away 28 years after crossing the Yarden, did not leave a successor, but handed over leadership to the elders. It was a justified decision. Each of the tribes sought to solve its own problems, and in difficult conditions, none of them was ready to submit to the leader from the other tribe. The Council of Elders exercised general leadership for many years under difficult conditions. But both the disciples and the followers of Yehoshua made a number of serious mistakes, which entailed grave consequences.
 The word "judges" chosen as the title of the book has an uncommon meaning in this case. Usually a "judge" is one to whom they come to find out the law that determines the duties of a person in relation to the Almighty or to his neighbor. But the prophet Shmuel, who wrote down the book "Judges", used it in the meaning of "leader of the people." This is explained by the fact that one of the judges who were in each of the tribes became the recognized leader. He rose from the masses, becoming first a sage of the Torah, then a judge in the city - later in the tribe, and in the event of an impending war, he took responsibility for all the sons of Israel. Over time, as the people moved further and further away from the Torah, the authority of the judges became less and less. And most often in the event of a threat of attack by enemies, life itself put forward the right person who possessed the necessary qualities to solve the most pressing problems and unite the people. He was also called a judge, although he was not in a position to decide matters relating to the law. 
 Every time after the death of a judge, a rapid decline of the people began, until a new leader appeared who could inspire people to fight for the land granted by the Almighty.
 The era of "judges" determined the entire subsequent history of the sons of Israel, and not in the best way. The fragmentation of the tribes, a lack of understanding of the importance and complexity of the problem of educating the younger generation led to rapprochement with the remnant of the local peoples, the spread of idolatry, which the kings of Israel could not eradicate. The divine presence left the tribes, they lost their territorial integrity and were on the verge of being expelled from the holy land.  Similarly, the sons of Israel underestimated the importance of the Mishkan, who stood at Shiloh.
 Under the prevailing conditions, when they were separated by enclaves of Canaan tribes, they preferred to offer sacrifices on high ground, and each tribe chose its own specific place, which led to even greater fragmentation. Correction of the situation began only at the very end of the era of judges with the beginning of the activities of the prophet Shmuel.