In another sense, each judge symbolizes an aspect of Israel, a weakness, “a particular quality that leads to the narrative consequences of that episode and contributes to the resolution of the book.”8 Thus “the text supports the relevance of local events to the people as a whole.”9 While individual judges are tribal leaders, they are identified as national leaders in order to emphasize God’s dealings with the nation as a whole. Hence, on this basis, each of the judges may be seen as a symbol of Israel; furthermore, each serves to reveal a new aspect of the people’s relationship to Yahweh.10
