History YMMV / BookOfJudges

* OneSceneWonder: Shamgar gets only one verse to his name, which adds that he killed 600 Philistines ''with an ox-goad'' (a stick used as a cattle prod).

* NightmareFuel: What happens to the Levite's concubine in chapter 19. The Levite is entertaining a guest at his home when men of the city surround the house and demand that he hand the man over, "that we may know him carnally." The Levite gives them his concubine instead. [[spoiler: They gang-rape her to death and leave her body on the threshold.]] Particular a case of ValuesDissonance as at first he offers them his daughter as well, although the only one he actually hands over is the concubine, making her one of the earliest and saddest examples in literature of a DisposableSexWorker. [[FridgeHorror Even worse]], it's stated that she ran back to her father, who tried to stall her husband from leaving with her, hinting that she may have been trying to escape DomesticAbuse. Which may also mean that if she ''did'' prostitute herself before this event ([[UnreliableNarrator and she may or may not have actually done so]]), she was likely doing it [[IDidWhatIHadToDo for survival reasons or trying to get money to travel back home]]. Or that she was simply angry at the Levite, since the Hebrew word used for prostitution, ''zanah'', can also mean "to be angry".)

* WhatAnIdiot:
** Jephthah foolishly vowing to God that he will sacrifice the first living thing that comes out of his house if he wins a battle. After God already told him he would win. And the living thing turned out to be his daughter.
** Samson never picks up that every time he tells Delilah a false method to depower him, a pack of Philistines appears to attack him right after she tries it on him.
** The Philistines may be even dumber than he. Pragmatically speaking, it would have done them a world of good to kill Samson immediately. Instead, they torture him ForTheEvulz. It's not surprising, then, that Samson [[TheDogBitesBack gets back at them]] [[TakingYouWithMe and kills them all in a self-sacrifice]].

** King Eglon's death. So fat his body swallows up the entire sword he's stabbed with, and poops his pants in the process.

** Samson never seemed to pick up that every time he told Delilah a false way to defeat him, a pack of Philistines would be in his home the next day trying the exact same method.

* SignatureScene: If a work makes a ShoutOut to Literature/SamsonAndDelilah, it will either reference Samson killing 1,000 Philistines with a [[BadToTheBone donkey's jawbone]], or ripping apart the pillars he was bound to in the temple of Dagon, bringing down the building [[TakingYouWithMe and everyone in it]].

* {{Squick}}: King Eglon's death. So fat his body swallows up the entire sword he's stabbed with, and poops his pants in the process.

* NightmareFuel: What happens to the Levite's concubine in chapter 19. The Levite is entertaining a guest at his home when men of the city surround the house and demand that he hand the man over, "that we may know him carnally." The Levite gives them his concubine instead. [[spoiler: They gang-rape her to death and leave her body on the threshold.]] Particular a case of ValuesDissonance as at first he offers them his daughter as well, although the only one he actually hands over is the concubine, making her one of the earliest and saddest examples in literature of a DisposableSexWorker. [[FridgeHorror Even worse]], it's stated that she ran back to her father, who tried to stall her husband from leaving with her, hinting that she ''may'' have been trying to escape DomesticAbuse. (Which may also mean that if she ''did'' prostitute herself before this event ([[UnreliableNarrator and she may or may not have actually done so]]), she was likely doing it [[IDidWhatIHadToDo for survival reasons or trying to get money to travel back home]], not because of lust or anything like that. Or that she was simply angry at the Levite, since the Hebrew word used for prostitution, ''zanah'', can also mean "to be angry".)

* NightmareFuel: What happens to the Levite's concubine in chapter 19. The Levite is entertaining a guest at his home when men of the city surround the house and demand that he hand the man over, "that we may know him carnally." The Levite gives them his concubine instead. [[spoiler: They gang-rape her to death and leave her body on the threshold.]] Particular a case of ValuesDissonance as at first he offers them his daughter as well, although the only one he actually hands over is the concubine, making her one of the earliest and saddest examples in literature of a DisposableSexWorker. [[FridgeHorror Even worse]], it's stated that she ran back to her father, who tried to stall her husband from leaving with her, hinting that she ''may'' have been trying to escape DomesticAbuse. (Which may also mean that if she ''did'' prostitute herself before this event ([[UnreliableNarrator and she may or may not have actually done so]]), she was likely doing it [[IDidWhatIHadToDo for survival reasons or trying to get money to travel back home]], not because of lust or anything like that. Or that she was raped or sexually assaulted while traveling by herself, before being given to the townsmen, and fell victim to UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming.)

* HilariousInHindsight: Gideon winning against a larger nation with a small army of ''Film/ThreeHundred'', eh?

* NightmareFuel: What happens to the Levite's concubine in chapter 19. The Levite is entertaining a guest at his home when men of the city surround the house and demand that he hand the man over, "that we may know him carnally." The Levite gives them his concubine instead. [[spoiler: They gang-rape her to death and leave her body on the threshold.]] Particular a case of ValuesDissonance as at first he offers them his daughter as well, although the only one he actually hands over is the concubine, making her one of the earliest and saddest examples in literature of a DisposableSexWorker.
** [[FridgeHorror Even worse]], it's stated that she ran back to her father, who tried to stall her husband from leaving with her, hinting that she ''may'' have been trying to escape DomesticAbuse. (Which may also mean that if she ''did'' prostitute herself before this event ([[UnreliableNarrator and she may or may not have actually done so]]), she was likely doing it [[IDidWhatIHadToDo for survival reasons or trying to get money to travel back home]], not because of lust or anything like that. Or that she was raped or sexually assaulted while traveling by herself, before being given to the townsmen, and fell victim to UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming.)
* OneSceneWonder: Shamgar gets only one verse to his name, which adds that he killed 600 Philistines ''with an ox-goad'' (a stick used as a cattle prod.)

* WhatAnIdiot: Jephthah foolishly vowing to God that he will sacrifice the first living thing that comes out of his house if he wins a battle. After God already told him he would win. And the living thing turned out to be his daughter.

** [[FridgeHorror Even worse]], it's stated that she ran back to her father, who tried to stall her husband from leaving with her, hinting that she ''may'' have been trying to escape DomesticAbuse. (Which may also mean that if she ''did'' prostitute herself before this event ([[UnreliableNarrator and she may or may not have actually done so]]), she was likely doing it [[IDidWhatIHadToDo for survival reasons or trying to get money to travel back home]], not because of lust or anything like that.)

** Samson never seemed to pick up that every time he told Delilah a false way to defeat him, a pack of Philistines would be in his home the next day trying the exact same method.

* [[JerkSue Jerk]] [[GodModeSue God-Mode Sue]]: Samson may be a deconstruction of this. He knew he was TheChosenOne, and abused it.

* WhatAnIdiot: Jepthah foolishly vowing to God that he will sacrifice the first living thing that comes out of his house if he wins a battle. After God already told him he would win. And the living thing turned out to be his daughter.

* WhatAnIdiot: Jepthah foolishly vowing to God that he will sacrifice the first living thing that comes out of his house if he wins a battle. After God already told him he would win. The living thing turned out to be his daughter.

* WhatAnIdiot: Jepthah foolishly vowing to God that he will sacrifice the first living thing that comes out of his house if he wins a battle. The living thing turned out to be his daughter.

** Samson never seemed to pick up that every time he told Delilah a false way to defeat him, a pack of Philistines would be there the next day trying the exact same method.

* WhatAnIdiot: Jepthah foolishly vowing to God that he will sacrifice the first living thing that comes out of his house if he wins a battle. The living thing turned out to be his daughter.

* [[JerkSue Jerk]] GodModeSue: Samson may be a deconstruction of this. He knew he was TheChosenOne, and abused it.

* {{Squick}}: King Eglon's death. So far his body swallows up the entire sword he's stabbed with, and poops his pants in the process.