We read the horrific episode of the Concubine of Givah, and get a sense of the terrible moral decline of the people of Israel.

We read of the sorry tale of a young thief named Micah. After confessing his thievery from his own mother, he decides to build an idol and set up a house of worship.

We read the very unfortunate tale of the Danites and how the idol of Micah led to the destruction of a peaceful town.

No matter how much Samson tries to avoid his destiny, destiny catches upo to him. Samson ends his life by destroying his oppressors and the oppressors of Israel.

Samson strays with a prostitute, and then finally meets the woman who will be his ultimate downfall. He betrays his mission to save the people of Israel and is taken captive by the Phillistines.

We read of Samson's next attempt to escape his destiny and go back to his Phillistine wife. When that is unsuccessful, the angry young man takes out his anger on the Phillistines and he becomes a fugitive. When his people hand him over to the Phillistines to escape punishment, he uses a strange weapon to rescue himself. Despite his best efforts to avoid his destiny, God makes sure he fulfills it.

In the first of Samson's expolits, we read of his falling in love with a Phillistine woman. On his way to his engagement he encounters a lion which he kills with his bare hands. Eventually he tests his new wife's loyalty with a riddle with which he challenges his new Phillistine "friends". He quickly finds out that his Phillistine wife is more loyal to her people than to her new husband.

We read of the unusual circumstances surrounding the birth of Samson, the final Judge we will read about in the Book of Judges.

Yiftach's reign descends into civil war and chaos. We read of three more obscure judges, and the quality of leadership of Israel continues it's decline.

In one of the most painful and tragic chapters in the entire Tanach, we read of Yiftach's vow, his victory in battle, and his fulfillment of this terrible deed.