Wikipedia's first sentence called it “individuals who served roles as military leaders in israel in times of crisis”. Today it says “individuals who served as military”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2010 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2010
Hebrew : shôphatîm or shoftim שופטים) were Israelite leaders during the period of the Israelite confederacy.1From after the conquest of Canaan by Joshua in c. 1200 BCE until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE , the Israelite Tribes formed a loose confederation. No central government existed, and in times of crisis the people were led by ad hoc leaders known as Judges.2While judge is the closest literal translation of the Hebrew term used in the masoretic text , the position is more one of unelected non-hereditary leadership than that of legal pronouncement. In accordance with the needs of the time, their functions were primarily martial and judicial , comparable to a king (but not anointed).3(2003), "On the Reliability of the Old Testament" (Grand Rapids, Michigan.4
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 364879622.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Biblical judges A biblical judge ( Hebrew : shofet שופט, pl. shoftim שופטים) is "a ruler or a military leader, as well as someone who presided over legal hearings." Following the conquest of Canaan by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel (ca. 1150–1025 BC), the Israelite Tribes formed a loose confederation.No central government existed in this confederation and in times of crisis, the people were led by ad hoc chieftains known as judges.A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament , Glossary, pg. 426 Kitchen, Kenneth A. (2003), On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 647769168.
The opening as it stood in 2020 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
The Biblical judges are described in the Hebrew Bible , and mostly in the Book of Judges , as people who served roles as military leaders in times of crisis, in the period before an Israelite monarchy was established.There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 957505758.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Authority in the early history of Israel The judges whose stories are recounted in the Hebrew Bible , primarily in the Book of Judges , were individuals who served roles as military leaders in Israel in times of crisis, in the period before the monarchy was established. There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1169286637.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Authority in the early history of Israel The judges (sing. Hebrew : שופט , romanized : šōp̄ēṭ , pl. שופטים šōp̄əṭīm ) whose stories are recounted in the Hebrew Bible , primarily in the Book of Judges , were individuals who served as military leaders of the tribes of Israel in times of crisis, in the period before the monarchy was established.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1290843199. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “individuals who served roles as military leaders in israel in times of crisis”. Today it says “individuals who served as military”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
individuals who served roles as military leaders in israel in times of crisis
Now
individuals who served as military
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
