NKJV 365 Day Reading PlanЗагвар

the LORD raised up judges. A “judge” or deliverer was distinct from a judge in the English world today. Such a leader guided military expeditions against foes as here and arbitrated judicial matters (cf.4:5). There was no succession or national rule. They were local deliverers, lifted up to leadership by God when the deplorable condition of Israel in the region around them prompted God to rescue the people.

Taken from The MacArthur Study Bible