While the narrative flows from one verse to the next with no disturbance, there is in fact a temporal disjunction, for the one who dismisses Israel is Joshua! Judges 2:6 begins a flashback to an earlier assembly, even though there are none of the formal indicators of such a flashback (e.g., disjunctive syntax in the original). Yet “there is an important sense in which Judges 2:6ff. does in fact follow on from Judges 2:1–5: the apostasy which is the principal subject matter of 2:6—3:6 both follows and is derived from the gradual coming to terms with the Canaanites that happens in 1:1—2:5. This consequence is anticipated…in the ominous words of the messenger in Judges 2:3: 'their gods will become a snare to you.' While the content of Judges 2:6 makes clear that a major temporal break has taken place, the syntax reflects the more fundamental continuity of thought."¹