The three passages where the minor judges appear (Judges 3:31; Judges 10:1–5; Judges 12:8–15) contribute much to the book of Judges. The themes that come out of a study of these judges could be summarized as follows:
Foreigners may serve as deliverers.
Judges are acting like kings by asserting status, building dynasties, and making alliances.
Judges are arranging marriages with outsiders (probably non-Israelites).
The twelve leaders in Judges 3:7 – 16:31 are a representation of the tribes and actions of all Israel.
The
Canaanization
of Israel intensifies as its leaders are multiplied.1
1 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim.