[
juhj] 
noun, verb, judged, judg⋅ing.| 1. | a public officer authorized to hear and decide cases in a court of law; a magistrate charged with the administration of justice. |
| 2. | a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, or matter at issue; authorized arbiter: the judges of a beauty contest. |
| 3. | a person qualified to pass a critical judgment: a good judge of horses. |
| 4. | an administrative head of Israel in the period between the death of Joshua and the accession to the throne by Saul. |
| 5. | (esp. in rural areas) a county official with supervisory duties, often employed part-time or on an honorary basis. |
| 6. | to pass legal judgment on; pass sentence on (a person): The court judged him guilty. |
| 7. | to hear evidence or legal arguments in (a case) in order to pass judgment; adjudicate; try: The Supreme Court is judging that case. |
| 8. | to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically: You can't judge a book by its cover. |
| 9. | to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge: The censor judged the book obscene and forbade its sale. |
| 10. | to infer, think, or hold as an opinion; conclude about or assess: He judged her to be correct. |
| 11. | to make a careful guess about; estimate: We judged the distance to be about four miles. |
| 12. | (of the ancient Hebrew judges) to govern. |
| 13. | to act as a judge; pass judgment: No one would judge between us. |
| 14. | to form an opinion or estimate: I have heard the evidence and will judge accordingly. |
| 15. | to make a mental judgment. |
[been] | 1. | Alan L(aVern), born 1932, U.S. astronaut. |
| 2. | Roy (“Judge”), 1825?–1903, U.S. frontiersman and justice of the peace: called himself “the law west of the Pecos.” |
| judge (jŭj) v. judged, judg·ing, judg·es v. tr.
[Middle English jugen, from Anglo-Norman juger, from Latin iūdicāre, from iūdex, iūdic-, judge; see deik- in Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: These nouns denote persons who make decisions that determine or settle points at issue. A judge is one capable of making rational, dispassionate, and wise decisions: In this case, the jury members are the judges of the truth. |
Judge
(Heb. shophet, pl. shophetim), properly a magistrate or ruler, rather than one who judges in the sense of trying a cause. This is the name given to those rulers who presided over the affairs of the Israelites during the interval between the death of Joshua and the accession of Saul (Judg. 2:18), a period of general anarchy and confusion. "The office of judges or regents was held during life, but it was not hereditary, neither could they appoint their successors. Their authority was limited by the law alone, and in doubtful cases they were directed to consult the divine King through the priest by Urim and Thummim (Num. 27:21). Their authority extended only over those tribes by whom they had been elected or acknowledged. There was no income attached to their office, and they bore no external marks of dignity. The only cases of direct divine appointment are those of Gideon and Samson, and the latter stood in the peculiar position of having been from before his birth ordained 'to begin to deliver Israel.' Deborah was called to deliver Israel, but was already a judge. Samuel was called by the Lord to be a prophet but not a judge, which ensued from the high gifts the people recognized as dwelling in him; and as to Eli, the office of judge seems to have devolved naturally or rather ex officio upon him." Of five of the judges, Tola (Judg. 10:1), Jair (3), Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon (12:8-15), we have no record at all beyond the bare fact that they were judges. Sacred history is not the history of individuals but of the kingdom of God in its onward progress. In Ex. 2:14 Moses is so styled. This fact may indicate that while for revenue purposes the "taskmasters" were over the people, they were yet, just as at a later time when under the Romans, governed by their own rulers.
judge
In addition to the idiom beginning with judge, also see sober as a judge. Also see judgment.