The land had rest forty years. Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
"Many have noted that the narrator writes nothing negative about this man [Othniel]. This is intentional. The prologue has prepared the reader to expect a progressive degeneration in the moral and spiritual fiber of the nation. As the embodiment of the people, the leaders whom Yahweh raises in the nation’s defense exhibit the same pattern." [Note: Ibid., pp. 149-50.] 