How many times does the statement 'every man did what was right in his own eyes' appear in Judges?

• A. 2
• B. 6
• C. 8
• D. 4

Answer: (D)

The main idea being tested is how the book of Judges uses a repeated refrain to signal a pattern: without a king, people define “right” for themselves, which leads to moral and social breakdown. That refrain shows up multiple times throughout Judges, emphasizing that this isn’t a one-time problem but a repeated condition of the era.

There are four distinct occasions in Judges where that exact wording appears, each used to mark a different episode of decline (often tied to idol worship, tribal strife, or civil conflict). The repetition across these different contexts highlights the same problem from several angles and helps explain why the book ends by pointing to the absence of a king and the consequent tendency for everyone to do what seems right in their own eyes. So four is the best count because it reflects how the refrain is woven into multiple key scenes, not just once or twice.