Excerpt from Trent Butler, The Word Biblical Commentary 8, Judges (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009), lxxx.
......"Three tribes... receive the brunt of the author's judgment in Judges. Benjamin could not take Jerusalem, could not hold on to Bethel in the face of Ephraim's strength, acted with lust and violence against Micah's concubine, refused attempts at reconciliation, and suffered the consequences. Ephraim proved strong militarily but weak spiritually in its pride and demands to be first. Ephraim's sanctuary in Bethel had all the proper accoutrements as the central sanctuary, but the decisions made there led to defeat and then the decimation of a whole tribe of Israel and the people of Jabesh-Gilead. The major positive decision at Bethel was for Judah to take the lead. Dan became a servant tribe to Canaanite or Amorite seamen, eventually losing its foothold in the foothills and having to move to the far north. In so doing, it took over by force a private sanctuary with its idol, teraphim, and priest.
......Why these three tribes? Ephraim and Bethel became the center of northern Israelite worship and political power. Dan and Bethel became the center of northern Israel's cult. And Benjamin was the home of Saul, the first king of Israel. The authors who collected the materials of Judges into a final 'book' apparently wanted Judah to go first ahead of the shameful trio of Benjamin, Ephraim, and Dan."
