Characters and Characterization in the Book of Judges

Characters and Characterization in the Book of Judges

Author: Keith Bodner

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2023-12-28

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0567700518

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In the Book of Judges, why, if we view Samson as a heroic Übermensch, do we read his story one way, yet if we read him as a buffoonish and violent oaf, we read the story another way? How does our assessment of the characters of a story, our empathy with them or suspicion of them, shape the way we read it? This book addresses these questions by analyzing the complex characterization in the Book of Judges, paying attention to an often neglected but important area of study in the Hebrew Bible. Its international group of contributors explore the implications of characterization on storytelling, situating their contributions within the context of literary studies of the Hebrew Bible, and offering multiple perspectives on the many and various characters one encounters in the Book of Judges. Chapters examine a range of topics, including the relationship between humor, characterization and theology in Judges; the intersection of characterization and ethics through the story of the story of Jephthah's daughter; why the 'trickster hero' Ehud disturbs interpreters; and the ways in which Abimelech's characterization affects the key narrative themes of succession and kingship in his story.


Making Men

Making Men

Author: Stephen Wilson

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015-11-02

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0190222832

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Making Men identifies and elaborates on a theme in the Hebrew Bible that has largely gone unnoticed by scholars-the transition of a male adolescent from boyhood to manhood. Wilson locates five examples of the male coming-of-age theme in the Hebrew Bible. The protagonists of these stories include the well-known biblical heroes Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon. He also reveals the existence of a narrative theme of failing to mature to manhood, exemplified in the tales of Samson and Gideon's son Jether. Beyond identifying the coming-of-age theme, Wilson describes how the theme is employed by biblical narrators and redactors to highlight broader messages and transitions in the historical narratives of the Hebrew Bible. He additionally considers how these stories provide unique insight into the varying representations of biblical masculinity and how the ideals associated with manhood can change dramatically over time.


Tamar’s Tears

Tamar’s Tears

Author: Andrew Sloane

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-11-14

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 1630876127

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Evangelical and feminist approaches to Old Testament interpretation often seem to be at odds with each other. The authors of this volume argue to the contrary: feminist and evangelical interpreters of the Old Testament can enter into a constructive dialogue that will be fruitful to both parties. They seek to illustrate this with reference to a number of texts and issues relevant to feminist Old Testament interpretation from an explicitly evangelical point of view. In so doing they raise issues that need to be addressed by both evangelical and feminist interpreters of the Old Testament, and present an invitation to faithful and fruitful reading of these portions of Scripture.


Dialogue on Monarchy in the Gideon-Abimelech Narrative

Dialogue on Monarchy in the Gideon-Abimelech Narrative

Author: Albert Sui Hung Lee

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-02-01

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9004443851

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In Dialogue on Monarchy in the Gideon-Abimelech Narrative, Albert Sui Hung Lee applies Bakhtin’s dialogism to uncover pro- and anti-monarchical voices in the Gideon–Abimelech narrative and the redactor’s intention of engaging exilic or post-exilic communities in an “unfinalized” dialogue of polity forms.


Judges

Judges

Author: Mercedes L. García Bachmann

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2018-07-02

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 081468131X

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A woman called blessed for killing a Canaanite general; another called "Mother in Israel" for leading troops into war; several other mothers absent when their children need them; a judge, Deborah, with a proper name and a recognized place for public counseling; a single woman, Delilah, who seduces and conquers Samson. The book of Judges features an outstanding number of women, named and unnamed, in family roles and also active in society, mostly objects of violent dealings between men. This volume looks not only at women in their traditional roles (daughter, wife, mother) but also at how society at large deals with women (and with men) in war, in strife, and sometimes in peace.


The Song of Deborah in the Septuagint

The Song of Deborah in the Septuagint

Author: Nathan LaMontagne

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Published: 2019-10-14

Total Pages: 151

ISBN-13: 3161555171

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Back cover: In this work, Nathan LaMonagne examines the Song of Deborah in Judges 5 as it existed during the Hellenistic period. He analyzes the text of the Song and discusses how this work, in translation, functions as a work of literature among other Hellenistic compositions.


Judges 1

Judges 1

Author: Mark S. Smith

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2021-11-23

Total Pages: 924

ISBN-13: 1506480497

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This groundbreaking volume presents a new translation of the text and detailed interpretation of almost every word or phrase in the book of Judges, drawing from archaeology and iconography, textual versions, biblical parallels, and extrabiblical texts, many never noted before. Archaeology also serves to show how a story of the Iron II period employed visible ruins to narrate supposedly early events from the so-called "period of the Judges." The synchronic analysis for each unit sketches its characters and main themes, as well as other literary dynamics. The diachronic, redactional analysis shows the shifting settings of units as well as their development, commonly due to their inner-textual reception and reinterpretation. The result is a remarkably fresh historical-critical treatment of 1:1-10:5.


Judges, Ruth

Judges, Ruth

Author: Daniel I. Block

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 1999-09-20

Total Pages: 691

ISBN-13: 1433672626

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THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.


At Risk in the Promised Land

At Risk in the Promised Land

Author: E. John Hamlin

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9780802804327

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This theological treatment of the Book of Judges is fresh, original, imaginative, scholarly, and relevant. In his commentary E. John Hamlin pays careful attention to the structure and meaning of the text of Judges, and he elucidates the "risk" that Israel faced in the Promised Land -- the risk of living among the "Canaanites," of adopting their ungodly practices and their way of organizing society (the way of death). Hamlin's characterizations of the various liberator judges are particularly thought-provoking. Each chapter concludes with "Perspectives" on the text -- reflections on the ancient context of the Judges accounts, insights from the Asian cultures among which Hamlin has lived and worked, and applications to modern situations.