Introduction
The book of Judges may be one of the most misunderstood and poorly, or at best, partly, or selectively told narratives in the Bible. It is a book that is certainly an important and enlightening story in and of itself, but it also serves powerfully as a historical inset, shedding remarkable light on what is arguably the overarching theme of all of the Bible and singular biblical salvation history: the fundamentally flawed nature of humankind and the world in which we live. The exhaustive activities of God, both seen and unseen, represented by a seamless tapestry of multiple universal lessons incarnated locally in the characters and era of the Judges, result in either renewed hope or dark resignation to environmental surrounding realities, depending on the ultimate perspective or the reader's remaining hope.
Our approach will be unusual; partly, I suppose, because it will emphasize the themes and foci instead of the actual texts, and partly because the actual texts of the Bible are sufficiently rich artifacts. The compression technique applied is odd, but hopefully illustrative as well. We will investigate the book of Judges from two basic points of departure: theory and practice. Three of the most prevalent and conspicuous themes that will develop are: the paradigm of biblical exile and judgment; the motives of the narrative and their effect on the reader; the ethics of the 'left hand of God'; and the question of why the world is as it is. We will also concentrate on the narrative or storytelling features of the different sections of the book. The purpose of this section of the paper is to interest the reader in the book—in its wisdom and practical spread of cultural elements. Whether or not the viewer 'believes' the Bible accounts is actually irrelevant and is not the focus here. Introducing the captivating narratives of the Judges is perhaps an interesting and effective way to entice the reader to the more empirical sections later in the paper, reinforcing the connection between biblical fact and retelling.
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Historical Context and Authorship
Judges is firmly set in the time following the period of conquest narrated in Joshua and paints a brutal and decentralized time in Israel’s history. To get a clearer picture of this book, it makes sense for the reader to have a good sense of the historical context of the day. The critical period involves the phases that separate the Late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Indeed, the collapse of the Bronze Age system saw the rise of what one might call "migratory guides" in the central hill country of Canaan and at the Sealand polity.
The Talmud attributes authorship of this book to the prophet Samuel. In the period of the romantics, the book was seen as a chauvinistic expression of political ideology and little else. At present, there are few myths about the author of the book. The major reason for its popularity with scholars is the mainstream character of Judges. There are more manuscripts of the book of Judges than there are for Ecclesiastes. However, the historical circumstances of the book and the historical occasions concerning the authorship of the book are just as murky as the political circumstances. Israel seemed helpless once it won Canaan—decentralized, without one unified ruler. These circumstances are reflected in the book’s theology. The book of Judges sets out to express a theological message. Theology within the mainstream of Judges is defined towards the God of Israel and the ideological character of Israel. The historical context for the political circumstances of the day left little hope for a country like Israel to reside peacefully. However, Israel could have easily been successful, especially in a book addressed to the essence of the history of a united country.
On the other hand, there is no one specific "General Outline" given. Each passage includes its own structural elements, with the overall structure reflecting the constant cycle in Israel as a unified country. There are seven cycles in Judges, flanked by two accounts of Micah. The book is densely editorialized and tells essentially a human story of Judges. Provocatively, much of the book is edited to portray those who would have been regarded by ancient Israel as brutal agents of judgment themselves. That raises interesting textual historical problems. Some have answered that the stories are made more moderate in order to incorporate a pro-Davidic ideology. Others claim that the entire corpus of text portrays the world of the time, culminating in the last verse of the book. The former argue that the tension in the book is essentially one of apocalyptic divisiveness.
Key Themes and Motifs
Today, we will start our comprehensive analysis of the Book of Judges in terms of its themes and narratives. This narrative is complex both in terms of the stories it contains and as a unified whole. Thus, we are to detail the key themes and motifs that emerge in the book and provide a summary and analysis of the individual stories that the book contains. The narrative as a whole is framed by two different treatments of the death of Joshua. Right from the outset, we are told that one of the principal themes of the book is Israel’s transition from a theocratic monarchy to a state ruled by human kings. Part of the controversy over the emergence of a monarchy is the negative portrayal of various leaders in the book; the leaders of Judges are characterized as little more than a series of failed revolutionaries and turncoats. As for the stories themselves, they revolve around cycles of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, and consist of anecdotes of eventually repetitive acts of domestic and internecine violence, as well as occasional, isolated acts of wonder-working.
One of the key themes in the book is the role of chieftain (savior, judge, king). The concept is treated from a number of different perspectives over the course of 13 chapters. The first theme treated is leadership. At the outset, we are told that the death of Joshua meant the loss of Israel’s established leadership. The second panel story is an anecdote about Israel’s most successful period under the leadership of Ibzan, then, in reverse order, Tola, Jair, and Kenaz. This opening section ends with the reprise of the news of Joshua’s death, followed by the fateful decision of the Israelites to inquire of the Lord, which is a formal act of recognition of the leaders they will receive. Basan and Kenaz are dropped from the narrative here because the Israelites’ choice does not fall on a traditional leader; rather, it falls upon Othniel, who is only obliquely linked to a judge later in the chapter.
Another key theme of Judges is faith. The final verses sum up the activities of Jephthah, Samson, and three minor judges; the narrator notes that the faith of Samson, in light of previous sections, goes a long way to explain why the land had peace for forty years, but relatively, his contributions are minuscule. We then are given a story which we have every reason to expect will be the story of the transition to kings. Although the hearers have been led to expect an oral review of the activities of the judges as fitting preparation for the priest and royal period, the status of the heroes as the ships between the sea, which can help provide the Israelites with the leadership which is their due, is quickly collapsed altogether with everyone suspending the scroll and staying in the goodly land of Canaan. The leaders are not what is important; what is important is the performance of the law and the clergy. The two stories about what life was expected to be like in YHWH’s kingless land tell two parallel stories about the relative independence of the law-keeper, the priest, and the king. In both cases, the story combines visual, physical, aggressive art with law-keeping in both respects.
Character Analysis and Moral Lessons
The character arcs that make up most of the Book of Judges contain intricate moral lessons that are, in several cases, overlapping and at times seemingly contradictory. Deborah, for example, is a character notable for her courage to take on the leadership role given to her by the Lord. Her gender is not the issue with which this narrative is concerned; the narrative states clearly that at the time when Barak addresses the request to Deborah, she is, in fact, a judge exercising leadership over Israel. Still, her trust in the character and potential of Barak for a time prevents him from fulfilling his full capacity in the support given to the Lord's will, thus assuming a passive and hesitant role for himself. One lesson here is about the essence of leadership and an individual's capacity to discern it in others. The reader may also be struck by the more general message of the danger of interpersonally influencing the destinies of our co-participants in the particular missions that have been allotted to them.
Gideon begins his narrative by destroying Baal's altar and image, despite taking the precaution to do so at night. In response to being told to carry out that act of sabotage by the Lord, Gideon gathers a large army of Israelites. Yet he declines to rely fully on the forces at his disposal and requests immediately that messengers be sent out to spread the news that many of his followers should now return home. Then, despite his request to the Lord for a demonstration of his presence, Gideon backs away from disbanding the rest of his supporters following the display of power, and the following day, because of his doubts and fears, delays the battle until sunrise. These are contrarian actions, both trying to self-sabotage and attempts to artificially create favorable conditions where none are expected to naturally occur. Such actions would be expected to be self-defeating on a social level, but Gideon's ambivalence before the battle and decision to delay coincide with a desire to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
Thus, his strategy involves balancing military necessity with respect for humanity on the other side. He thus tries to fight against his worst instincts as a warrior and strike a delicate compromise. This is a function of practical necessity, as well as Gideon's personal commitment to it. Gideon is a deeply anxious person who is also ahead of his time in these respects. The narrative concludes with Gideon subsequently being offered sole kingship over the society in place of his large family, per the then-current model of leadership. Gideon is forcefully stepping out of his comfort zone and anxiety in charge of others, and implicitly declining the suggestion of guardianship over their private affairs. He manages, as a result, to garner respect and national admiration, his capacity in these ways indirectly reflecting his actions as a strong and capable leader. As in the case of Deborah, debates about the propriety of any one choice or course of action always occur in tense and complicated environments, which inevitably affect their significance and impact. Even so, the basic moral intuitions animating them are recognizably of timeless value. Nor are they merely representations of policies based on an ideal type of political situation. Rather, they display the authority of living men and women with doubts, fears, secret hearts, and subtle wisdom.
Literary Structure and Significance
Finally, there is the literary structure of Judges. The book opens with two introductory narratives. These literary 'bookends' encapsulate 'book' versions of what is to develop in between. The first of these narratives ends by casting a shadow of doom upon the era of the Judges, with that darkness reaching its peak by the time of the second such narrative, when the man who at last is willing to take charge is precisely the man who has shown himself to be utterly devoid of all rightness and morality. Just as the book gets underway with futures of despair, so it ends with a tale of despair, of chaos, of the moral demise which it has been narrating from the beginning.
Within this book are woven stories which depend vitally on the issues of time and timing, stories told with an eye on the book's scope. Beyond the individual tales, however, there is the overall shape of the book, its organization and arrangement, and these are not accidental but intentional. It is always possible to arrange any set of details however one would choose, but the particular arrangement makes all the difference in what is being said and in how it is being said. Such is too the case in a literary work as it is in everyday experience. One would not expect to organize a dinner party the same way as a wake, or a wedding the same way as a war. The makers of such an event have a clear picture of what the whole is to be, and that is what guides them in the arrangement of its individual parts. In the same manner, literary artists take just such care with their creations; the plot, themes, ideas, and points which they want to get across to the reader are played out, and hence reflected, in the particular arrangement of the material.
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