Sources and Composition in the List of Minor Judges, in I. Koch, T. Römer and O. Sergi (eds.), Writing, Rewriting, and Overwriting in the Books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets. Essays in Honour of Cynthia Edenburg, Leuven 2019, 161-171. (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Meaning of the Minor Judges: Understanding the Bible's Shortest Stories (2018)
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2018
The notices about the so-called " minor judges " (Judg 3:31; 10:1–5; 12:8–15) are strategically arranged in the literary structure of the book of Judges. They are " minor " only in the sense that they are shorter than the other stories, but their selective thematic emphases (especially on foreign deliverers, royal aspirations, outside marriages, " canaanization, " the number twelve, etc.) indicate that they are included with editorial purpose. The minor judges therefore have major importance for understanding the theological message of the book.
Cynthia Edenburg is one of the leading experts of the formation of the books covering Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets, commonly called “the Deuteronomistic History”. She has renewed scholarly understanding of the process how the narrative and legal traditions that are gathered in these books were written down for the first time before they were edited in several ways by the Deuteronomistic redactors. She provided new insight into these redactional processes by distinguishing several ways of revising a text. Most of the contributions gathered in this volume pursue the question of the composition and revision of the books of Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets. Additional contributions deal with the history of the text of other books, from Genesis to Chronicles. They are all presented to Cynthia Edenburg as an appreciation of her influence on current scholarship.
Judges 1:1-2:5, The Double Intention of the Deuteronomistic Redactor
Judges 1:2-2:5 is generally considered as a later addition to the main body of the book of Judges. Since the stories of the judges (3:7-16:31) have a Deuteronomistic introduction in Judg. 2:6-3:6, Judg. 1:1-2:5 is somehow dangled between Joshua and Judges. The approximate repetition of Josh 24:28-31 in Judg. 2:6-9 also forms a Wiederaufnahme, a common device for inserting additional material. Then, we can ask, why does the redactor place Judg. 1:1-2:5 there? What is the function of this additional material? Scholarly research has been threefold. First, some regard Judg. 1:1-2:5 as pro-Judahite redactional material. They approach the text from the perspective of the broad context of the Deuteronomistic History. Second, literary critics attempt to read the text within the direct context of Judges and to set literary or thematic connections between Judg. 1:1-2:5 and the rest of the book. Third, some understand Judg. 1:1-2:5 as transitional material between Joshua and Judges. While critically interacting with the previous scholarship, I will propose a new way to understand Judg. 1:1-2:5: ‘the double intention of an exilic Deuteronomistic redactor.’ Artificially composing Judg.1:1-2:5 based on the old and new materials, the redactor not only promotes the relatively positive image of Judah, but also provides a smooth transition from the overall positive portrayal of the Israelite conquest in Joshua to the negative evaluation of the failure of Israelites’ conquest at the beginning of Judges (2:6-3:6). The best socio-historical setting of the redactor is the exilic period in which, while both of the Israelite kingdoms are failed to remain in the land, hope still remains in the lineage of Judahite kingship.
History, Folklore, and Myth in the Book of Judges
Melita Theologica, 2019
I am wary of drawing more precise connections. Some cite the 12th-century Babylonian "Weidner Chronicle" as a parallel to the so-called Deuteronomistic History, since it presents cycles of good and bad kings to help contemporary rulers avoid the fate of Naram-Sin, whose sins are anachronistic, since Babylon was not built in his lifetime. So, supposedly, 1 Kings 13-14 and 2 Kings 17 are parallel, propagandistic for Josiah as the "Weidner" was for Nebuchadnezzar. But the "Weidner Chronicle's" line of causality reaches back beyond history to the divine realm, while the Deuteronomistic History's reaches back to a moment in history; and unlike Yahweh's Law, Marduk's divine will that is outed was that he wanted more sh. e Mesha Stela is a much closer parallel to the Bible, not only because of its Deuteronomistic language and theology but also in its geographical, non-chronological arrangement.; Bill T.
The Book of Judges: An Analysis
Judges sets the stage for monarchical rule in Israel by condemning the anarchy and disobedience of Israel as the fruit of a season in history when ‘Israel had no king’ (Jgs 21:25). In examining the narrators overarching purpose and editorial comments, Biblical scholarship concludes that Judges serves as a low-key apologetic for the ideal future Davidic monarch. Via the testimony of ‘judges’ such as Gideon and Abimelech, among others, we can learn much about the responsibilities and motives that are required of any future Israelite king. Judges instructs us as to the pivotal nature of Godly leadership, faithful to both Yahweh and his covenant.