Mapping Gideon: An Exploration of Judges 6-8 Público
Murphy, Kelly J, (2011)
Abstract
This study examines the Gideon narrative from Judges 6-8 through
textual criticism,
redaction criticism, and literary criticism. In view of the fact
that there is already a wide-
range of literary studies on the book of Judges and the Gideon
narrative, this dissertation
primarily addresses diachronic issues, mapping out a hypothetical
compositional history
of the Gideon narrative and focusing on the text's meaning in its
different redactional
phases. Chapter 1 and 2 set the stage by briefly surveying the
history of interpretation of
the Gideon narrative from both the diachronic and synchronic
perspectives and
presenting an initial synchronic reading of Judges 6-8. Chapter 3
then turns to 4QJudga, a
fragment of the book of Judges discovered at Qumran, exploring the
fragment's possible
relevance for an understanding of the compositional growth of the
Gideon narrative.
Chapters 4-8 offer a compositional analysis of Judges 6-8,
identifying six possible strata
of material in the Gideon narrative. These six strata comprise
material through which
various authors transformed an earlier, largely profane tale about
a "mighty warrior"
(gibbôr ḥayil) and his local exploits into a
hesitant farmer dependent on divine assurance
for action. As a result, the final form of the narrative contains
multiple views on issues of
orthopraxy, warfare, monarchy, and even the character of Gideon
himself. Chapter 9 then
returns to a synchronic analysis of Judges 6-8 and explores the way
the text works as a
literary unit, with a special focus on the literary trope of
ambiguity. The final chapter
presents conclusions about the Gideon narrative, as well as on the
place and purpose of
the Gideon narrative within the book of Judges.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1--Mapping Gideon: An Exploration of Judges 6-8
1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Mapping Gideon 5
1.3 A Roadmap for Reading and Exploring the Gideon Narrative
14
1.3.1 A Change in Terrain: Martin Noth‘s Deuteronomistic
History 17
1.3.2 Modifications and Amendments to Noth‘s DH 20
1.3.3 Problems with the "So-Called" Deuteronomistic History
27
1.3.4 Synchronic Studies 31
1.4 Contents of the Present Study 42
Chapter 2--Surveying Judges 6-8 45
1.1 Surveying Judges 6-8 45
1.2 The Story 45
1.2.1 The Introduction (6:1-10) 45
1.2.2 Gideon in Cisjordan (6:11-8:3) 46
1.2.3 Gideon in the Transjordan (8:4-27) 51
1.2.4 The Conclusion (8:28-35) 54
1.3 Issues in the Text 54
Chapter 3--Gideon At Qumran 56
1.1 Introduction 56
1.2 Setting the Stage 57
1.2.1 Reexamining the Goal of Textual Criticism 59
1.3 Textual Criticism of the Book of Judges 62
1.3.1 Extant Versions of the Book of Judges 62
1.4 The Significance of 4QJudga 67
1.4.1 The Debate Over 4QJudga 72
1.5 Conclusions 79
Chapter 4--The God of the Amorites? 80
1.1 Introduction 80
1.2 Judges 6:7-10 80
1.2.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 6:7-10 81
1.2.2 Bumps in the Terrain 83
1.2.3 Functions and Conclusions 85
Chapter 5--Gideon of Ophrah, Jerubbaal of Shechem 91
1.1 Introduction 91
1.2 Judges 6:1-6 93
1.2.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 6:1-6 94
1.2.2 Bumps in the Terrain 95
1.2.3 Functions and Conclusions 97
1.3 Judges 6:25-32 98
1.3.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 6:25-32 99
1.3.2 Bumps in the Terrain 102
1.3.3 Functions and Conclusions 109
1.4 Judges 6:33-35 110
1.4.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 6:33-35 111
1.4.2 Bumps in the Terrain 113
1.4.3 Functions and Conclusions 114
1.5 Judges 8:28-35 117
1.5.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 8:28-35 118
1.5.2 Bumps in the Terrain 119
1.5.3 Functions and Conclusions 126
1.6 Conclusions 127
Chapter 6--Signs in Cisjordan 129
1.1 Introduction 129
1.2 Judges 6:11-24 130
1.2.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 6:11-24 132
1.2.2 Bumps in the Terrain 138
1.2.3 Functions and Conclusions 140
1.3 Judges 6:36-40 142
1.3.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 6:36-40 142
1.3.2 Bumps in the Terrain 145
1.3.3 Functions and Conclusions 149
1.4 Judges 7:1-8 151
1.4.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 7:1-8 153
1.4.2 Bumps in the Terrain 157
1.4.3 Functions and Conclusions 162
1.5 Judges 7:9-15 164
1.5.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 7:9-15 166
1.5.2 Bumps in the Terrain 168
1.5.3 Functions and Conclusions 170
1.6 Conclusions 172
Chapter 7--Returning to Ophrah 180
1.1 Judges 8:22-27 180
1.2 The Literary Horizon of Judges 8:22-27 181
1.3 Bumps in the Terrain 187
1.4 Functions and Conclusions 196
Chapter 8--Battles on Both Sides of the Jordan 199
1.1 Introduction 199
1.2 Judges 7:16-22 201
1.2.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 7:16-22 202
1.2.2 Bumps in the Terrain 204
1.2.3 Functions and Conclusions 213
1.3 Judges 7:23-8:1 215
1.3.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 7:23-8:1 216
1.3.2 Bumps in the Terrain 219
1.3.3 Functions and Conclusions 221
1.4 Judges 8:4-21 224
1.4.1 The Literary Horizon of Judges 8:4-21 226
1.4.2 Bumps in the Terrain: Zebah and Zalmunna 227
1.4.3 Bumps in the Terrain: Succoth and Penuel 233
1.4.4 Functions and Conclusions 237
1.5 Conclusions 239
1.6 The Compositional History of the Gideon Narrative: Conclusions
241
Chapter 9--Ambiguous Territory: A Literary Analysis of Judges
6-8 244
1.1 Introduction 244
1.2 Exploring Judges 6-8 245
1.2.1 The Introduction (6:1-10) 245
1.2.2 Gideon in Cisjordan (6:11-8:3) 252
1.2.3 Gideon in Transjordan (8:4-27) 273
1.2.4 The Conclusion (8:28-35) 281
1.3 Conclusions: Ambiguous Territory 282
Chapter 10--Conclusion 286
1.1 Conclusions 286
Appendix 1--The Primary Compositional Layers of Judges 6-8
293
Bibliography 294
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