JUDGES & RUTH

LAURA A. SMIT AND STEPHEN E. FOWL

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

© 2018 by Laura A. Smit and Stephen E. Fowl

Published by Brazos Press

a division of Baker Publishing Group

PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.brazospress.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-58743-330-6

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Control Number: 2018011657

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible

Series Editors

R. R. Reno, General Editor

First Things

New York, New York

Robert W. Jenson (1930–2017)

Center of Theological Inquiry

Princeton, New Jersey

Robert Louis Wilken

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Ephraim Radner

Wycliffe College

Toronto, Ontario

Michael Root

Catholic University of America

Washington, DC

George Sumner

Episcopal Diocese of Dallas

Dallas, Texas

Judges

In memory of John H. Stek (1925–2009)

and Kenneth E. Bailey (1930–2016)

Ruth

To Sarah and Don Stevens-Rayburn

CONTENTS

Series Preface

Abbreviations

Judges, by Laura A. Smit

Acknowledgments

1. The Big Picture

2. The First Prologue (1:1–2:5)

3. The Second Prologue (2:6–3:6)

4. Othniel (1:12–16; 3:7–11)

5. Ehud (3:12–30)

6. Deborah (4:1–5:31)

7. Gideon (6:1–8:35)

8. Abimelech (9:1–10:2)

9. Jephthah (10:6–12:15)

10. Samson (13:1–16:31)

11. The First Epilogue (17:1–18:31)

12. The Second Epilogue (19:1–21:25)

Bibliography for Judges

Ruth, by Stephen E. Fowl

Acknowledgments

Introduction to Ruth

Ruth 1

Ruth 2

Ruth 3

Ruth 4

Concluding Thoughts

Bibliography for Ruth

Scripture Index

Subject Index

SERIES PREFACE

Near the beginning of his treatise against gnostic interpretations of the Bible, Against Heresies, Irenaeus observes that scripture is like a great mosaic depicting a handsome king. It is as if we were owners of a villa in Gaul who had ordered a mosaic from Rome. It arrives, and the beautifully colored tiles need to be taken out of their packaging and put into proper order according to the plan of the artist. The difficulty, of course, is that scripture provides us with the individual pieces, but the order and sequence of various elements are not obvious. The Bible does not come with instructions that would allow interpreters to simply place verses, ...