The Book of Judges
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The Book of

JUDGES

BARRY G. WEBB

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

© 2012 Barry G. Webb

All rights reserved

Published 2012 by

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /

P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Webb, Barry G.

The Book of Judges / Barry G. Webb.

pages cm—(The New international commentary on the Old Testament)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8028-2628-2 (cloth: alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. Judges—Commentaries. I. Title.

BS1305.53.W43 2012

222′.3207—dc23

2012018250

www.eerdmans.com

The New International Commentary on the Old Testament

General Editors

R. K. HARRISON

(1968–1993)

ROBERT L. HUBBARD, JR.

(1994–)

To my mother, Gladys Webb,

who passed away on 29 July 2009,

soon after her 100th birthday

CONTENTS

General Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Principal Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION

I. JUDGES AS AN ISRAELITE CLASSIC

A. An Ancient Book

B. A Conceptual Unit?

II. THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY

A. Dating the Period of the Judges

B. Canaan in the Period of the Judges

C. Israel’s Internal Affairs in the Judges Period

D. The Judges Period in the History Wars of Critical Study

III. THE HISTORY OF THE BOOK’S FORMATION

IV. ITS SHAPE AND CONTENT

V. RECENT SCHOLARLY STUDY OF JUDGES

VI. ITS CONTRIBUTION TO OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY

VII. JUDGES AS CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE

A. Judges in New Testament Perspective

B. Women in Judges

C. Judges and Violence

VIII. THE TEXT

IX. THE TRANSLATION

A. General Characteristics

B. The Divine Name

C. The Problem of the Large Numbers

X. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

TEXT AND COMMENTARY

I. INTRODUCTION (1:1–3:6)

A. After Joshua: Military Decline (1:1–2:5)

1. The Israelites Inquire of Yahweh (1:1–2)

2. The Successes and Failures of the Southern Tribes (1:3–21)

a. The Battle for Jerusalem (1:3–8)

b. Battles in the Southern Hills, the Negeb, and the Shephelah (1:9–17)

c. The Judah Appendix (1:18–21)

3. The Successes and Failures of the Northern Tribes (1:22–36)

a. The Victory at Bethel (1:22–26)

Excursus 1: Judges 1:22–26 in the Light of the Jacob/Bethel Traditions

Excursus 2: Judges 1:22–26 and the Taking of Jericho in Joshua 2 and 6

b. The Subsequent Deterioration in the Fortunes of the Northern Tribes (1:27–35)

c. The Amorite Appendix (1:36)

4. Israel Accused of Disobedience (2:1–5)

Excursus 3: Bethel as a Sanctuary in Joshua

B. After Joshua: A Religious Decline (2:6–3:6)

1. From Joshua to Another Generation (2:6–10)

2. The Downward Spiral (2:11–19)

3. The Outcome (2:20–3:6)

a. Yahweh’s Verdict (2:20–22 + 23)

b. Appendix: The Remaining Nations (3:1–6)

Excursus 4: The Lists of Nations in 3:3 and 3:5 and the Arrival of the Philistines

Summary: 1:1–3:6 as the Introduction to the Book

II. CAREERS OF THE JUDGES (3:7–16:31)

A. Othniel (3:7–11)

B. Ehud (3:12–30)

C. Shamgar (3:31)

D. Deborah and Barak (4:1–5:31)

1. The Story (4:1–24)

a. The Prologue (4:1–3)...

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About The Book of Judges

Eminently readable, exegetically thorough, and written in an engaging style that flows from his keen sensitivity to the text, Barry Webb’s The Book of Judges is just what is needed to properly interact with a dynamic, narrative work like the Old Testament book of Judges. It discusses not only unique features of the stories themselves but also such issues as the violent nature of Judges, how women are portrayed, and how it relates to the Christian gospel of the New Testament.

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