JUDGES

A.D.H. Mayes

Sheffield Academic Press

Copyright © 1985, 1989, 1995 Sheffield Academic Press

Published by
Sheffield Academic Press Ltd
Mansion House
19 Kingfield Road
Sheffield S11 9AS
England

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISSN 0264-6498

ISBN 0-905774-58-2

CONTENTS

Preface

Abbreviations

Chapter 1 The Book of Judges

A. The Writing of History in the Book of Judges

B. The Deuteronomistic Context of the Book of Judges

C. The Structure of the Book of Judges

a. The prologue and epilogue

b. The nature of the central section

c. The development of the central section

i. The basic collection of deliverer stories

ii. Othniel in Judg. 3:7–11

iii. Jephthah and Samson in Judg. 10:6–12:6; 13–16

iv. The minor judges in Judg. 10:1–5; 12:7–15

v. The introduction in Judg. 2:11–3:6

D. The History of Origin of the Book of Judges

For Further Reading

Chapter 2 The Social Context of Events Related in Judges

A. Israel in the Ancient Near East

B. Social Forms in the Environment of Israel

a. Ugarit and Alalakh

b. Syria-Palestine

c. Society in the environment of Israel

C. Israelite Society in the Pre-monarchic Period

a. Tribal society

b. Israel as a pastoral society

c. An Israelite amphictyony

For Further Reading

Chapter 3 Israel in the Period of the Judges

A. The Limits of the Period of the Judges

B. Israel as a Segmentary Society in the Period of the Judges

C. Leadership in Pre-monarchic Israel

a. Charismatic leadership

i. The wars of Israel

ii. Holy war and charisma

b. The minor judges

D. The History of Israel in the Period of the Judges

a. The chronology of the period of the judges

b. From tribal society to monarchic state

For Further Reading

Indexes

Preface

Much of the work on this volume was done during a period of seven months which I was privileged to spend at the University of Tübingen in 1983. That visit was made possible by the generous support of the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung and by the warm welcome and thoughtful hospitality of Professor Martin Hengel. I am glad now to have the opportunity to record my appreciation both to that foundation and to Professor Hengel; their generosity made an academic visit into an enriching and rewarding experience for me and my family.

I am indebted also to Professor R.N. Whybray, both for his invitation to contribute to the series ‘Old Testament Guides’ and for his advice and helpful comments while the work was in progress. As always, however, the real stresses and strains of writing have been borne by my wife, Elizabeth; my gratitude for that cannot adequately be expressed here.

A.D.H. Mayes

Trinity College, Dublin

Abbreviations

ATANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research

BBB Bonner Biblische Beiträge

Bib Biblica

BWANT Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament

BZ Biblische Zeitschrift

BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift ...