Murder, Mayhem, and Flawed Leadership in the Book of Judges
The Book of Judges bursts with tales that seem straight out of today’s tabloids: The illegitimate son of a judge goes down in flames and a high-powered demagogue has a liaison with a prostitute. One flawed leader is found cowering in a cave when he is called to action, another slaughters his 70 brothers before being crowned and a third, who doesn't know his own strength, resists all efforts to control his impulses. Even if human nature hasn’t changed much over the past thousands of years, what theological message could possibly be encoded in these scandalous headlines?
We will bring fresh eyes to a close reading of selected sections of this ancient biblical book, paying special attention to the ways literary devices such as satire, hyperbole, humor and poetry are used to highlight divine will and human perversity in these troubling tales.