BIBL2121E: Textual Analysis of the Book of Judges

Abstract

This course will present and analyze the book of Judges which covers a period of almost four hundred years, from the preliminary attempts by the tribes to secure their designated land by Yehoshua, until the eve of the monarchy centuries later. The period of the Judges was perhaps the most turbulent in all Biblical history, as the Jewish tribes struggled mightily to lay the foundations of their state in the shadow of very powerful and corrupted cultural, moral and military threats. The leaders of these centuries, the Judges, led their tribes on the battlefield and frequently provided them with spiritual guidance and leadership. During the course of our studies, we will not only analyze the textual difficulties but will also encounter many important and thought-provoking issues that are introduced by the narratives of this book.