No abstract

No abstract

Reviewing the publications of the last three decades, this article demonstrates that the period in question has been predictably marked by sharply increased attention to the sexual aspects of the book of Judges, and especially by sustained attempts to discover sexuality in the texts that had been commonly read with little to no reference to it. Refreshing as it is in many respects, this trend suffers from multiple vulnerabilities, including the exegetes' tendency to stretch semantics of the biblical lexemes, ignore the syntactic layout and context of the discussed fragments, rely on problematic sexual symbolism, and produce interpretations that are less than edifying for contemporary Western audiences. As a result, much, although by no means all, of the recent quest for sexuality in Judges is unsustainable, as far as both the text and the reader are concerned.

The article challenges the conventional view of the Song of Deborah (Judg. 5.2-31a) as an originally independent composition from the pre-monarchic period (twelfth or eleventh century BCE). Based on a comprehensive examination of the fragment’s internal parameters (grammar, syntax, vocabulary, intertextual links, outlook, and agenda) as well as of the external conditions of its production and circulation, the article argues that the Song of Deborah best qualifies as a late pre-exilic, exilic, or early post-exilic piece and an integral part of the Deuteronomistic corpus.

No abstract