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Hollow Men, Strange Women
Riddles, Codes and Otherness in the Book of Judges
Series: - Biblical Interpretation Series, Volume: 143
Author:
In
Hollow Men, Strange Women, Robin Baker provides a masterly reappraisal of Israel's experience during its Settlement of Canaan as narrated in the Book of Judges. Written under Assyrian suzerainty in the reign of Manasseh, Judges is both a theological commentary on the Settlement and an esoteric work of prophecy. Its apparent historicity subtly encrypts a grim forewarning of Judah's future, and, in its extensive treatment of otherness, Judges explores the meaning of God’s covenant with Israel.
Robin Baker's scholarly and perceptive reading draws on a deep understanding of ancient Hebrew and Mesopotamian symbolic codes to interpret the riddles in this many-layered text. The Book of Judges reveals complex literary configurations from which past, present, and future are simultaneously presented.
Robin Baker's scholarly and perceptive reading draws on a deep understanding of ancient Hebrew and Mesopotamian symbolic codes to interpret the riddles in this many-layered text. The Book of Judges reveals complex literary configurations from which past, present, and future are simultaneously presented.
Robin Baker is Professor of Old Testament and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Winchester and a Fellow of University College London.
Table of Contents
PREFACE
1. INTRODUCTION: ‘A SPOIL OF DIVERS COLOURS ON BOTH SIDES’
2. ‘O MIRROR OF OUR FICKLE STATE’: RIDDLES, WORDS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS OF ILLUSION
3. NOT QUITE AT HOME: GEOGRAPHY AND OTHERNESS
4. ‘LET ME FEEL THE PILLARS ON WHICH THE HOUSE STANDS’: THE ROLE AND SYMBOLISM OF THE BOOK’S RHETORICAL ARCHITECTURE
5. THE TANGLED ROOTS OF DEBORAH’S TREE: MESOPOTAMIA, EGYPT AND THE SOUL OF JUDGES
6. ‘THIS BROKEN JAW OF OUR LOST KINGDOMS’: DEATH AND COSMIC WARFARE
7. PAST AS PARABLE, HISTORY AS HONEY: JUDGES AS HISTORIOGRAPHY
8. EPILOGUE: JUDGES AND THE DEUTERONOMIST
BIBLIOGRAPHY
General Index
Index of Biblical References
PREFACE
1. INTRODUCTION: ‘A SPOIL OF DIVERS COLOURS ON BOTH SIDES’
2. ‘O MIRROR OF OUR FICKLE STATE’: RIDDLES, WORDS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS OF ILLUSION
3. NOT QUITE AT HOME: GEOGRAPHY AND OTHERNESS
4. ‘LET ME FEEL THE PILLARS ON WHICH THE HOUSE STANDS’: THE ROLE AND SYMBOLISM OF THE BOOK’S RHETORICAL ARCHITECTURE
5. THE TANGLED ROOTS OF DEBORAH’S TREE: MESOPOTAMIA, EGYPT AND THE SOUL OF JUDGES
6. ‘THIS BROKEN JAW OF OUR LOST KINGDOMS’: DEATH AND COSMIC WARFARE
7. PAST AS PARABLE, HISTORY AS HONEY: JUDGES AS HISTORIOGRAPHY
8. EPILOGUE: JUDGES AND THE DEUTERONOMIST
BIBLIOGRAPHY
General Index
Index of Biblical References
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