Fathers and Sons

Chapter 5 examines the final scenes of the Gideon narrative, arguing that the earliest texts about the “mighty warrior” can be found here, though later rewriting and updating of the narrative resulted in cutting the successful war hero down to size. In particular, additions to an earlier Gideon narrative rewrite him as an idolater and failed father. The chapter highlights the many ways Gideon acts as the ideal hegemonic male of the Hebrew Bible, especially in Judg 8:4–21, while also focusing on how later readers—from antiquity to the present—have wrestled with questions of piety, fathers/sons, and violence in the construction of masculinity both in the text and as the text is later used.

Battlefields

Chapter 4 explores the first battle scene in the Gideon narrative. First, the chapter examines how the story of the battle against the Midianites in Judg 7:16–22 is used in contemporary Christian children’s literature to show how Gideon is a model warrior because he trusted God. Next, the chapter turns to Judg 7:16–22, uncovering how these verses might contain some of the earliest materials about Gideon the “mighty warrior,” though they are now overlaid with a later theological retelling of the battle. Last, the chapter returns to the way that Gideon is rewritten as a model man who now acts according to the prevailing ideals for masculinity in some forms of present-day Christianity.

“A Dream Carries Much Implication”

Commentators have long been divided in appraising Gideon. Some consider him an outstanding champion of Yahweh’s cause. Others judge him as, at best, flawed, at worst a vainglorious manipulator who corrupted Israel’s relationship with Yahweh and weakened her hold on the Promised Land. Despite abundant commentary on Gideon, the Midianite’s dream has attracted little specific exegetical attention beyond recognition that, on hearing its interpretation, Gideon was transformed. Yet it must surely rank as one of the most remarkable episodes in Judges. This study considers the dream’s hermeneutical function in illuminating Gideon’s character and changing relationship with Yahweh. It examines the dream’s place in the Gideon narrative and explores the meaning of its symbolism for the writer’s time and readership. It demonstrates that the narrative’s structure, and the dream’s place within it, were carefully planned and crucial to its interpretation. Finally, it analyses heuristic literary devices used in the narrative.