Conclusion

The conclusion summarizes the findings of the previous chapters, focusing on how we can now see three different masculinities inscribed in the narrative about Gideon. First, there is an early, pre-Judges story about a warrior who worked on a local scale, who lived up to many of the ideals of the ancient Near Eastern hegemonic warrior. Second, a later Deuteronomistically inspired update places traditions about Gideon into the larger framework of the book of Judges, broadening the scale of Gideon’s army, adding significant theological framing to the stories, and portraying Gideon as a faithful, if hesitant, Yahwist. Third, further updates change the nature of the ephod story by adding v. 27b, thereby rewriting Gideon as an idolater and casting aspersions on his role as Abimelech’s father. The conclusion also briefly traces the ways that later readers have rewritten Gideon to fit their own constructions of masculinity.

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.

Laying Out the Fleece

Chapter 3 approaches Gideon’s story in three different ways: the role of divine signs in the ancient Near East; the portrait of Gideon as a hesitant solider in need of divine assurance in the biblical stories of Judg 6:36–40, 7:1–8, and 7:9–15; and the ways that early Christian exegetes interpreted Gideon’s requests for divine assurance. The chapter continues to trace how masculinity is constructed in different cultures, including the Greco-Roman world of early Christianity, where men were encouraged to fight spiritual battles rather than physical battles. These interpretations serve as a powerful reminder that masculinity is always “in crisis,” tending toward transformation and change, depending on cultural context.

Rewriting Gideon

Chapter 1 argues that the Bible we read today reflects periods of rewriting, understood as a kind of reception history, and illustrates how revisions and expansions to earlier texts provide readers with a window onto changing expectations for gendered performance, as inscribed in the biblical story of Gideon. The chapter analyzes the significance of a manuscript found at Qumran, 4QJudga, which lacks the unnamed prophet now in Judg 6:7–10. Additionally, the chapter explores how constructions of gender often define men as the opposite of what is considered “womanly,” citing two examples: first, by examining how the prophet in Judg 6:7–10 connects the story of Deborah to the story of Gideon; and, second, by discussing how the first-century Jewish historian Josephus retells the stories of Deborah, Barak, and Gideon from the book of Judges by rewriting these characters in light of ancient Roman gender norms.

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.

Mighty Warriors?

Chapter 2 focuses on how the construction of masculinity is created through comparisons of men, including within the biblical texts and in later interpretations of these texts. First, the chapter introduces key ideas including hegemonic masculinity and multiple masculinities. Second, the chapter traces how Gideon is introduced as a “mighty warrior,” though later readers often find such a title ironic. Third, the chapter examines clues left in the texts of Judg 6:11–24, 25–32, and 33–35 that indicate these passages were rewritten by various editors, whose ideas of how a divinely appointed “mighty warrior” might act differed from the hegemonic fighting male of the Hebrew Bible. Finally, the chapter examines how select Jewish interpretations rewrote Gideon to align him with their own understanding of the ideal man as moderate, family oriented, and focused on serving God.

Introduction

The introduction starts with a brief history of the Gideons International, an organization that was named after the character of Gideon found in the biblical book of Judg 6–8. While the Gideons chose the name because they found Gideon to be a man willing to do God’s work, the biblical text portrays him much more ambiguously, from a hesitant, insecure man in need of multiple divine assurances to a clever tactician, a persuasive leader, a ruthless military manner, and, perhaps, an idolater. The chapter sets out key concepts for the following chapters, including a discussion of how the book will explore the story of Gideon and its reception history through masculinity studies and redaction criticism.