Judges

by McCann, J. Clinton

• ISBN13: 9780664235987
• ISBN10: 0664235980
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-08-16
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Pr

Summary

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

Author Biography

J. Clinton McCann is Evangelical Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Why Study the Book of Judges?	p. 1
The Judges: The Characters, the Period(s), and the Book	p. 3
What Were the Judges?	p. 3
The Period(s) of the Judges	p. 5
The Formation and Shape of the Book of Judges	p. 8
The Book of Judges in the Context of the Canon	p. 12
The Land	p. 16
The Canaanites	p. 17
Violence and Vengeance	p. 20
The Role of Women	p. 21
Humor	p. 23
Theology in the Book of Judges	p. 24
Commentary
From Joshua to the Judges	p. 27
Judges 1:1-3:6
Fighting and Smiting: The Canaanites Remain	p. 27
Serving God or Serving Baal?	p. 34
The Stories of the Judges	p. 41
Judges 3:7-16:31
Othniel: An Auspicious Beginning	p. 41
Ehud: "A Left-Handed Man"	p. 43
Shamgar: A Non-Israelite Judge?	p. 47
Deborah, Barak, and Jael: Women to the Rescue	p. 49
The Prose Narrative	p. 50
The Song of Deborah and Barak	p. 55
Gideon and the Question of Sovereignty	p. 61
The Call of Gideon and Gideon's Good Start	p. 62
Interpretation
"For the Lord and for Gideon": The Defeat of Midian and Amalek	p. 65
Gideon's Turn for the Worse	p. 68
Abimelech: Gideon's Violent Legacy	p. 71
Tola and Jair: The Calm between the Storms	p. 76
Jephthah and His Daughter: The Agony of Victory	p. 77
How Much Can God Stand?	p. 78
From Outlaw to Diplomat	p. 80
Keeping a Vow, Killing a Daughter	p. 81
Jephthah's Violent Legacy	p. 89
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon: An Interlude of Blessing	p. 90
Samson, His Mother, and His Lovers	p. 92
The Mother of a Hero, or the Mother As a Hero?	p. 94
Lover Number One: The Woman from Timnah	p. 101
Lover Number Two: The Woman of Whoredom at Gaza	p. 106
Lover Number Three: Delilah and Samson's Fatal Attraction	p. 107
Reflections: Samson and Culture Wars, Then and Now	p. 110
Complete Deterioration and Terror	p. 117
Judges 17:1-21:25
Micah, the Levite, and the Danites	p. 120
A Battered Woman and a Brutal War	p. 125
Terror Reigns: The Levite and His Concubine	p. 127
Civil War: From the Victimization of One to the Victimization of Many	p. 133
Reflections: Chaos and Crisis, Then and Now	p. 137
Bibliography	p. 139
Commentaries and Resources for Teaching and Preaching	p. 139
Literature Cited	p. 140
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