Deuteronomistic reading of the Midianite oppression. Historicalcritical study of Judges 6:1–10

Abstract

Of all the accounts of deliverance in the Book of Judges, none is more complete nor complex than the story of Gideon (Judges 6:1–9:57). The account divides into two major parts, the actual account of Israel’s deliverance from the Midianite oppression under the leadership of Gideon (6:1–8:35) and the story of his son Abimelech (9:1–57). Although the plot follows a definite trajectory, the story of Gideon is complex, consisting of a series of episodes that differ in style. For more than a century scholars have exploited the apparent contradictions, discrepancies, and tensions in the text to reconstruct the evolution of the literary account. The present text of Gideon narrative incorporates numerous theological expansions on the basic composition of Deuteronomistic Historian. The most important is the first section which gives the introduction and setting that lead up to the appearance of Gideon (6:1–10).