Allusion and Meaning in Judges and Ruth

Yitzhak Berger analyses the stories of the six major Israelite chieftains, exploring narratives that comprise the heart of the biblical book of Judges. Berger presents an original set of interpretations, drawing substantially on the text’s allusions to earlier biblical material. Each narrative undergoes a fresh assessment, and by integrating evidence generated by allusion into a cohesive reading of the text, Berger offers new perspective on each of the major judges.

Beginning by considering the supplanting of Adoni-bezek, Berger then explores the rebirth of a nation in the story of Ehud and analyses the pivotal point of Deborah and Gideon, the nation’s decline in the narrative of Jephthah and the travails of Samson, concluding with Ruth and her connection to Israelite Kingship. These new perspectives have implications for the book’s wider ideological trajectory; consistent with a common practice of interpreting the book of Ruth together with Judges, Berger offers new insights on that shorter composition, based substantially on inner-biblical connections.