Judges 1-5: A New Translation and Commentary (review)

Abstract

Hebrew Sludies 38 (1997) 129 Reviews plunderers become the plunder. One could continue this type of analysis of Sisera's mother from the perspective of the other approaches presented in Vee's volume, but let me instead conclude by noting that this volume would have been greatly improved if an attempt had been made to make the approaches interactive, to get them to challenge each other in a constructive way. Perhaps all writers could have provided an interpretation of a single passage in Judges, each from the perspective of the specific approach they discuss. Despite this shortcoming, this volume is a very useful and instructive work, well worth the reader's time. I recommend it highly. Alan J. Hauser Appalachian Slale University Boone, NC 28608 JUDGES 1-5: A NEW TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY. By Barnabas Lindars. Pp. xxxiii + 302. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1995. Cloth. At the time of his death in 1991, Barnabas Lindars, Ryelands Professor of Biblical Criticism and Exegesis at the University of Manchester, was preparing a commentary on Judges for the new International Critical Commentary series. Given the nature of the work, it was not possible for another scholar to complete Lindars' research. Since the work on the first five chapters of Judges had been completed, it was decided that the book should be published independently. The book has been lightly edited by A. D. H. Mayes, who also provides a brief, four-page introduction to the commentary. This is a difficult work to review, given its incomplete nature. The treatment of the materials follows the fonnat of the earlier ICC commentaries . Lindars provides a general introduction to each section, which is determined on literary grounds. This is followed by a translation of the entire section, a new and helpful feature for the ICC. The decision to print the translation in a very small typeface, however, was not a good choice. He then provides more detailed analysis of each of the subsections of the division, concluding the section with a presentation of the major text-critical problems associated with the materials considered. Lindars displays a rather conservative historical-critical approach to the accounts contained in Judges. He recognizes that the final fonn of Judges dates to the exile and the latest edition of the deuteronomistic history, but Hebrew Studies 38 (1997) 130 Reviews despite this late date for the final composition of the work, he treats the "period of the Judges" as an actual historical epoch and maintains that the basic materials contained in the work reliably reflect the tribal origins of Israel, a position that places the analysis in contrast to more recent archaeological theories of Israelite origins. The original introduction is contained in 2:7 and 10. The remainder of 2:6-3:6 has been added as the result of the addition of the prelude (1:1-2:5) at the hand of the latest redactor. This prelude was added in an attempt to make a smooth transition from Joshua to Judges. The relationship of 1:1-2:5 to Joshua 13-19 is recognized, but not fully developed. After a detailed consideration of the prelude and introduction, with careful notice given to the development of the deuteronomistic pattern that characterizes Judges until the death of Samson (16:31), Lindars turns to a consideration of the "Judges" ofIsrael (3:7-5:31). These accounts were developed from local hero-legends, excepting the so-called "minor" judges, who do not fit the pattern. These old traditions of the judges were first collected by the historian who composed the original introduction to the work. The account of Othniel (3:7-11) presents the complete paradigm of the pattern of the judges (see the chart of elements on p. 100). While recognizing the difficulties associated with the artificial nature of this section, Lindars treats it as though it were derived from a written source describing some actual historical events that have now been glossed and expanded to form the present account. The same approach is used in the analysis of Ehud (3:12-30), a story which, according to Lindars, is much older than its setting. The verse regarding Shamgar (3:31) is a late insertion into...