Questions of Peace: Judges 6:11-32 and the Obstacles to Harmony between Gideon and His Elders

Abstract

The Hebrew Bible exhibits a deep interest in the transmission of the faith tradition from one generation to the next, and the book of Judges is no exception. As Judges begins, the passing of a generation is signaled by the death of Joshua (Judges 1:1), which is soon followed by the story of Caleb, his daughter, and his nephew (1:12-15). Then, Israel’s failure to pass on the faith to the next generation is noted in Judges 2:10. Throughout the book, the narratives of the judges report the ups and downs of each succeeding generation as one judge after another rises up, brings deliverance, and eventually dies (3:7-16:31). Near the center of the book, we find the story of Gideon (6:12-8.32), whose goal is the defeat of the Midianites and the restoration of peace to his community (6:24). Gideon’s first conflict, however, is with his own father and with the other elders in his village. In response to Yahweh’s dramatic visitation, Gideon names his new altar “Yahweh is Peace,” but he soon learns that peace is complicated and elusive. This brief study of Gideon’s pursuit of peace will be structured around four piercing questions found in the narrative: “Where are all his wonders?” (6:13), “How can I save Israel?” (6:15), “Who has done this thing?” (6:29), and “Would you plead for Baal?” (6:31). Each of these questions probes Gideon’s engagement with his elders and causes the reader to question the possibility of peace.