Family Disintegration in Judges 17-18
Judges 17-18 depicts the disintegration of a basic unit of Israel’s social life: the household. These two chapters are part of a frame around the Book of Judges that includes 1:1-2:5 and 19:1-21:25. The multiple connections between the end of the frame (17:1-21:25) and the beginning (1:1-2:5) indica...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Catholic Biblical Association of America
[2018]
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In: |
The catholic biblical quarterly
Year: 2018, Volume: 80, Issue: 3, Pages: 373-392 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Judge 17-18
/ Bible. Judge 1,12-15
/ Family
/ Dissolution
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IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament NCB Personal ethics |
Further subjects: | B
Bible. Judges
B Family Relations B Household B Israel Social life & customs B Family B Judges B Home Environment B FAMILY stability |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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Summary: | Judges 17-18 depicts the disintegration of a basic unit of Israel’s social life: the household. These two chapters are part of a frame around the Book of Judges that includes 1:1-2:5 and 19:1-21:25. The multiple connections between the end of the frame (17:1-21:25) and the beginning (1:1-2:5) indicate that the end of Judges should be read in conjunction with the beginning. Within the first part of the frame comes the story of Achsah (1:12-15 // Josh 15:16-19), which exemplifies three aspects of the ideal family in the eyes of ancient audiences: the family has a clearly defined family structure, children respect their parents, and parents bless their children. The narrative of Judges 17-18 shows how Israelite households at the end of the period of the judges fall far short of these three elements of ideal families. The line from Achsah at the beginning of the book to Micah at the end thus charts the trajectory of increasing disorder in families and society as a whole. The family theme not only serves as an important element of the frame of Judges but retunes readers to the important role that families play throughout the book. |
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ISSN: | 2163-2529 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: The catholic biblical quarterly
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/cbq.2018.0088 |