Judges (The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary | THOTC)
Overview
A theological introduction, exegesis, and reflection on the teaching of Judges for audiences today.
Judges is a book for our time. It forces readers to come face to face with fact that faith speaks into the topics and situations we deal with or read about in our newsfeeds. Matters of warfare, authoritarianism, sexual exploitation, and tribalism—these are a few of the repercussions from not having our social order oriented toward God.
Recognized by The Academy of Parish Clergy to the 2021 Top 5 list for Reference Book
- Focuses on theological exegesis and theological reflection
- Written primarily for students, pastors, and other Christian leaders
- Includes paragraph-by-paragraph engagement with the text that is deliberately theological in focus
Top Highlights
“Second, Old Testament narrators are reliable and trustworthy. In some forms of storytelling, the author’s perspective is at odds with the narrator’s perspective (e.g., satire), but this is not so in Old Testament narrative.” (Page 15)
“Where is the glory in a context where God’s people are bringing their tribute/offering not to the feet of their true King at the place where his glory dwells (at that time, the tabernacle) but to the feet of a foreign king!” (Page 74)
“The tragedy of Israel forsaking Yahweh and serving the Canaanite gods is not merely that they violated the first and second commandments, but rather that in so doing they constructed an order for society that was founded on and reflected the sacred order of Canaanite religion.” (Page 31)
“Here is perhaps the biggest difference between the call of Moses and the call of Gideon: although Moses did raise objections, he never questions who it is who is calling him, whereas Gideon requires a sign to determine which deity is calling him.” (Page 108)
“It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that Judges is one example after another of what happens when the people of Yahweh choose to translate the sacred order of Canaan into an order (disorder?) for society.” (Page 32)
David Beldman’s commentary on this dark period in Israelite history is superb. At home in both the exegesis of the book of Judges and in the exegesis of postmodern culture, Beldman’s book is a great example of wisdom for the church as he seeks to show how this book spoke to its ancient audience in an anarchic wasteland where everyone did what was right in their own eyes, and how it speaks to the church in a similar situation today. Sell your coat and buy it!
—Stephen Dempster, Crandall University
Beldman’s deft narrative observations reveal the judges not as flat heroes, but as complex characters in troubling times. He makes these accounts entertaining and accessible without neglecting the difficult questions they pose and the surprising answers they sometimes provide. A good resource for preaching and teaching within the church, with insights useful for biblical scholars and theological educators.
—Lissa Wray Beal, Providence University College and Theological Seminary
The discussions framing the commentary, the Theological Introduction and Theological Reflection, provide unique contributions to the study of Judges as scripture and will, I hope, spark further work on this text with contemporary faith communities in mind.
Eric D. McDonnell Jr. in Review of Biblical Literature
- Title: Judges
- Author: David J. H. Beldman
- Series: The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. Judges › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9780802827012, 0802827012
- Resource ID: LLS:TWOHOR07JDG
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-05-15T15:38:49Z