Judges 19-21 and Ruth

Jennifer M. Matheny, PhD (2021), University of Kent (Canterbury, UK), is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Nazarene Theological Seminary (Kansas City, MO).

• AcknowledgmentsList of Figures and Tables1 IntroductionJudges 19–21 and Ruth in Canonical DialogueCanon and AnswerabilityReading SilenceOutline of the Book2 The Answerability of CanonA Voice for the Voiceless in Judges 19–21The Polyphonic Nature of CanonOn the Quest for a Voice: Discovering the UtteranceThe ChronotopesCanon as a Voice of AnswerabilityThe Use of נתח as a Voice of Canonical AnswerabilityConclusion3 Judges 19–21 as a Dialogic משלUnderstanding Judges 19–21 as a Dialogic משלBakhtin’s Voice in the Dialogue of GenreDialogic משלTo “I.D.” a Body of Literature: An Unfinalized ThresholdThe Instrument of Dismemberment: המאכלתThresholds: סף and מפתןConclusion4 Haunted DialogueUtterances of the Mute and Mutilated (Judges 20 and 21)If There Was “No King in Israel,” Who Is in Charge?Not a King but Acting Like OneThe Account of this EvilThe Reported Speech of the LeviteThe Woman, the One SlainUnity at MizpahSons of Worthlessness—My Brother?Name-Dropping as Theological-Political Symbols: The Ark of the Covenant of God and PhinehasMizpah: Oaths and WeepingConclusion5 חרם in Canonical DialogueThresholds of No Return: חרםחרם as a Function of Grotesque RealismAchan and Rahab: Who is Truly חרם in Joshua?Narrative Settingחרם: Why All the Fuss?Canonical Answerability for the Silent?Conclusion6 Ruth’s Chronotope in the CanonRuth as a Traveling TextRuth as a Threshold TextDating of RuthRuth’s Chronotope in the CanonsForm, Function, and the Dialogic Nature of GenrePrevious Scholarship on the Genre of RuthA New Way Forward: Ruth’s Function as a Dialogic משלRuth as a Dialogic משל and a Voice of Canonical AnswerabilityAnswerability as a Feature of the Dialogism: Ruth and TamarConclusion7 The Answerability of Borders and IdentityRuth 1: The Dialogical Nature of NamesWomen in Relational Answerability: Naomi, Orpah and Ruth (Ruth 1)The Chronotope of Borders: Between and in between Moab and BethlehemBorders of EthnicityNaomi, Ruth and Orpah: Relational AnswerabilityNaomi’s LamentIntertextual UtterancesConclusion8 Chronotope Encounters in Ruth 2 and 3Chronotopes of Field and Threshing FloorThe Chronotope of EncounterEncounter with Boaz: A Dialogue of IdentityRuth’s Response: Speak to the HeartCanonical Answerability: Genesis 19 and Ruth 2Chronotope of Encounter: The Threshing FloorRuth 3:9 in Canonical Dialogue with the Torah: Violator or Creative Agent?Foreign Women in the Canonical Dialogue of IdentityConclusion9 Progentitive Problems in Ruth 4Progenitive Problems Answered by Purchased PossessionsChronotope of Encounter: The City GateCanonical Answerability for the SilentRuth’s Loophole of IdentityThe Women of Bethlehem: A Voice of Answerability for Ruth and NaomiThe Canonical Dialogue of חסד in RuthRuth Embodies חסד Towards NaomiThe Dialogic Encounter of Law and NarrativeConclusion10 Judges 19–21 and Ruth in DialogueRuth as a Voice of Canonical AnswerabilityRuth and Judges as a Dialogic משלIdioms in Dialogue: נשא אשה (Judges 21:23; Ruth 1:4) and דבר על־לב (Judges 19:3; Ruth 2:13)A Dialogue of Identity: The Women in Judges 19–21 and RuthOaths in DialogueRuth as the Reversal פילגש? Utterances of Identity and AlterityConclusion: Earth-Keeping and People-KeepingAppendix: Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin, an Unfinalized Life: A Brief Biography and Story of His Honorary Doctorate from Yale UniversityBibliographyIndex of ScripturesIndex of Subjects