The Rhetoric of the Book of Judges

by Robert H. O'Connell

2014 · BRILL

This volume describes how the rhetorical devices used in Judges inspire its readers to support a divinely appointed Judahite king who endorses the deuteronomic agenda to rid the land of foreigners, to maintain inter-tribal loyalty to YHWH's cult, and to uphold social justice. Matters of rhetorical concern interpreted here include the superimposed cycle-motif and tribal-political schemata, concerns reflected in the plot-layers of each hero story, the force of narrative analogy for characterization, the strategy of entrapment which foreshadows portrayals of Saul and David in 1 Samuel, and the relation between Judges' implied situation of composition and its compiler's intention. In addition to offering new insights into the rhetorical strategy of the Judges compiler, this book illustrates a new method for understanding how plot-layered stories work.

Arabia and the Arabs

by Robert G. Hoyland

2001 · Psychology Press

Using a wide range of sources - inscriptions, poetry, histories, and archaeological evidence - Robert G. Hoyland explores the main cultural areas of Arabia, from ancient Sheba in the South, to the deserts and oases of the north.