Parallel Structures in Judges and the Formation of the Book

Abstract

In addition to the well-known repetitions in the book of Judges, this article maps a number of meaningful cases of repetition in the form of parallel structures in chapters 1, 14–16 and 17–21. This special use of repetition can be regarded as characteristic of the editor who was responsible for the book in its final form. The analysis of this phenomenon helps to provide a better view of the structure of the book as a whole and to explain the function of the double references to the death of Joshua and to the twenty years of Samson as a judge. The specific use of parallel structures at the beginning and end of the book can also be related to theories that attempt to reconstruct the formation of the book and the way in which it is connected to both the preceding book of Joshua and the following book of Samuel.