Described variously as divinely appointed mighty warrior, fearful son, hesitant solider, clever tactician, commanding father, ruthless killer, idolater, and illegitimate king, the character of Gideon from the biblical book of Judges has long challenged readers. How did so many conflicting portraits of Gideon the man become inscribed in our biblical text? What might these different portraits tell us about the authors and editors of Gideon's story, especially in how they expected men to act? And how have interpreters rewritten the story of Gideon in order to create their own expectations for how to act--or not--as a man?
By interweaving redaction criticism, reception history, and masculinity studies, Rewriting Masculinity explores how Gideon went from being understood as a mighty warrior to a weakling, from a successful leader to a man who led Israel astray. Kelly J. Murphy first considers the ways that older traditions about Gideon were rewritten at key moments in ancient Israel's history, sometimes so that the story of Gideon might better align with new ideas about what it meant to be a man. At other times, she shows, the story of Gideon was used to explain why older standards of masculinity no longer worked in new contexts. From here, Murphy traces how later generations of interpreters, from the ancient to the contemporary, continually rewrote Gideon in light of their own models for men, might, and masculinity.
Rewriting Masculinity is an in-depth case study of how a biblical text was continuously updated. Emphasizing the importance of reading biblical stories and expansions alongside the later reception history of the narrative, Murphy shows that the story of Gideon the mighty warrior is, in many ways, the story of masculinity in miniature: an ever-changing, always-in-crisis, and constantly-transforming ideal.
Industry Reviews
"The double focus on Gideon's reception within and beyond the HB is successfully maintained throughout and is a valuable contribution to study of Gideon and biblical masculinities." -- Catherine Lewis-Smith, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
"In Rewriting Masculinity, Kelly J. Murphy seamlessly weaves together the perspectives of masculinity studies, redaction criticism, and reception history to create an engaging and fresh understanding of the character of Gideon. Murphy's careful scholarship explores how Gideon's masculinity is framed across different contexts to address changing constructions of masculinity. The book makes significant contributions to the field of masculinity studies
and Judges scholarship and is accessible to a range of audiences."--Susan E. Haddox, author of Metaphor and Masculinity in Hosea
"With a compelling blend of accessible prose, popular culture references, and technical scholarship, Kelly J. Murphy elucidates the shifting portrayals and ideologies of masculinity within the Gideon story, as well as the varying social and editorial contexts in which they were produced and the diverse interpretive modes in which they have been received. The creative combination of masculinity studies, redaction criticism, and reception history is an exemplar
of the best that today's interdisciplinary biblical scholarship has to offer. And Murphy never loses sight of the weighty, cultural import of this analysis for present-day constructions and performances
of gender."--Brad E. Kelle, Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, point Loma Nazarene University
"Kelly J. Murphy, a creative scholar and gifted pedagogue, here takes us on a tour of the life and times of Gideon-from the early Hebrew fragment of the book of Judges recovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, to the most recent copy of the Bible placed in a hotel nightstand by the Gideons International. With Murphy as our learned and sure-footed guide amidst redaction and reception, the result is a well-written and fascinating study of a biblical figure, a
biblical story, and the meaning of manhood in both and beyond." --Brent A. Strawn, Professor of Old Testament, Emory University
