Episode 887: Judges - A Comedy of Horrors
About this episode
The episode discusses the book of Judges, exploring its themes of grotesque comedy, tribal fracture, and the Christian tradition of interpreting its figures.
Judges is a book of riddles, grotesque comedy, tribal fracture, liturgical chaos, and unexpected deliverance. Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, and James Bejon open a new Theopolis series on the book of Judges, considering why this strange and violent book rewards close attention. The conversation explores the legacy of James Jordan’s work on Judges, the book’s intricate literary design, its unusual heroes and weapons, its recurring images of mutilation and deliverance, and the long Christian tradition of reading figures like Samson as types of Christ. Along the way, the discussion moves through Jonathan Edwards on Samson, E.T.A. Davidson’s work on the book’s visual “tableaux,” the role of women like Deborah and Jael, the political and tribal tensions of Israel, and the repeated refrain that “there was no king in Israel.” The episode closes by considering how Judges exposes Israel’s liturgical disorder and points beyond human kingship to the reign of Yahweh. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up…
People in this episode
Guests: Peter Leithart, Jeff Meyers, Alastair Roberts, James Bejon
Topics covered
- book of Judges
- literary design
- Christian tradition
- tribal tensions
- liturgical disorder
- deliverance
Keywords
- Judges
- Samson
- liturgical chaos
- tribal fracture
- deliverance
- women in Judges
- political tensions
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Theopolis Institute
Books & works: Judges
More episodes of The Theopolis Podcast
- Episode 889: Ornament Between Work and Rest, by Dr. John Ahern
- Episode 888: The Gift of Land and Mission (Judges 1)
- Episode 886: How Music Orders Our Affections, with John Ahern
- Episode 885: The Church as the New Humanity (Q&A Episode)
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