Another Look at Israel’s War with Benjamin in Judges 20 from the Perspectives of African Biblical Hermeneutics

Abstract

The Book of Judges is a continuation of Israel’s history in the promised land, beginning from the death of Joshua to the time or before the birth of Samuel, the last judge of Israel (1 Sam 7:15). In Judges, we find a cycle of disobedience, infidelity, punishment, repentance and deliverance (3:7-16:31). Chapters 17-21 shed light on the social and religious history of Israel. They describe the cultic, moral anarchy of the era “when there was no king in Israel” (Judg 17:6; 19:1) and a time “when people did whatever was right in their own eyes” (21:25). In Judg 20, Israel overacts and revenges against injustices of Gibeah’s crime (Judg 19). By doing these, she plunges into civil war against Benjamin. This affirms, in a way, the tragedy of confederacy without visionary leaders who fear the Lord, a phenomenon common in today’s African societies. In the past, European and North American exegetes have interpreted Judg 19-20 historically, using various “western interpretative models.” Conscious also of issues of wars and violence in Africa, this study analyses Judg 20 from the perspective of African Biblical Hermeneutics and as a post-colonial approach within the overall context of the theology of Deuteronomistic History (Joshua–Kings). It argues against incessant tragic phenomena of civil wars and domestic violence in African faith communities.