
YHWH and Israel in the Book of Judges
An Object - Relations Analysis
Deryn Guest(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 6. December 2018
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-108-47650-8 (ISBN)
Description
In the Book of Judges the narrator presents an image of the good parent YHWH whose enduring love and loyalty is offset by his wayward child Israel who defaults on the relationship repeatedly. Biblical scholars have largely concurred, demonstrating the many faults of Israel while siding with YHWH's privileged viewpoint. When object-relations theory (which examines how human beings relate to each other) is applied to Judges, a different story emerges. In its capacity to illuminate why and how relationships can be intense, problematic, rewarding, and enduring, object-relations theory reveals how both YHWH and Israel have attachment needs that are played out vividly in the story world. Deryn Guest reveals how its narrator engages in a variety of psychological strategies to mask suppressed rage as he engages in an intriguing but rather dysfunctional masochistic dance with a dominant deity who has reputation needs.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 150 mm
Width: 221 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
363 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-47650-8 (9781108476508)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2018
Cambridge University Press
€88.99
Available for download

E-Book
12/2018
Cambridge University Press
€73.99
Available for download
Person
Deryn Guest is Senior Lecturer in Hermeneutics at the University of Birmingham. She is the author of When Deborah Met Jael (2005), Beyond Feminist Biblical Studies (2012), the founding co-editor of the best-selling The Queer Bible Commentary (2006), and co-author of Transgender, Intersex and Biblical Interpretation (2016).
Content
1. Problematic parenting: Donald Winnicott and the YHWH/Israel relationship; 2. Judges' cyclical framework and trauma theory; 3. YHWH and Israel in the 'Strange Situation': attachment theory and God-talk; 4. Israel's masochistic defence mechanism; 5. Conclusion: psychological theory and biblical hermeneutics.