This first chapter of Part IV considers the structure of the book of Judges, its place within the wider national narrative of Genesis-Kings, and compositional issues and emphases in the prose version of the account of Deborah and Barak. It demonstrates that conventional approaches that distinguish between an older source and its later integration into the narrative are deficient inasmuch as the first iteration of the account appears to have been much more succinct and may have been composed as an early addendum to the exodus-conquest narrative. The account grew dramatically as scribes downplayed the role of Deborah’s general by attributing the crowning feat to a woman who lived on the margins of Israelite society.

This second chapter of Part III looks at the composition of the Rahab account. Instead of understanding Rahab as the eponymous ancestor of an ancient clan (like Caleb and the Calebites), it demonstrates that we would be better served by interpreting her as a paradigmatic Other. Just as she came to be the prototypical proselyte for the rabbis, she figures in the biblical account as an archetypal outsider who successfully achieves membership among the people of Israel. Inasmuch as she is not associated with any one clan or community, this liminal figure from Canaanite society could serve as a safe proxy for outsiders in various times and places.