Abstract
D. Litt et Phil
Within the book of Judges we come across the literary depiction of a corporate body, tribe or a group of tribes seeking to survive in the midst of threatening danger. The reader would therefore expect to find the literary depiction of ancient Israel’s survival being produced by ideal bodies (male warriors) within the book. This reflects Israel’s dominant body ideology related to good order. However, within the book of Judges, contrary to this expected literary depiction, it is the unwhole, non-ideal different-functioning body, depicted as producing survival for the corporate body. This is further juxtaposed with the whole, ideal functioning bodies depicted as jeopardising the survival of the corporate body.
My hypothesis is that this paradoxical depiction of bodies within Judges is a counter cultural rhetoric, placed as a hidden polemic within the book of Judges. This hidden polemic advocates an alternative body ideology, in criticism to dominant body ideology and good order.
A socio rhetorical approach will enable me to identify the rhetorical strategy the author of Judges uses in relation to bodies. I will also be able to identify the social representation, prescriptions and ideology prevalent within this text concerning the ideal and non-ideal bodies. This includes their prescribed functions within ancient Israel’s society at the time of writing. This socio rhetorical approach will entail a literary approach reflecting narrative criticism. This will enable me to compare the manner in which the bodies are characterised, juxtaposed and depicted to covey a specific ideological message in relation to ancient Israel’s dominant body ideology relating to such bodies. My socio rhetorical approach is guided strongly by ideological criticism. I will also approach the book of Judges with the perception that it developed, was redacted and compiled by author’s who represented various ideologies relating to various aspects of ancient Israel’s society. This includes ancient Israel’s body ideology.
LaCocque (1990:23) says that irony and the paradoxical manner in which an author structures his narrative, points to the fact that he is a polemicist and the text is polemic in nature. Amit (2000:6) defines polemics as confrontation and also views the biblical texts as polemical texts (texts with confrontation as content). Biblical texts were formed by ideological schools of thought within ancient Israel and reflected their understanding and struggle with reality (Amit 2000:3; Davies 1992:44). As these schools had different opinions, there were different ideologies concerning reality and concepts on reality. Very often these opinions were controversial in relation to dominant opinions regarding a concept and they were therefore hidden as polemic within a text.
Amit (2000:94) defines a hidden polemic as follows: “Through various hints, the reader is left with the feeling that a double effort has been made within the text: on the one hand to avoid its explicit mention and on the other to leave traces within the text that will lead the reader to the hidden subject of the polemic”. The author will use narrative techniques as signs to guide his reader towards this polemic without making mention of it. The author also makes use of other implicit and explicit polemics within the text to further conceal this hidden polemic. While the hidden polemic is never mentioned, it is continually alluded to.