vol. 40, Issue #3

Online Journal Article: WILL THE REAL GIDEON PLEASE STAND UP? NARRATIVE STYLE AND INTENTION IN JUDGES 6–9 - DANIEL I. BLOCK - JETS 40/3 (September 1997) 353–366

https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/40/40-3/40-3-pp353-366_JETS.pdf

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Complete article may be found here:
https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/40/40-3/40-3-pp353-366_JETS.pdf

JETS 40/3 (September 1997) 353–366
WILL THE REAL GIDEON PLEASE STAND UP?
NARRATIVE STYLE AND INTENTION IN JUDGES 6–9 -
DANIEL I. BLOCK -

Excerpt:
In the 1960s there was a popular television show in the United States in
which a host would interview four characters, three of whom pretended to
be the mystery person and the fourth who actually was. Based on the
comments of these individuals the audience would have to identify which of the
candidates was the actual celebrity of the night. After the verdict of the
people was in, the host would announce: “Will the real So-and-So please
stand up?” As I have been poring over the account of the life of Gideon in
Judges 6–9 I have frequently found myself waiting for the host to call out:
“Will the real Gideon please stand up?” Scholars have answered that
question in several different ways.
For more than a century scholars have exploited the contradictions,
discrepancies and tensions in the text of Judges 6–9.
--from the first page of the article