Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 28:1 (Winter 2014)
Article: Voices Of Outrage Against Rape: Textual Evidence In Judges 19
Author: Deirdre Brouer

---

PP 28:1 (Winter 2014) p. 24

Voices Of Outrage Against Rape:
Textual Evidence In Judges 19

Deirdre Brouer

Deirdre Brouer (MA) is an adjunct Hebrew instructor at Denver Seminary and provides spiritual direction through the Lanteri Center in Denver. She teaches classes and seminars on the Jewish roots of Christianity and on how the Old Testament speaks outrage against rape. As a survivor of sexual abuse, she is passionate about empowering others who have been so impacted.

Rape is a timeless and worldwide1 epidemic that violates the divine image and personhood of a human being and renders its victims voiceless, powerless,2 and fragmented from self, others, and God. Rape causes a desolate and disordered reality psychologically, relationally, and spiritually, often resulting in theological and “existential crisis.”3 Although this crisis impacts millions each year,4 rape has a history of silence, denial, and serious misperceptions.5 These misperceptions include blaming the victim and minimizing the multidimensional impact and trauma of rape. Healing requires breaking the silence, which many voices are doing today, including one particular community more than two thousand years old. Rather than silencing, denying, or minimizing rape, this community speaks relevantly and powerfully by voicing outrage against rape.

The voices of this community are represented by the writers and narrators of the Hebrew Bible, otherwise known as the Old Testament (OT). The OT has often been misinterpreted and misperceived as oppressive toward women and silent about abuse. However, evidence within the OT reveals that the biblical writers and narrators highly value women and speak adamantly against rape, including the rape of a woman from Bethlehem recorded in Judges 19. By demonstrating how the biblical writers view women and rape, and how the narrator of Judges 19 speaks outrage against rape, I hope to prove how these voices within the OT, which represent the divine perspective,6 speak relevantly and redemptively today. We will begin by establishing how the biblical writers view women and rape.

Background And Terminology

Examples of how the biblical writers view women are found in the creation account and the wisdom and prophetic literature. As one who is able to conceive, bear, and sustain life, the first woman is named “Life”...

visitor : : uid: ()