"A useful contribution to the literary examination of the book of Judges. It deserves attention, and its conclusions need to be discussed in future works on this material. Beldman is quite correct to say that biblical scholars need to expand their horizons to include literary theory as another interpretative tool." -Victor H. Matthews, Review of Biblical Literature "In the final chapter, Beldman analyzes two asynchronic references: to Jonathan, son of Gershom, son of Moses in 18:30 and to Phineas, son of Eleazar, in 20:28. Beldman's treatment of these verses is the high point of his book; the discussion is interesting and insightful. He concludes that the degeneration in Judges is not linear: "The real-time indicators in 18:30 and 20:28 jolt the reader to consider the shocking reality that the depths of Israel's degradation did not necessarily occur at the end of a long process but that their rebellion and apostasy were systemic from the very beginning" (p. 137). He effectively ties these seemingly intrusive comments with the purpose of the book as a whole. Beldman's monograph is a productive and worthwhile application of literary theory to biblical narrative." -Mary L. Conway, Catholic Biblical Quarterly