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Who Is to Blame for Judges 19?
Interplay between the Text and a Chinese Context
Foreword by Mark G. Brett
Series: Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
The horrific text of Judges 19 is puzzling, especially to Chinese Christians who read the Chinese Union Version. This dominant translation of the Bible seems to place the blame for the tragedy on the concubine, which in turns legitimizes violence against women. Using tools of narrative, intertextual, and ideological criticism, Tsoi reveals an anti-Levite rhetoric in the text that has been neglected by translators. An examination of the translation context suggests that an anti-concubinage agenda in the social context of Republican China might have contributed to the bias in the translation, resulting in more than a century of misinterpretation among Chinese Christians.
Grace Kwan Sik Tsoi is academic dean and lecturer of Old Testament at Chinese Theological College Australia at Sydney.
“With Dr. Tsoi as their expert guide, readers are helped to negotiate the various contexts of the shocking crime described in Judges 19. . . . The ancient biblical context, the Chinese context of the translators of the CUV Bible, and Western biblical criticism are adroitly explored, critiqued, and, through the skill of Dr. Tsoi, enabled to inform each other. The result is both liberating and challenging. This study exposes the evil of violence against women, an evil that the Bible refuses to condone.”
—Greg Goswell, Christ College, Sydney
“Tsoi makes a welcome contribution to contextual studies of the Hebrew Bible with a focus on Judges 19. By using a contextual hermeneutic for Chinese Christians and the tools of biblical criticism, she offers fresh insights on this very controversial chapter. This is an excellent and very helpful resource for those seeking insight into contextual modes of reading, biblical interpretation in the Chinese context, the politics of translation, and concubinage.”
—Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity
“Reading Judges 19 philologically, culturally, intertextually, narratively, and ideologically—all can be found in this one title written by Dr. Tsoi. It is an intersection and integration of scholarly insights, like a satisfying treat to searching minds. The book is food for thought for people who wish to engage the biblical text meaningfully by considering the biblical context, its social and political dynamic, and a reader’s cultural milieu.”
—Elaine Wei-Fun Goh, Malaysia Theological Seminary
“This attempt to resolve the enigma of the violence in Judges 19 proves to be an endeavor of a brave heart, challenging the most popular Chinese translation of the Bible. Dr. Tsoi’s success is explicit. Though she was brought up with the CUV, she exercises her scholar acuity to read this story both in and out of Chinese culture, leading to a fruitful dialogue with the Hebrew Bible. I strongly recommend this book.”
—Dennis T. Law, Chinese Theological College Australia
“What have concubines to do with the Bible? Concubinage existed in China until the 1950s. If you want to know what the Chinese, especially Chinese Christians, think of concubinage and the fate of concubines, this is the book! Grace Tsoi has endeavored an exceptional work on how Chinese biblical scholarship ought to engage the ancient Hebrew Bible without sacrificing ethnic identity or cultural scholarship.”
—Philip P. Chia, Chung Yuan Christian University
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