ABSTRACT
The rape of the Levite’s wife (sometimes referred to as his concubine) in Judges 19 is a highly disturbing narrative in the Hebrew Bible. Interpretations vary hugely: some commentators have written the woman out of the narrative almost completely. Such interpretations have sometimes uncritically adopted rape myths which can help to perpetuate or support rape culture. Other interpreters have foregrounded the suffering of the woman, using the hermeneutics of suspicion. In this chapter, the author sets out a methodology for seeking a ‘reparative’ hermeneutic of this next, a technique pioneered by Eve Sedgwick. The hermeneutical approach to be adopted generates a thick description of the text with attention to the final form, using feminist theory, critical theories, speech act theory, affect theory, and Judith Butler’s concept of grievability.
