Conventions/Contraventions: The Meanings of Public and Private for the Judges 19 Concubine

This analysis of Judges 19 examines where the woman is located, and the meanings for her of those locations, in the various episodes that involve her. Among the findings it is found that the oft-used construct equating the private with women (and safety) is not always confirmed here; nor is the converse, that the public is off-limits to women because it is the more proper sphere of men. The analysis thus suggests caution is needed in our use of the public-private construct, especially the gendered meanings we might associate with that construct. In addition, it encourages a more general attentiveness to the spatial dynamics of biblical narrative and its role in the portrayal of biblical characters.