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oppressive or destructive power relations that exist in society may be
criticized and transformed. Related to this is the question of how God's
disclosure of just social constructions may influence these power
'
relations. 55
God's reaction to the rejection God experienced in the Gideon narra-
tive may function in this way. In the second part of the Gideon narrative,
God disappears from the scene, perhaps to show God's aversion to
Gideon's revenge mission, a mission that leads to distraction from God.56
Moreover, when one regards the larger context of Judges, one sees more
hints of what might constitute subtle critique concerning Gideon's
behavior. For instance, 8:31 tells us that Gideon had a son, named
Abimelech, with his concubine. This rather offhand comment sets the
tone for the following story in chapter 9, which tells us that all of Gideon's
sons are murdered by Abimelech (9:5) and that he accordingly wipes out

S5Cf. the collaboration between biblical and systematic theologians on the notion of
power, powerlessness, and the divine (Cynthia L. Rigby, ed., Power, Powerlessness, and
the Divine: New Inquiries in Bible and Theology [Atlanta: Scholars, 1997]). In this volume,
see especially the articles of William Schweiker, "Power and the Agency of God: On the
Transvaluation of Power from a Theological-Ethical Perspective," 103-124 (107); Michael
Welker, "God's Power and Powerlessness: Biblical Theology and The Search for a World
Ethos in a Time of Short-Lived Moral Markets," 39-56 (53-54);William Schweiker and
Michael Welker, "A New Paradigm of Theological and Biblical Inquiry," 3-20 (4-5). An
intriguing point of discussion relates to the notion of the connection of God's power and
powerlessness, which is intrinsic to many biblical traditions. Welker notes that "such
communication of the connection of God's power and powerlessness can counteract
"
authoritarian hierarchical constructions, be they intentional or unintentional."
56The notion of God's reaction to violence becomes quite complex if one takes into
regard biblical texts that portray God as not only tolerating violence, but commanding
violence. In this regard, the Joshua material (e.g. Josh 6-8), where God leads Israel into
war, is a prime example, as well as the herem command (Josh 7:13,17; Deut 7:26; Lev
27:28-29; 1 Sam 15:3ff.). For a discussion of this complex issue, cf. Norman K. Gottwald,
"Theological Education as a Theory-Praxis Loop: Situating the Book of Joshua in a Cultural,
Social Ethical, and Theological Matrix," in The Bible in Ethics: The Second Sheffield
Colloquium (ed. John W. Rogerson, Margaret Davies and M. Daniel Caroll; JSOTSup
207; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 107-119 (113-114); T. R. Hobbs, A
Time For War: A Study of Warfare in the Old Testament (Wilmington, Delaware: Michael
Glazier, 1989), 208-233. Gottwald tries to understand these texts in their socio-cultural
context. Moreover, for Gottwald a leading principle in making ethical decisions is the
enhancement of life. Hobbs, alternatively, follows in his last chapter a canonical approach,
reading these "problematic" texts in light of the prophetic vision of restoration and peace
as well as New Testament insights.