This book is about the complex and fascinating relations between text and social reality. And it is about method. The development of a feminist method of interpretation of ancient texts as sources for our understanding of the history of gender-ideology and as connected to present-day culture is the underlying purpose of this voyage through the Book of Judges. This book is the conclusion of a six-year-long project, started in 1980, and the third in a series of three studies on biblical narrative.