Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Joshua Tom
First Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Sara Koenig
Keywords
Rape narratives, Old Testament, biblical studies, feminism, sexual violence, reconciliation
Abstract
Nestled within the story of Israel in the Christian Old Testament, lies the events of Judges 19 - one of the most violent, disturbing, and traumatic stories of the Christian sacred text. Employing a feminist lens, this paper engages with Judges 19 in three sections by 1) discussing the events of Judges 19, 2) overviewing general Christian responses to the text historically, and 3) featuring specific ideological responses to Judges 19 (feminist theology, intertextual and structural biblical responses, and reconciliation studies). By highlighting a wide array of responses and ideological readings of Judges 19, this paper defends a holistic approach to the violence of Judges 19, arguing for the humanity of the unnamed woman and the healing of those effected sexual and domestic violence today.
Recommended Citation
Edmonds, Elisabeth, "Her Body Broken: Wrestling and Reconciling with Judges 19 Through a Feminist Lens" (2026). Honors Projects. 260.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/260
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Included in
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Honors Liberal Arts at Seattle Pacific University. Presented at the SPU Honors Research Symposium on May 16th, 2026.