Deryn Guest - YHWH and Israel

Dr Deryn Guest's new book, 'YHWH and Israel in the Book of Judges: An Object – Relations Analysis', will be published by Cambridge University Press in December 2018.

In the Book of Judges, the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, the narrator presents an image of the good parent YHWH whose enduring love and loyalty is offset by his wayward child Israel who defaults on the relationship repeatedly. Biblical scholars have largely concurred, demonstrating the many faults of Israel while siding with YHWH's privileged viewpoint. When object-relations theory (which examines how human beings relate to each other) is applied to Judges, a different story emerges. In its capacity to illuminate why and how relationships can be intense, problematic, rewarding, and enduring, object-relations theory reveals how both YHWH and Israel have attachment needs that are played out vividly in the story world.

Deryn is a Senior Lecturer in Biblical Hermeneutics in the Department of Theology and Religion. They are interested in the ways gender theory, queer theory and psychological theory can inform the interpretation of texts.