Introduction

Abstract

The Introduction begins by surveying several stories from the Hebrew Bible and examining what they convey about justice and judgment. It schematizes different models of judgment, relating in particular to divine intervention, direct or indirect, in reaching a verdict. It identifies the characteristics of two key elements of the study: trial stories and counternarratives. Trial stories are identified both as a universal type-scene and also cast within more specific, ancient contexts. Counternarratives are defined as stories that are positioned against dominant cultural narratives. The chapter also describes the main objective of the book and outlines the plan of the book, summarizing each chapter.