We may also remark that chap. vi.
begins with the relation in which the judge stood to the sanctuary
of his native town, while chap. viii. closes with this. In the
one case he discovers by a theophany, like the patriarchs in
Genesis, the sacredness of the altar-stone under the oak; in the
other he sets up, in far more realistic fashion, the plated image
(ephod) he has made of the golden ornaments of the Midianite
kings. History has to take account principally, if not
exclusively, of the natural version, which is dry in tone and lets
things speak for themselves, not overlaying the simple story with
the significance of its consequences. The relation, however, is
somewhat different from that which we found existing between
Judges iv. and v. Chapter vi. seq. is not based directly on
chap. viii., but was probably formed from independent oral
material Though the local colour is lively, the historical
reminiscences are extremely vague, and there has been a much
freer growth of legend than in Jud. iv., producing pictures of
greater art and more naivete. But in the field of miracle poetry
is manifestly earlier than prose.
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