Song of Deborah as Polemic 9 Thus far, arguments for an understanding of the song as polemic against non-participation have essentially been made on the basis of Vincent’s analysis of the song’s structure. But as the following discussion will show, a slightly different analysis of the structure of vv. 14-24 is actually possible without this polemical understanding of the song being in any way diminished. Earlier, it has been noted that vv. 14-18 seems to be arranged chiastically with the focus being placed on the non-participating tribes at the structural centre of this chiasm. But this proposed chiastic arrangement is actually somewhat imbalanced in that A’ is actually significantly shorter than either A or B (23). Furthermore, an exami- nation of A and B show a certain parallel in structure that does not characterise A’. For in the two tribal roll calls found in A and B, each contains a designation that, strictly speaking, is non-tribal: Makir in v. 14c and Gilead in v. 17a. Here, Makir very likely represents the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan (24). After all, according to Gen 50,23 and Num 26,9, Makir was a son of Manasseh, and the clan so named is counted as belonging to the tribe. Although Josh 17,1-6 seems to suggest that all Makirites received land east of the Jordan, Josh 13,31 suggests that only half the sons of Makir actually received land in the east. For the rest of the Makirites, their inheritance probably lay west of the Jordan. Since the mention of Gilead in v. 17a likely includes the Manassites who have settled east of the Jordan, the reference to Makir in v. 14c probably refers to those who have settled in the west. The use of Makir rather than Manasseh here is probably to distinguish the two halves of the tribe who took different stances with regard to participation in the war. As for Gilead, since the geographic area known as Gilead covering (23) Admittedly, the idea of “balance” regarding approximate length of material is not generally considered a criterion in identifying structure, especially not in narrative literature. However, given the almost exact correspondences often found in poetic parallelism, perhaps a case can be made that in poetry, chiasm and panelling are sometimes treated as extended applications of poetic parallelism and are thus subjected to more formal constraints. In any case, in the two instances in the following analysis where I bring up the issue of “balance”, there is also other evidence to support the analysis, such that “balance” is not the only criterion for making a judgement. (24) A.E. CUNDALL, “Judges”, Judges & Ruth (by A.E. CUNDALL – L. MORRIS) (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries; Downers Grove 1968) 98; R.G. BOLING, Judges. Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (AB; Garden City 1975) 112.