This expository essay considers three stories in the Book of Judges that are set in cities. Grim tales of violence unfold in the cities of Shechem, Liash and Gibeah, where visitors and the unsuspecting inhabitants and visitors who have reason to consider they are safe, become victims. Justice and retribution is suggested for the theme of the first story; the second features the powerful depriving of the weak and unsuspecting of their homes and their lives; and the third describes foolishness and cruelty and the silence of God.
