Joshua

Conquest and Settlement

The book is structured in two roughly equal

parts: 1. the story of the campaigns of the Israelites in

central, southern and northern Canaan and the destruction of their enemies

2. the division of the conquered land among the twelve tribes

Joshua, 24 chapters

Sources for the Book

of Joshua

A collection of war songs and poetry that is

quoted in Joshua. The original does not exist.

“’Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and, moon, you also over the Vale of Aijalon’. And the sun stood still, and the moon halted, till the people had vengeance on their enemies.”

Book of Jashar

The “D” writers contributed the main narrative

story of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua After the exile, “P” writers added genealogies

D and P

The sources for the Book of Joshua extend

over a long period of time, from war songs and poetry from oral traditions through commentaries written and added after the exile in Babylon.

Joshua sources, cont.

Moses’ military assistant in charge of the

Tabernacle One of two spies to returned to the Israelites

encouraging them on to Canaan Chosen to succeed Moses Led the Israelites across the Jordan River in

Canaan Conquered Jericho and Ai Allotted land to various tribes Made covenant with Yahweh at Shechem

Who was Joshua?

Conquest

In the south, land later occupied by the tribe of Benjamin and near Gilgal;And The conquest of Galilee and the capture of Hazor

Miraculous “bread” from heaven that ceased

to appear when the Israelites entered Canaan It nourished Israelites as they wandered in the

Sinai desert

manna

Jericho

The walls of Jericho crumble at the sound of the “mighty war cry” and the horns of the Israelites.

Rahab

A prostitute of Jericho who hid Israelite spies

She was spared in the destruction of Jericho

Entrance into Canaan First city captured by

the Israelites upon entering the land of Canaan following their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the exodus from Egypt.

Ironically, Jericho (along with the Gaza Strip) was the first territory given to the Palestinians by Israel as part of the Oslo peace agreement in 1994

tel

Walls

Archaeological evidence neither proves nor disproves the Biblical account of Joshua

Jericho today

Book of Joshua

According to Joshua, Israel became a political entity when it militarily conquered Canaan.

Some passages in Joshua indicate a fast and furious conquering of Canaan.

Yet long after Joshua, much of the Promised Land remained Canaanite

A city that according to the Book of Joshua

was destroyed by Joshua’s men Ai means “the ruin” in Hebrew According to archaeologists, Ai had been

destroyed by the time the Israelites came into Canaan

Ai

An Ancient Canaanite city and holy shrine Joshua held a covenant-renewal ceremony

here to unite the tribes of Israel Some scholars say other non-Israelite peoples

were also welcomed here by Joshua to join in a covenant with Yahweh

Shechem

Canaanites

People native to Canaan of various backgrounds

Polytheistic peoples populating Canaan Sometime allies of the Israelites

Baal, one of the Canaanite gods

Historic Origins of IsraelThree Models

Joshua and Israelites

Ai

Jericho

Conquest Model

Proto-

Israelites and Canaanites

Peaceful and

gradual

Israelites

A new people

Infiltration Model

Urban

elite

Habirupeasants

farmers

Social Revolution Model

Israelites

A term designating clans outside of the urban

or legal social structure Nomads who raided settled populations in

Palestine circa 1300 BCE Scholars speculate that Biblical Hebrews may

have been part of this group

Habiru

Head of one of Israel’s twelve tribes This tribe was divided into two sections when

land was allocated Condemned for encouragement of Baalism,

astrology, and human sacrifice Historically considered an effective king

Manasseh

Tribes and Land

Navi (Nabi), Hebrew word for “Prophet” A spokesperson for Yahweh One who delivers God’s judgments on

contemporary society One who proclaims or preaches the word or

will of a deity A true prophet is believed to be divinely

inspired

Prophets

Prophets were role models of holiness,

scholarship and closeness to God. They set the standards for the entire community.

A prophet is not necessarily a man. A prophet is not necessarily a Jew. Prophecy is not an arbitrary gift; rather, it is

the culmination of a person's spiritual and ethical development.

Purpose of Prophets

Judges