Joshua
What do we say about violence in the Bible?
Characterization
- Joshua = new Moses
- both send out spies - Numbers 13; Joshua 2
- crossing bodies of water - Exodus 14; Joshua 3-4
- divine encounter/ removal of shoes - Exodus 3; Joshua 5:13-15
- outstretched arms - Exodus 17:8ff; Joshua 8:18ff
Brief word about history
Literary structure
of the Book of Joshua
Preliminary considerations (Fretheim)
1. Both an Old and New Testament "problem" (e.g. Revelation and Acts 5:1-11)
2. Significant amount of material condemning violence (e.g. Psalm 11:5, Rahab, Jonah)
3. Divine violence is often a response to human violence (e.g. flood)
4. Violence generally used for good purposes (i.e. judgment and salvation)
5. Still some violence in the Old Testament must be critiqued at the very least from the standpoint of legitimation
Further questions
1. Does historicity matter? What if the texts really are hyperbolic?
2. Is it proper to judge an ancient book by modern standards?
- Basic structure
- why this land?
- some cities were destroyed at this time, but others were destroyed beforehand
- several theories about how the Israelites wind up in the land - immigration, revolt, gradual emergence
- comparative literature - in the Ancient Near East it was common to write exaggerated accounts of military success e.g. Merneptah
- 1-12 - Conquest
- 13-22 - Division of land
- 23-24 - Appendices
- Conquest - 1-12
- broken into section by repetition - 5:1, 9:1, 10:1, 11:1
- chapters 1-8 narrate the completion of the exodus
- 9-12 narrate threats from the outside
- Division 13-22
- sections according to who granted land
- sections also according to location
Where does Joshua fit overall?
- Pentateuch or Hexateuch?
- finally a fulfillment of promise to Abraham
- Deuteronomic history (Tetrateuch)?
- Affinities with Deuteronomy - centralized cult (12:11), provision for a king (17:14-20), etc.
- Joshua
- Judges
- 1 & 2 Samuel
- 1 & 2 Kings