FEED 210/212 Mentoring Through The Old Testament/Historical Books SESSION 3A: INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL BOOKS & JOSHUA

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1 FEED 210/212 Mentoring Through The Old Testament/Historical Books SESSION 3A: INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL BOOKS & JOSHUA OBJECTIVES: By the end of this session the student should be able to: 1) Identify the historical books of the Old Testament. 2) Explain why some of the historical books are also known as Former Prophets. 3) State the authorship of the historical books. 4) Explain the meaning of the name Joshua. 5) Articulate the outline of the book of Joshua. 6) Highlight the overall lesson from the book of Joshua. 1) RECALL THE STRUCTURE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW BIBLE / TANAK (Jewish Bible) I. Law (Torah) 1. Genesis 2. Exodus 3. Leviticus 4. Numbers 5. Deuteronomy II. Prophets (Nevi'im) A. Former Prophets 1. Joshua 2. Judges 3. 1 & 2 Samuel 4. 1 & 2 Kings B. Latter Prophets 1. Isaiah 2. Jeremiah 3. Ezekiel 4. Book of the Twelve: Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi III. Writings (Ketuvim) OLD TESTAMENT (Protestant Bible) I. Pentateuch 1. Genesis 2. Exodus 3. Leviticus 4. Numbers 5. Deuteronomy II. History 1. Joshua 2. Judges 3. Ruth 4. 1 Samuel 5. 2 Samuel 6. 1 Kings 7. 2 Kings 8. 1 Chronicles 9. 2 Chronicles 10. Ezra 11. Nehemiah 12. Esther III. Poetry 1. Job 2. Psalms 3. Proverbs 4. Ecclesiastes 5. Song of Solomon IV. Major Prophets 1. Isaiah 2. Jeremiah OLD TESTAMENT (Roman, Greek, Slavonic) Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Tobit Judith Esther and Additions Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Wisdom of Solomon Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach) Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 1 of 8

2 1. Psalms 2. Proverbs 3. Job 4. The Song of Songs 1 5. Ruth 6. Lamentations 7. Ecclesiastes 8. Esther 9. Daniel 10. Ezra-Nehemiah & 2 Chronicles 3. Lamentations 4. Ezekiel 5. Daniel V. Minor Prophets 1. Hosea 2. Joel 3. Amos 4. Obadiah 5. Jonah 6. Micah 7. Nahum 8. Habakkuk 9. Zephaniah 10. Haggai 11. Zechariah 12. Malachi Baruch and Letter of Jeremiah Ezekiel Daniel and Additions: Susanna Song of the Young Men Bel and the Dragon Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees 2) THE COMPOSITION OF THE HISTORICAL BOOKS Historical Books Former Prophets Writings 1. Joshua 7. Ruth 2. Judges 8. 1 Chronicles 3. 1 Samuel 9. 2 Chronicles 4. 2 Samuel 10. Ezra 5. 1 Kings 11. Nehemiah 6. 2 Kings 12. Esther a) The Former Prophets i) Why Former Prophets? (1) They relate the early of prophecy. (2) They wrote the national history of Israel in the light of and interests. (a) Relationship Between History and Prophecy (i) Prophecy is not primarily futuristic, but concerned with obedience in time and space, in the here and now. 1 The Song of Songs is also known as Song of Solomon or Canticles. Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 2 of 8

3 1. Prophecy looks to the covenants of the and interprets their significance for the as well as. The medium it uses to tie the PAST to the PRESENT is. (3) Jewish tradition believes that these historical books were indeed written by prophets. ii) General Statement on Authorship (1) Although authorship of some historical books may be fairly confidently be deduced, all of the historical books are actually anonymous (Though the personal memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah were used to compile those books). 3) JOSHUA a) Title i) The book is named after the principal character, Joshua, whose name means the LORD is or the LORD. (1) Originally, his name was, but Moses changed it to Joshua (Num 13:8, 16) b) Background i) The people of Israel are now ready to follow their new leader into their new land. d) Outline i) The of the land (1 12) ii) The of the land (13 21) iii) The of the people to live in the land (22 24) e) Overall Lesson from Joshua i) God is in control of events in history. Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 3 of 8

4 (1) Joshua 11:23 (2) Joshua 21:43-45 (3) The idea that God gave the land is found more than 50 times in the book. That it is a fulfillment of the land promised to Israel s ancestors is also emphasized (11:23; 21:43-45). In this way, God emerges as a trustworthy Sovereign, as one who keeps his promises. This is also emphasized in Joshua s farewell speeches ( ch ). Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 4 of 8

5 APPENDIX A TO SESSION # 3A: DIFFERENT VIEWS OF THE CONQUEST 1) The Conquest Model: Traditional Viewpoint a) In this view, i) Joshua and the Israelites moved into the Promised Land and conquered the land as per the account of the Bible. b) However, the dramatic disparity between the depictions of the Books of Joshua (victory, confrontation) and Judges (defeat, infiltration) has given rise to critical views regarding the manner and extent of the conquest. 2 2) The Settlement Model: Traditio-historical Criticism Theory (Skepticism concerning the accuracy of both biblical and archaeological records. Proponent: MARTIN NOTH) a) In this view, i) Families and nomadic clans from various origins but common ethnic backgrounds gradually migrated into the border areas of Canaan. ii) Initially there was a peaceful transition to sedentary life in the land with the biblical record of battles reflecting a later territorial expansionism or legends which were created to explain the name of various places (etiological purpose). iii) The separate tribes slowly began to commingle with the result that their separate traditions both historical and religious merged into one and became the common property of all. iv) Therefore, the Old Testament history of Israel is really a blending and editing of these independent traditions of the individual tribes. We have no way of uncovering the separate histories of the individual tribes. v) The formal creation of this bond between the tribes, usually called a confederation or amphictyonic league (based on the later union of the Greek states), is seen in the Shechem convocation of Joshua 24. b) In other words, the migrants joined together first as a group and then adopt a common religion to hold themselves together. 3) The Revolt Model: Sociological Theory (Incorporates archeological evidences but at the expense of Biblical evidences: guilty of attempting to fit Biblical data into sociological and anthropological models. Proponents: GEORGE MENDENHALL, 1962; NORMAN GOTTWALD) a) Gottwald gives the clearest expression of this view in his The Tribes of Yahweh which is based on and expands the earlier works of George Mendenhall, Robinson Smith, and Max Weber. b) This view challenges three suppositions of the traditio-historical view: i) That the settlers of Canaan came from outside Palestine. ii) That they were nomadic. iii) That they had a common ethnic background. c) In this view, i) The true nature of the conflict in Canaan was not a conquest from the outside but an organized peasant revolt from within which challenged the Canaanite state. ii) Mendenhall suggests that the Hebrews were native Canaanite people ( apiru = Hebrew) who refused to further participate in Canaanite society probably because of religious stimuli. So they willingly isolated themselves from the community for religious principles not ethnic or political. 2 For a more detailed discussion of the two views presented here see, Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests: A History of Old Testament Israel, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 5 of 8

6 iii) Outside the system they entered into a covenant with Yahweh, absolutely rejecting (sometimes by force) all religious, economic, and political oppression of the Canaanite culture. iv) This resistance to all forms of oppression resulted in a class struggle between the peasants (Israelite confederation) and the nobility (the Canaanites). d) This view provides an important basis for Liberation Theology. e) Weaknesses of this view i) It is a modern construct superimposed upon the biblical traditions 3 ii) It is a hypothesis (peasant revolt) built on a hypothesis (tradition criticism à la Noth and others) and lacks even a hint of support in the biblical texts. 4 f) In summary, while the earlier view posits joining together first and then having religion, this view posits the people having a common religion first, and then joining together. 4) Conclusion: a) The conquest model (View 1) best represents the Biblical material. b) However, we cannot uncritically accept the stereotype of an all-consuming Israelite army descending on Canaan. c) Nowhere in Joshua does Israel win a battle on the basis of superior force in an allout, frontal offensive attack. Rather, it used various means (ambush, diversionary tactics), along with God s direct help at times, to defeat its enemies. d) It appears that Israel actually annihilated very few cities in its conquest of Canaan. e) In fact, Judges 1 show that the victories over the Canaanites were never complete. 3 J. Maxwell Miller, quoted by Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 6 of 8

7 APPENDIX B TO SESSION # 3A: DATE OF THE CONQUEST 1) Few books have come under as much historical scrutinizing as Joshua and Judges. It is all tied up with one s view on the Exodus whether an early date or a late date. 2) The books themselves mention many cities and details of battles that tend to encourage a historical if not a scientific analysis. 3) The two divergent dates for the conquest held by biblical scholars today are c BC (the early date) and c BC (the late date). a) The early date is primarily based on a biblical chronology using such verses as Exodus 12:40, 1 Kings 6:1, and Judges 11:26 to establish the time of the conquest. i) In 1 Kgs 6:1, we are told that Solomon began building the Temple in the 480 th year after the Exodus, which was the fourth year after his reign. If this year was 966 BC as most scholars agreed, then the Exodus would occur in 1446 BC. ii) In Jdges 11:26, Jephthah mentioned that Israel had settled in Transjordan for 300 years. Jephthah came relatively late in the period of the Judges, perhaps about 1100 BC. This would indicate a settlement time of about 1400 BC which once again supported the early date theory. b) The later date is primarily based on archaeological evidence that appears to indicate a violent destruction of many of the Canaanite cities in the 13th century. i) Thus, 1200 BC is used as the date of convenience for the end of the late Bronze Age and the beginning of the early Iron Age. These destructions have been attributed to the entering Israelites. ii) The biblical data is treated as glosses, mistakes, or round or symbolic numbers.(e.g., 480 = 12 generations of 40 years; if the actual life span then was 25 years, then 12 X 25 = 300 years which would placed the Exodus in the 13 th century. But adding up the total amount of years in Joshua, Judges and Samuel yields a minimum of 553 years, not counting some unaccountable years. However, overlapping in chronologies could telescoped the years to be shorter.) 4) The evidence from Jericho and Ai is inconclusive so most focus their attention on Lachish, Debir, and Hazor. a) But even the evidence from these cities is not without problems. i) The accuracy of the identification of the sites of all 3 cities has been questioned. ii) The dating of the levels displaying burning as being from the 13th century has also been questioned. iii) There is no evidence from archaeology that these cities were destroyed by Israel at this time. (1) Without written texts we don t know who did the destruction. iv) In fact, the upheaval at this period seems to be on a wider scale than that covering the land of Canaan. There are evidences that it covered the entire Eastern Mediterranean resulting in migrations by the Sea Peoples. v) The widespread destructions in Canaan dating to 1200 BC and the period immediately following actually represent a far greater destruction than the Bible indicates the Israelites inflicted on the land. (1) According to the biblical record, only 3 cities (Jericho, Ai, and Hazor) were totally destroyed by fire (11:13). (2) Earlier, God had indicated that he would give Israel large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant (Deut 6:10-11). Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 7 of 8

8 (a) That would indicate that they were not to destroy the cities and towns at all but, rather, that they would be receiving these relatively intact. (b) Indeed, Joshua 10 and 11 reported annihilation of people but not property (e.g. 11:13) b) If the conquest was in 1200 BC, it leaves merely 150 years before the rise of King Saul. This will render a very short period during the time of the Judges. 5) What are we to think when scientific evidence (i.e. archaeological discoveries) appears to contradict the biblical record? a) Realize that archaeology is a very inexact science. The details of an excavation can often be interpreted in different ways. b) Realize that archaeological evidence is very incomplete at this point. c) Keep judgment suspended. d) Maintain the integrity of the biblical writer. e) The best we can say, then, is that the Jericho evidence is inconclusive and at this point is of little or no value in establishing a chronological or historical framework within which to view the conquest. 5 f) Archaeological evidence is best used to support and confirm the views of Christians not as an apologetic for non-christians. 5 Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 111. Session 3A: Introduction to the Historical Books & Joshua (March 14, 2015) Page 8 of 8