Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 1 Topic 1 - Introducing the Book of Joshua with Middle Eastern geography Resources: Ancient map: http://www.utexas.edu/courses/classicalarch/images2/mapane.jpg Modern map: http://www.godweb.org/htm/002.htm UPenn Museum website: http://www.penn.museum/sites/canaan/index.html A. Geography: 1. Do now: How does geography affect the process of state-building in our day and in ancient times? _ 2. To what state in the U.S. can we compare Israel? 3. Describe four climate zones in Israel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/geography_of_israel): 4. What ancient nations and cities share borders or are close to the land of Israel? 5. Review: what natural resources benefitted the Fertile Crescent civilizations? 6. Look at these maps of rainfall and groundwater in the Middle East: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/middle_east_rainfall_1973.jpg http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/middle_east_grndwater_1973.jpg What can we infer about the priorities for the ancient Israelites as they made plans to settle in the land of Israel? Where were the best plaes for settlement?
Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 2 7. Questions for you to answer: Why do we know more about some civilizations than about others? What makes a civilization important and significant? (Whose definition of important and significant are you using?) 8. Questions connecting geography and practice: a. In what parts of the land of Israel would one look to bury the dead? b. In what parts of the land of Israel would one begin farming? c. In waht parts of the land of Israel would one set up a governmental seat with a far reach? d. Where would prayers for rain be most effective? 9. Why do you think monotheistic religions arose in the Middle East? Is there a connection between climate, geography, and belief in God? 10. What interests you most? Go to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology website (http://www.penn.museum/sites/canaan/index.html) and write at least three sentences on a topic of your choice to turn in in a good copy. Remember: don t plagiarize - explain your topic using your own words! Use the space below for a draft. Topics: Land/climate Land/excavations Land/archaeology Daily life/animals Daily life/bread Daily life/weaving Daily life/warfare Daily life/writing Daily life/storage Daily life/personal identity Economy/Phoenicians Economy/Labor-crafts Economy/trade Religion/Bronze age Religion/Iron age Religion/death Religion/Bible Your notes:
Topic 2 - The Tanak as a source for Jewish history Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 3 Timeline - put these events in order on a timeline on separate paper and give approximate dates: המלך דוד - David King יהושע - Joshua אברהם - Abraham מדינת ישראל Founding of יציאת מצרים - Egypt Exodus and freedom from משה - Moses Nazi Germany and the Shoa Rabbis of the Mishnah Maccabees Destruction of the first Temple Golden Age of Spain The challenges of using the Tanakh for historical research Which of the following accounts is the true account of Noah and the flood? Genesis 7:1-5 Then the Lord said to Noah, Go into the ark, with all your household, for you alone have I found righteous before Me in this generation. 2 Of every clean animal you shall take seven pairs, males and their mates, and of every animal that is not clean, two, a male and its mate ;3 of the birds of the sky also, seven pairs, male and female, to keep seed alive upon all the earth. 4 For in seven days time I will make it rain upon the earth, forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out from the earth all existence that I created. 5 And Noah did just as the Lord commanded him. Genesis 7:6-10 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the Flood came, waters upon the earth. 7 Noah, with his son, his wife, and his sons wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the Flood. 8 Of the clean animals, of the animals that are not clean, of the birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two of each, male and female, came to Noah into the ark, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And on the seventh day the waters of the Flood came upon the earth. -- (Translation: JPS Tanakh, 1988, Philadelphia)
בראשית Complete this chart showing some differences between these two passages from Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 4 Genesis 7:1-5 Noah s personality Name for God How many animals Genesis 7:6-10 Is one more correct or true than the other? How do you decide which is more correct or true? If you were relying on these passages for historical research, which would you rely on and why? Topic 3 - Introducing Joshua: How did the Israelites effect a transition to leadership under Joshua? A. Group work: Group 1: Read Scharfstein, p. 18, The Wandering Begins and Scouting Canaan. Describe negative and positive examples of leadership in the desert How did wandering in the desert shape the experience of B nai Yisrael? Group 2: Read Scharfstein, pp. 18-19, The Years of Wandering, The New Generation, and Joshua Succeeds Moses, and The Death of Moses. How would you describe Moses legacy (what Moses left for Joshua to complete)? What do you think it was like for B nai Yisrael
Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 5 Group 3: Joshua s character. Go to the Jewish Virutal Library website and give an overall description of Joshua s character as a leader based on some of the events of the Bible: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/joshua.html Group 4: Read Scharfstein, p. 20, The Invasion Begins, Describe the different kinds of technology that the Canaanites used and how they compared to the Israelites. Topic 4 - Joshua: Girded for Success 1. Do Now: Imagine that you have just seen Moses for the final time and Joshua is coming to the front to address B nai Yisrael. How do you think Joshua feels and how do you think you feel? Give three adjectives for each: Joshua: You: 2. Flashbacks from Numbers 27:12-23 Describe this scene in your own words: How does Moses describe God in Hebrew in Numb 27:16? Why doesn t Moses call God something less poetic and more official like Lord? Describe the different kinds of authority (power) that Moses is giving Joshua: 3. Read Deuteronomy 1:1-45 (Chapter 1, entire) to answer the following: Who is speaking and why? What is the speaker s message? Identify three key words in Deuteronomy 1: Since this is the first chapter, what might be the message of this book?
Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 6 4. Read Deuteronomy 20:1-21:14 about going to war: What is the first message that Moses gives to the people in Chapter 20? What is the role of the priest? How do the officials help the soldiers and B nai Yisrael to prepare for battle? Can you decide and describe what approach the Torah takes to going to war (does the Torah recommend a warlike approach or a terrorist-like approach or something different)? Why does the Torah discuss how to treat a tree in Chapter 20? In Deuteronomy 21, how does the Torah address someone whose identity is not known (an unknown soldier)? Do American soldiers treat an unknown soldier differently? In Deuteronomy 21:10-14, how does the Torah address a man who wants to take a woman as a captive to make her his wife? How do you think the woman s family would feel about this? 5. Read Deuteronomy 34: What does this chapter say about the role of God in Moses life? What does this say about the role fo Joshua in Moses life and about the role of Joshua in the life of B nai Yisrael? Homework assignment: Journal Entry #1 Begin a journal from Joshua s perspective on the transition he is experiencing in leadership. Write a paragraph in the voice of Joshua: (a) What has Moses told you about how working with God as your boss? (b) How do you feel about taking over from Moses? (c) What big jobs lie ahead for you? (d) What do you want to be your place in history?
Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 7 ספר יהושע א - 1 Topic 5 - The Book of Joshua, Chapter Do Now: The Book of Joshua begins the middle section of the תנ ך known as.נביאים Read?נביא Joshua 1:1-5 in English. What qualities make Joshua a If you were Joshua, what route would you propose for B nai Yisrael to use in taking over the land from the present inhabitants? I would... In the map below, draw in the rough borders that Joshua describes in this passage. Middle East outline map from: http://english-freemap.blogspot.com/2007/07/middle-eastasias-blank-maps-outline.html 1. Read Joshua 1:6-9 in English and explain Joshua s message in your own words: How is Joshua continuing the work of Moses? How is Joshua leading the people in a different direction?
Tanakh 7 - Book of Joshua, p. 8 2. Look at Joshua 1:6-9 in Hebrew. What words are repeated and why? (Give verse numbers.)?ספר יהושע א:ז -ח 3. What is the role of the Teaching here in 4. In Joshua 1:10-15, Joshua gives the people a charge. What is this charge? What does this show about Joshua s personality as a leader? 5. Read Joshua 1:16-18 and compare the Hebrew in Joshua 1:16 with Exodus 20:16. What key Hebrew word(s) do you see in common? What do you think is the point being made here? What words in Joshua 1:18 are emphasized once again and why? Homework assignment: Journal Entry #2 (a) You have just named the other inhabitants of the land of Israel. How do you feel about becoming an invading army and displacing them? (b) You have been told by God to keep the Teaching close to you. What exactly is in the?ספר יהושע Teaching mentioned in (c) What do you think it means for you to be חזק ואמץ and what do you think it means for B nai?חזק ואמץ Yisrael to be (d) Are you feeling ready to lead as Moses succesor, or are you still feeling like you re in Moses shadow as if he is still alive? (e) Are your challenges the same as the challenges facing B nai Yisrael? Use the Hebrew words, entry. in your journal תורה and חזק ואמץ