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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780802827029 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company |
| Publication date: | 04/23/2010 |
| Series: | Two Horizons New Testament Commentary (THNTC) |
| Pages: | 269 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d) |
About the Author
Stephen Williams is professor of systematic theology at Union Theological Seminary, Belfast, Ireland.
Read an Excerpt
Joshua
By J. Gordon McConville Stephen N. Williams
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Copyright © 2010 J. Gordon McConville and Stephen N. WilliamsAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8028-2702-9
Chapter One
Commentary
Joshua 1
1:1-5 The new stage in the story of Israel opens by recalling the death of Moses. (The book of Judges begins in a similar way.) Joshua is already known to readers of the Pentateuch as Moses' "servant" ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]/mešaret; Exod 24:13; 33:11; Num 11:28), a term which points to a religious role (esp. Exod 33:11). Joshua had accompanied Moses when he went up Mount Sinai to receive the commandments from God (Exod 24:13), on that occasion apparently going further than Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders who also set out with Moses (Exod 24:9). This marks him out as preeminent among those who would survive Moses.
From the first verse, God now addresses Joshua directly. The crossing of the Jordan which he is to lead (v. 2) will be symptomatic of the possession of the land, a full circle from the exodus from Egypt, which had also involved a crossing (of the Reed Sea; Exodus 14–15). His special assignment is to lead the people of Israel into the land that God had promised to give them, as far back in the story as Abraham (Gen 12:7). For a moment, God's address shifts to the people as a whole (vv. 3-4), when he expands on the promise of land, in terms close to those of Genesis and Deuteronomy (e.g., Gen 15:18-21; Deut 1:6-8; 11:24; 17:14; 34:1-4). Joshua's role was always to have a military aspect (Num 13:16; 14:6, 30; Deut 31:3, 7-8, 23). It is in this connection that God promises to be with Joshua (v. 5), a promise that has been made to him once already (Deut 31:23c), and which reminds us of God's assurance to Moses himself (Exod 3:12). The continuation, "I will never leave you or forsake you," was first spoken to Israel (Deut 4:31; 31:6), but now to Joshua (as later recalled in Heb 13:5).
1:6-9 The next short paragraph records Joshua's commissioning for the task. It is not a first charge to Joshua, but a reaffirmation, for God had already commissioned him while Moses was still alive (Deut 31:7, 14-15, 23). Indeed, v. 6 virtually repeats Deut 31:7. The charge to "be strong and courageous" is suitable for the military task ahead. But the word used, "cause to inherit" (ESV; cf. "put in possession," NRSV), speaks of more than victory, rather of legitimate occupation. The idea of "inheritance" is a way of expressing Israel's God-given right to the land, frequent in Deuteronomy (Deut 4:21). The story of Joshua will tell first of the victory (chs. 2–12), then of the "causing to inherit," as the tribes in turn receive their portions of the territory (chs. 13–22).
The possession of the land will be in fulfilment of God's promise to their "fathers" (v. 6). In itself, "fathers" might refer to the preceding generation. However, in the context it should be taken to mean Abraham and the generations after him, to whom the promise of the land first came (Gen 12:1-3; 28:1315), and this is the basis of NRSV's "ancestors." That is, God swore to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) that he would give the land to their descendants. This is the generation that will now benefit from that promise.
The exhortation to be strong and courageous is now repeated (v. 7), and with a new end in view. The repetition is surprising at first glance, for now Joshua's courage is directed towards keeping the law of Moses. This is primarily the laws and commands as given by Moses in Deuteronomy, for it is there that such laws are commanded to be written in the "Book of the Law" (Deut 28:58, 61; 31:9, 24-26). Moreover, any future king of Israel was especially required to keep his own copy of this book and obey the laws in it (Deut 17:1820). The command to Joshua here is very like that given to the king in that place, so that many have thought that Joshua is a royal figure in all but name. It is not necessary to go so far, however. Rather, the standard for all leaders of Israel is set by these terms.
The focus remains on law-keeping in vv. 7-8, before returning to the military context in v. 9. The turn to law-keeping is sometimes regarded as intrusive at this point and indicative of the special interest of a "nomistic" editor (one with a strong interest in law). However, vv. 6-8 make a point that is fundamental to Joshua, namely that possession of the land, though legitimated first of all by God's gift, can continue to be legitimate only when it is held according to God's law. God's writ will run in the land that he gives to his people.
The narrative's horizon returns to the taking of the land (v. 9). The command to be strong and courageous is given again in this context. This is clear first from its accompaniment, that Joshua should not fear or be dismayed, which is like what was said to Israel through Moses in Deut 1:21. In that place we saw that this "not fearing" was the test of faith on which the taking of the land would depend, a test which Israel first failed (Deut 1:26-33). The test of faith now comes to Joshua himself. But God reassures him in words which he had already heard from Moses (Deut 31:7). The promise that God would be with him also recalls God's words to Moses himself at the beginning of that leader's own great test of faith (Exod 3:12). There are prophetic overtones here as well (Jer 1:17-19).
1:10-11 Joshua's command here testifies to an organization of the people for war already in place. The "officers" are administrative figures. In Deut 1:15 they are among officials appointed by Moses to ease his burden of leadership, and in Deut 16:18 they are to be appointed alongside judges, in that case to assist in judicial administration. It may be supposed that the officials are here appointed according to tribe, as in those cases. Here (as in Deut 1:15) they are part of a military chain of command. The command itself shows a mix of prudence and faith: they will be prepared for the march, but also go in faith that the struggle is in principle won, because God gives them the land to possess.
Israel is about to "cross" the Jordan, "to take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own." The phrasing is typical in Deuteronomy (e.g., 9:1; 11:31). The time long heralded has come. Yahweh not only "gives" the land for Israel to "inherit" it, but they will then "possess" it, a term used now for the first time in Joshua, and immediately repeated. These different terms have their own significance. By Yahweh's gift Israel will be the legitimate holders of this land.
1:12-18 The narrative now remembers that part of the land has already been given and possessed, that is, the Transjordanian part (to the east of the River Jordan). This was territory already acquired under Moses by victories over the Amorite kings Sihon and Og and given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh. The story is told in Numbers 32 and Deut 2:26–3:22. This part of the land did not easily fit into the typology of "crossing over" to possess, since Israel did not have to cross over to take it. Its importance, however, is clear from the number of times the narrative returns to it in Numbers-Joshua (see also Num 21:31-35; Josh 12:1-6; 13:8-33).
The description of the Transjordanian settlement is quite in line with the promise of land. The territory is a place where Yahweh is "giving rest" to these tribes, the term used for settling down in peace in the land he is giving (cf. Deut 12:9-10; Josh 11:23; 21:44). The unity of the Transjordanian tribes with the rest of Israel is carefully maintained in the duty laid on them to assist their fellow Israelites in taking the land beyond the Jordan. Yet it looks as if two "lands" are in view here, one on each side of the Jordan (vv. 13, 15), each "possessed" by the different parts of Israel. Whether, therefore, the Transjordanian area is part of the promised land in the strict sense is always somewhat in doubt. Perhaps for this reason Moses could lead in this part of the conquest, though he had been forbidden by God from crossing the Jordan and leading the conquest proper (Deut 1:37-38; 3:23-29).
Even so, the Transjordanians declare their loyalty to Joshua and his right to the obedience Moses had once enjoyed (vv. 16-18). Thus, before the narrative of conquest proper in Joshua, the issue of the unity of Israel is recalled, though not yet finally settled (see ch. 22). The taking of the land beyond the Jordan is part of a project already begun by Moses.
Joshua 2
2:1-7 The narrative of the conquest is prefaced by the story of how a Canaanite prostitute assists the Israelites in their preparation to advance across the Jordan. This is a perhaps unexpected change of mood from ch. 1, which may have raised anticipation of a confident march forward. Instead, Israelites find themselves in collaboration with a Canaanite. Joshua's sending of spies from Shittim (in Moab, Num 33:48-49) is itself unexpected (2:1), since the previous spy mission had ended in failure because the people refused to believe a favorable report (Numbers 13–14; also Deut 1:22-33). In this case, however, based on Rahab's evidence (2:9-11) the spies are able to report that the population of "the land" (vv. 9, 24) is terrified of Israel's approach. This is a reversal of the Israelites' fear on the first occasion, and so it enables the story to carry forward the main line of the narrative of the conquest on an upbeat note. The immediate goal of taking Jericho symptomizes the objective of taking the whole land, as we see from the way in which the mission is expressed in 2:1.
The spies lodge in Rahab's house, perhaps thinking that such a house might offer hope of concealment and also because they might pick up information there. It is a risky strategy, yet spying is bound to be a risky business, and the spies may have decided on boldness for the sake of quick gains. The prostitute's house proves to be the last place in which strangers in town might hope to go unnoticed. Straight-away news reaches the "king of Jericho" that they are there (v. 2), and we realize that the strategy has put them entirely in the hands of others whose own interests must be unpredictable. Rahab, however, seems not to have been implicated in the leakage of their presence, and in the frantic search she sides with the spies, hiding them and throwing the king's guard off the scent. Her role as a prostitute affords an explanation of why these strangers might be in her house (the exchange in vv. 3-4, "came to you/me," can be understood sexually), and this is why she can get away with pretending to know nothing about them.
Her first act, therefore, shows that she is willing to frustrate the interests of Jericho, seen in terms of its own power structures. Why does she do this, considering the risks of being discovered as a traitor? Perhaps she was disaffected. A prostitute and her family, no doubt placed in their lowly social position due to poverty and debt, line up against the "king." In this way the social fissures within Canaanite society are exposed in the prelude to Israel's approach. It is against "kings" that Joshua's Israel is coming (see 12:1 and the list in 12:9-24, headed by the king of Jericho). That is, they were coming against a form of city-state kingship in which all wealth and power were ultimately in the royal domain. In such a society some could become poor and have little hope of remedying their poverty. This may be the background to Rahab's decision to put herself on the wrong side of her own authorities.
2:8-14 Whatever her politics, Rahab turns to theology to explain herself to the spies. She expresses the terror before the advance of Israel that is part of the story of God's promise that it would overcome the peoples of the promised land (vv. 9-11; cf. Exod 15:15-16; Num 22:3). Her words are close to Israel's own records of God's faithfulness, when she recalls the exodus from Egypt, the crossing of the Reed Sea, and the defeat of Sihon and Og, the two Transjordanian kings (v. 10; cf. Deut 11:2-4; Ps 135:8-12). She also uses the name Yahweh in her speech. Her words are often held to express the deuteronomic view of the author of Joshua. However, Rahab's actions make most sense if she does actually think she will come out on the winning side. Her understanding that God has indeed given the land of Canaan to Israel serves to underline that the promised victory is certain.
As the price of protecting the spies she asks them for an agreement, in the form of a solemn oath, not to harm her or her family. As she has "dealt kindly" with them (v. 12 NRSV), so they should do to her. The expression she uses is [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]/hesed, "faithful" or "steadfast love," the specific quality of covenantal relationship (cf. 1 Sam 20:8). Rahab thus binds the spies to their agreement in the most powerful way she knows. And in accepting her terms with an oath on their own lives, they promise not only hesed, but for good measure add "truth." The spies thus emphatically commit Israel in advance to this act of mercy, which Joshua will in due course honor, and which will result in at least some Canaanites continuing to live alongside them in the land (Josh 6:22-25).
2:15-21 Rahab, always in control, sends the men off to the hill country. Their spying mission is thus abruptly at an end, accomplished to the extent of what they have learned from Rahab. As they go, they qualify their agreement. To save herself, Rahab must display a "scarlet cord" at her window (possibly a piece of clothing which might be used as a sign of her trade). And she is warned to keep her family in the confines of her house. Only on these conditions will the oath hold.
2:22-24 The spies report everything to Joshua, holding nothing back of their oath to Rahab (as is clear from 6:22-25). Joshua is interested only in what Rahab herself had given away: that the population was terrified of Israel. It is time for the enemy to fear; Israel can put aside its own fear (contrast Deut 1:28-29).
It is nevertheless a disconcerting opening to the story of conquest. The spies, who should have kept their presence secret, fall straight away into the power of Canaanites. They seem unable to report anything of strategic value, beyond the confirmation that the Canaanites are afraid. And they have committed themselves to a party within Jericho, with an oath that runs counter to the command to put the whole city under the ban of destruction. After the confident beginning, the account has now raised the question whether Israel's occupation of Canaan will run as smoothly as hoped.
Rahab herself is the most intriguing character in the story. She is a liminal figure in her own city, a prostitute living in the very wall that will shortly collapse in the Israelite siege (6:20). Paradoxically, this very liminality may be that which alerts her first to a threat from outside, and by the same token an opportunity for salvation. Should she be read as a clever opportunist, who does what is necessary to save herself and her family in the societal meltdown that she foresees? Or should we take her confession of faith in Yahweh at its face value? The narrative itself does not compel a decision on this, any more than it is generally possible to read the intentions of people encountered in life. Her inclusion in the paean to the faithful in Hebrews 11 (v. 31), while it does not in itself resolve the narrative ambiguities of Joshua 2, shows that Rahab can be read sympathetically.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Joshua by J. Gordon McConville Stephen N. Williams Copyright © 2010 by J. Gordon McConville and Stephen N. Williams. Excerpted by permission of William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Preface x
Abbreviations xi
Introduction to Joshua Gordon McConville 1
The Book 1
The Audience of Joshua 2
Dating and Historicity 3
Reading Joshua as Scripture 8
Joshua and Theology 10
Commentary on Joshua Gordon McConville 13
Theological Horizons of Joshua Stephen Williams 93
Theology in the Book of Joshua 95
The Question of the Land 95
Possession and Loss 95
The New Testament and the Land 99
Back to the Land? 103
The Question of Genocide 108
The Grim Tale 108
What and Why? 113
Did God Really Say ...? 116
Radical Accommodation 120
Conclusion 123
Idolatry 125
At Stake 125
Practices of the Nations 127
The Practice of Israel 131
A Matter of Life and Death 133
Touching on Beauty 137
Covenant 140
Behind the Covenant 142
Covenant and Privilege 145
Covenant and Law 148
Conclusion 153
God of Miracle and Mystery 154
Something Rich and Strange 154
Approaching the Miraculous 156
What Exactly Are We Told? 158
The Scientific Question 161
The Half-Seen World 165
Joshua and Biblical Theology Gordon McConville 171
Introduction 171
Key Themes of the Book of Joshua 172
Joshua and Genesis 172
Joshua and Exodus 174
Joshua and Leviticus 175
Joshua and Numbers 177
Joshua and Deuteronomy 179
Joshua and Judges-Kings 183
Conclusion 186
Joshua in Biblical Theology 187
The Problem of Evil and Violence 188
Joshua-Kings: Chaos, History, and Violence 190
Joshua, Chaos, and History in the Rest of the Old Testament 193
Conclusion 196
A Response to Gordon McConville Stephen Williams 200
Reading Joshua Today Stephen Williams 206
The Question of History 207
The God of Joshua 214
God as Personal 217
God of Power 220
The Character of God 223
Divine Lordship 228
A Response to Stephen Williams Gordon McConville 230
Bibliography 236
Author Index 246
Scripture Index 249