“Israel Served the Lord”

Rachel M. Billings

Description

Two themes have dominated scholarly interpretation of the book of Joshua within the past century: the literary "discovery" of the Deuteronomistic History and the archaeological detection of evidence related to Israel's occupation of Canaan. In this newest volume in the series Reading the Scriptures, Rachel M. Billings addresses the fragmentation often brought about by these developments and offers a more holistic reading of Joshua, which joins theological sophistication with an emphasis on its meaning and purpose as a literary work.

Through a hermeneutical and literary lens, Billings analyzes the story of Rahab and Achan, the stories of the Gibeonites and the Transjordanian altar, and the theme of the completeness of Israel's taking of the land of Canaan. She argues that the way in which the book of Joshua presents these materials reminds Israel of the dynamic nature of its identity as YHWH's people—an identity that demands a continued response of obedience parallel to YHWH's ever-unfolding work on Israel's behalf. The book of Joshua portrays Israel's obedience as not merely an unattainable ideal or a thing of the past, but a living reality that unfolds when YHWH's people acknowledge His claim upon them and strive to serve Him.

Sujets

• Biblical Studies
• Pentateuch
• Philosophie et théologie
• Yahveh
• Tetragrammaton
• God
• Deuteronomist
• Gibeon (ancient city)
• Exegesis
• Hebrew Bible
• General officer
• Hermeneutics
• Old Testament
• Book of Deuteronomy
• Religion
• General
• History
• Yahweh
• YHWH

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 28 juin 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268075897
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

“ISRAEL SERVED THE LORD”

Reading the Scriptures

Gary A. Anderson, Matthew Levering, and Robert Louis Wilken, series editors

“ISRAEL  SERVED The Book of Joshua as Paradoxical THE Portrait of Faithful Israel  LORD”

R A C H E L M . B I L L I N G S

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

Copyright © 2013 by University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Billings, Rachel M. “Israel served the Lord” : the Book of Joshua as paradoxical portrait of faithful Israel / Rachel M. Billings. pages cm — (Reading the Scriptures) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 9780268022334 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 026802233X (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 9780268075897 (ebook) 1. Bible. Joshua—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title. BS1295.52.B55 2013 222'.206—dc23 2013000462

∞The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.

For Todd,

dedicated spouse and colleague

O N E

T W O

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Fragmentation of the Book of Joshua

“Israel Served the Lord”: A Hermeneutical Key

The Stories of Rahab and Achan

T H R E E  The Gibeonites and the Transjordanian Altar

F O U R

Notes

The Extent of Israel’s Occupation of the Land

Conclusion: IsraelDidServe the Lord in the Book of Joshua

Bibliography

Index

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1

11

25

53

95

125

133

163

173

Acknowledgments

This book is based on my doctoral dissertation, which I successfully defended in March 2010; it was written in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Dissertations, although authored by a single per- son, inevitably emerge from a community. So many conversations and suggestions, advice and encouragement, inuenced the shape of the completed work that it is impossible to provide an accounting of them all. Given that, here is an incomplete list of people to whom I owe thanks for their contributions: at Harvard, Dr. Jon D. Levenson, my principal adviser, and Dr. Gary Anderson and Dr. Paul Hanson, who rounded out my advising committee. Elsewhere, Dr. John Monson, who never fails to provide an encouraging word; all faculty friends who recalled how long it took them to nish their own dissertations; and the faculty of Western Theological Seminary, who always seemed to as- sume I would nish eventually. I must also give due credit to my col- leagues, at Harvard and beyond, who formed the primary community within which my thoughts took shape: Karin Adams, Cory Crawford, Carrie Duncan, J. Randall Short, J. Todd Billings, Kyong-Jin Lee, Rachel Maxson, and so many others. In addition, I cannot neglect the biblical studies, archaeology, and ancient languages professors at Wheaton Col- lege (Illinois), especially Mr. Alfred Hoerth, who guided me through

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