Archaeological digs sprinkle the promised land in the quest for historical clues. Other than at the sites of Hazor and Bethel, no significant Late Bronze Age destruction layers appear. Most scholars agree: a Joshua led genocide never happened.1,2 Careful readers of the book of Joshua generally come to the same conclusion. But then, what do we do with some of the language which seems so violent? That’s the subject of this article.
Land Claim
Prophetic revelations take place early in the Bible. God chose Abraham and promised that his offspring would become a great nation. Through him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:1–3). God further promised that this coming nation would occupy the land of Canaan (Gen 12:1–3). These promises were later confirmed by covenant to Moses and the peoples whom God delivered from Egyptian slavery.
There was a problem. When Israel was about to enter the promised land, people lived there. What was to happen to them? Modern readers are offended because we assume concepts foreign to the ancient world. For example, the concept of international borders would be considered nonsense to ancient people. There were no Nation States in the modern sense. This concept was first set forth in the 1648 Peace of Westphalia when the right of independent self-governance was first recognized.3
At the time of Joshua small clan-based groups roamed Canaan. The Hurrians (Hivites) for example were remnants from the Mitanni empire. The Amorites whose kings fought with Joshua largely uprooted the local Canaanites from various cities in the previous centuries. The Perizzites, Jebusites, Hittites, and Girgashites were clans who dominated various strongholds. The rule of the day was: “The land is mine if I can take it.” Nevertheless, as I told in a previous article, the hill country was largely depopulated.4 There was no genocide. It took hundreds of years before the short-lived monarchies of David and Solomon were fully established. Yet, there is much to discuss. How can we overlook verses that applaud violence, and which seem at odds with the teachings of Jesus?
Violent Verses
The book of Joshua contains a number of passages describing the results of military operations. For the sake of brevity, I’ll focus on one of these.
They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword. (Josh 6:21).”
This certainly does sounds awful. That is, until we analyze it through the lens of ancient extrabiblical documents. Consider the following inscriptions:
The Gebal Barkal Stela of Thutmose III (ca. 1432 BCE) describing the attack and destruction of the Mitanni.5
The Mernepthah (Israel) Stele (1207 BCE) containing the first reference to the people of Israel. It documents Egyptian victories in the promised land.6
The Mesha Stele documenting the war with Joram (also described in 2 Kgs 3). The Bible describes initial successes in the conflict; the Mesha stele emphasizes Moab’s final victory.7
The Mitanni Empire continued as a major power for another two hundred years after their army supposedly perished in an hour. Israel’s seed continues, even to this day despite the claims by Mernepthah. Joram’s rule did not end after the conflict with Moab. These examples illustrate typical ancient warfare rhetoric.8 Joshua’s claims of killing every person (man, woman, and child) falls into the same warfare genre. Verses like these are not meant to be understood literally.
Internal Evidence Confirms the Hyperbolic Rhetoric.
The table below contrasts hyperbolic claims made by Joshua with later statements.
I’ll address the apparent discrepancies afterword.
Josh 10:20a
They were consumed.
Josh 10:20b
A remnant remained and entered fortified cities.
Josh 10:33
Joshua struck Gezer and his people, until he had left him no one remaining.
Jdg 1:29
Ephraim didn’t drive out the Canaanites in Gezer who continued living among them.
Josh 10:39
He destroyed all the souls who were in it. He left no one remaining. As he had done to Hebron , so he did to Debir .
Josh 11:21
Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron , from Debir .
Josh 11:11
They struck all the souls who were in Hazor utterly destroying them. There was no one left who breathed.
Jdg 4:3
Hazor is back with 900 chariots of iron; and oppressed Israel for twenty years.
Josh 11:21
Joshua utterly destroyed them (Anakim ) with their cities. There were none left in the land of the children of Israel.
Josh 15:13–14
Caleb later drove out the three sons of Anak : Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak .
Josh 11:23;
So Joshua took the whole land .
Josh 13:1
There remains yet very much land to be possessed .
Josh 24:11
I delivered them (Jericho, Amorite, Canaanite, Hittite, Girgashite, Hivite, Jebusite) into your hand .
Jdg 2:21, 23
Yahweh left those nations. He didn’t deliver them into Joshua’s hand .
The first example above stands out for me. We have within a single verse the phrase totally consumed and yet some remain. The other examples illustrate total victories followed by a subsequent return in the attempt to finish the job. The overall picture is a series of ongoing battles as the Israelis are attempting to settle in the land.
Joshua was not contradicting himself nor lying. His primary audience was those living within his contemporary cultural river. His intent was to lift the morale of his people. It is similar to when Donald Trump recently proclaimed that we “obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities” after the successful military operation. In our time, we want precise accuracy, so Trump’s statement immediately was met with skepticism. In Joshua’s time, war rhetoric had the intent to build up and encourage the people. Hyperbole was expected after a successful encounter with the enemy. To understand the book of Joshua (or any other Old Testament book) we need to put ourselves into their world and cast off our twenty-first century presuppositions.9,10
Moses Commands
The book of Joshua indicates that he did everything that God commanded Moses. This requires us to consider violent verses from the Pentateuch. Let’s contrast God’s direct words (Exodus) from those of Moses saying what God said (Deuteronomy).
Observe that which I command you today. Behold, I drive out before you the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Be careful, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be for a snare among you: but you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and you shall cut down their Asherah poles; for you shall worship no other god: . . . Don’t make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, lest they play the prostitute after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, and one call you and you eat of his sacrifice; and you take of their daughters to your sons, and their daughters play the prostitute after their gods, and make your sons play the prostitute after their gods (Exod 34:11–16).
This passage presents instructions and warnings to Israel. Notice what is missing. Nothing is said about exterminating the Canaanites. God himself takes on the responsibility to drive them away. In another passage, he states that the process would be slow (Exod 23:29–30). These passages from Exodus emphasize gradual expulsion, not immediate extermination.11,12 God is now and was then patient. Israelite dominance would take hundreds of years to complete. This reminds me of the verse:
“Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth” (Exod 34:6).
Moses’s final speech apparently is at odds with the above texts.
When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess . . . and when Yahweh your God delivers them (the seven nations) up before you, and you strike them; then you shall utterly destroy (herem
Moses accurately requotes much of what God directly said. But, he adds the word herem which is commonly translated utterly destroy. We have two possibilities. Either Moses is adding something to God’s original words. Alternatively, as scholars like John Walton argue, the translation of herem is misleading.
Herem
John Walton defines herem as: “something denied from human use.” Therefore, the land of Canaan is to be denied to those Canaanites who worship foreign gods. Only the aggressive opposing kings and their military are singled out for immediate destruction. Non-combatants are destined to remain in the land until the time of David and Solomon.
Conclusion
A literal interpretation of the book of Joshua raises serious questions regarding God’s nature. Fortunately, such literalism is not required. The war rhetoric is typical ancient warfare hyperbole. Passages commanding utter destruction refers not to genocide, but to the idolatrous practices that had to be eliminated. God’s plan always was to take over Canaan little by little. A question remained: “Would the Israelis remain faithful as the process worked out?” That is the topic we will address when we study the book of Judges?
There is application here for us. Paul states: “Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God (Rom 12:2).” As God stamped his presence on the land of Canaan, God’s Holy Spirit is stamped on the heart of every believer. It is as hard today to avoid succumbing to external pressures as it was for his people three thousand years past.
Thanks for Listening
Israel Finkelstein & Neil Silberman, The Bible Unearthed (Touchstone, 2002), 107.
William G. Dever, Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (Eerdmans, 2006), 99.
Yuval Feinstein, “Nation State ,” Britanica.
Biblical Historical Context, “Israel Origins: Population Decline and Explosion.”
Mark-Jan Nederhof, “Gebel Barkal stela of Tuthmosis III.”
John Meynell, “Artifact in Focus: Mernepthah Stele.”
William Brown, “Moabite Stone [Mesha Stele].”
K. Lawson Younger Jr., Ancient Conquest Accounts , (Sheffield, 1990), 227–228.
Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? , (Baker, 2011), Ch. 16.
Paul Copan, Is God a Vindictive Bully? , (Baker, 2022), Ch. 27.
Markus Zehnder, “Violence against the Canaanites in Deuteronomy and Joshua Reconsidered.”
Gary Michuta, “Did God Command Joshua to ‘Utterly Destroy’ the Canaanites?.”
John and Harvey Walton, The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest , (Intervarsity, 2017), Ch. 15–21.
Matt Lynch, “Joshua and Violence: Show no Mercy.”
Dan Harvey, author of Wrestling with Faith and Experiencing the Apocalypse,
secondlooknow.com
Before reading the Bible, people should read wittgenstein. Language is a game, and the rules are not always apparent.
This article is very helpful, I have found it to be encouraging, in that these verses present the true nature and character of our GOD; and shows HIM to be the God of Love, Patience, and wisdom in dealing with us humans who so often present GOD as destroying and hateful …. which actually misrepresents WHO He is….. and I am Thrilled to see this , Thankyou Dan!