JOSHUA COLORING PAGE

JOSHUA

Click to Expand After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, Moses handed over leadership to Joshua, whose responsibility it was to bring the nation of Israel into the promised land of Canaan. After entering Canaan, Joshua had to go to war with the people who occupied the land. Canaan was a land of city-states. There was no central gov­ernment; each city had its own king. To conquer the land each city would have to be defeated.   At the time of the Conquest of Canaan by Israel Egypt was nominally in control of the region. -         Pharaoh Thutmose III (1504-1450) had added the region to Egypt’s domain. -         His son, Amenho­tep II (1450-1424), Pharaoh of the Exodus, continued control. -         His son, Thutmose IV (1424-1414), Pharaoh while Israel was in the wilderness, was more interested in foreign alliances than military dominance. o       He had married the Asiatic daughter of Artatama, King of Mitanni. Mitanni was in northern Mesopotamia, mostly Hurrian.   -         His son, Amenhotep III (1414-1378), who now ruled, was not interested in maintaining an empire. He was more concerned with domestic interests. o       The Tell el-Amarna letters depict him as ignoring the Canaanite pleas for help against the Hapiru. o       He left the individual cities of Canaan to themselves during the conquest by Israel.   CANAAN     Canaan culture was fairly advanced. -         Cities were well laid out, and houses showed good design and con­struction. -         Floors of buildings, were often paved, or plastered. -         Drainage systems had been developed. -         Workers were skilled in the use of copper, lead, and gold. -         Pottery was among the finest anywhere in the world. -         Extensive trade was conducted with foreign countries, including Egypt, Northern Mesopota­mia, and Cyprus.   God com­manded that all Canaanites be de­stroyed or driven from the land (Num. 33:51-56; Deut. 7:1-5). -         Had Israel done so, all would have been well; but she did not. Many Canaanites were allowed to remain, and Israel suffered the effects of their influence. -         This was the dan­ger that God wanted to avoid. o       Many of the people accepted the worship of Canaanite Baal (fig. 2) rather than God. o       The attraction was that Baal was held to be god of rainfall and good crops. No doubt the Canaanites advised their new farming neighbors that technical skill was not enough to insure a good harvest, but that worship of Baal was still more impor­tant.   Moses’ strategy for taking Canaan, no doubt revealed to him by God, clearly had been to attack the land at its approximate midpoint, coming in from the east, and divide it into a south and north section, that each could be con­quered separately. -         We may assume that Moses had shared this plan with Joshua, so that the new leader had the plan in mind as the people prepared for crossing the Jordan.   JERICHO   Reconnaissance   Jericho stood as a first and principal objective in the conquest of Canaan. -         Joshua sent two spies to make recon­naissance. -         The two crossed the Jordan and came to the city where they were protected by a harlot, Rahab, whose house was located on the city wall. -         When the men were detected, Rahab hid them beneath stalks of flax on the roof and then pointed the pursuers in the wrong direction. -         Convinced that Jericho would fall to Israel, Rahab requested safety for her and her family in return for her help. The men gave their promise and with further help escaped back to Joshua. -         Joshua learned from Rahab that the people feared Israel greatly. News of victories over Sihon and Og had reached Jericho.   Crossing the Jordan   The morning after the spies’ return, Joshua ordered the people to move to the bank of the Jordan. Shittim (exact location unknown), is where they encamped. -         It was spring and the Jordan was at flood stage. Before crossing three days were spent in final preparations and instructions. -         We may be­lieve that during these three days the people wondered how all Israel could possibly cross the wide expanse of water flowing by them. When everything was ready, the priests, carrying the ark, moved toward the river. The people, followed at a distance of 3000 feet (Josh. 3:4). This insured that a maximum number would see the ark as the guiding signal. -         When the feet of the priests touched the water, it miracu­lously separated. As if stopped by a dam, the water from upstream that flowed toward them “stood up in a heap.” The other water continued its course to the Dead Sea, leaving a wide space for the people to cross (fig. 3). -         The priests bearing the ark stopped and remained in the middle of the river as the people moved past. As the people crossed, the water backed up approximately 15 miles upriver, as far as the city Adam. o       This gave testimony to each person that God was restraining the water. o       Adam is identified with Tell ed-Damieh about 20 miles from the Dead Sea. Israel crossed the Jordan opposite Jericho about five miles from the Dead Sea, so they were 15 miles from Adam. Since rockslides have occurred near Adam temporarily stopping the Jordan (once in AD 1267, 1906 and 1927), some have suggested that God used this means here.   -         As soon as everyone had left the riverbed, the water was released and the river flowed again. -         Two memorials of this crossing were created, one in the Jordan and one across at Gilgal, where the people encamped (Josh. 4:1-24).   Gilgal   Gilgal now became a continuing center of Israelite activity. Its exact location is still uncertain, but clearly it was somewhere in the Jordan Valley between Jericho and the Jordan River (Josh. 4:19). -         From here, Jericho and Ai were soon taken. -         Later the Gibeonites came to Gilgal seeking a peace treaty (Josh. 9:6). From Gilgal Joshua led his army by forced march to help the Gibeonites against the southern con­federacy (Josh. 10:6-7). -         From here, too, he went north to meet the northern confederacy (Josh. 11:6-14). -         And here the first allotment of tribal territo­ries was made (Josh. 14:6). While the army was in the field fighting, the people remained at Gilgal as home base.   Three important events transpired soon after encampment. The circumcision of all the men (Josh. 5:2-9). The observ­ance of the Passover (Josh. 5:10). The cessation of manna. God had supplied this food since the first year of travel(Exod. 16:14-22).   Defeat of Jericho   Frequent biblical reference to Jericho shows that it was of major importance in the land. Jericho is well identified with Tell es-Sultan, five miles west of the Jordan and seven miles north of the Dead Sea. The mound covers about eight acres (fig. 4). -         After Jerusalem, Jericho is the most excavated site in Israel.  Charles Warren in 1868 sank several shafts but concluded that nothing was to be found. Germans Sellin and Watzinger excavated 1907-13, Garstang 1930-36 and Kenyon 1952-58.  Since 1997 an Italian-Palestinian team has been digging. -         Kenyon’s description of the walls of Jericho is significant. o       The walls were of a type, which made direct assault practically impossible. An ap­proaching enemy first encountered a stone abutment 11 feet high, back and up from which sloped a 35o plastered scarp reaching to the main wall some 35 vertical feet above (fig. 5). o       The steep, smooth slope prohib­ited battering the wall by any effective device or building fires to break it. o       An army trying to storm the wall found difficulty in climbing the slope, and ladders to scale it could find no satisfac­tory footing.   God had plans for taking Jericho, which were revealed to Joshua in an unusual manner(Josh. 5:13-6:5). -         Joshua was met by one called the “commander of the army of the LORD.” -         “Commander of the army of the Lord,” could be the appearance of Christ as the Angel of God. This “Commander” called the ground “holy” (Josh. 5:15), as with Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:5), and used the personal pronoun “I” as giving Jericho into Joshua’s hand. -         The plans were to have “armed men,” led by seven priests carrying the ark, walk around the city once each day for six days and seven times on the seventh. At the close of the thirteenth circuit, the priests would blow trumpets and the people shout with a loud voice. When they did, the walls of the city would collapse and the army could enter.   The plan was executed as instructed. -         Thirteen times the city was circled and then the walls fell as the trumpets sounded and the people shouted. The army took the city with ease.   All the people of the city were killed, with the exception of Rahab and her family, whose lives were spared in keeping with the spies’ promise, and the city was leveled by fire. No Israelite was permitted to enrich himself by looting. God placed a ban on the city, declaring that it was “devoted” to Himself (Josh. 6:17-18). -         Spared, Rahab came to be included in the ancestral line of David and so of Christ(Matt. 1:5).   Archaeologists have found that the walls of Jericho did indeed fall down, they date the destruction of the wall to the time of Joshua (c. 1400 BC). -         The first major excavation of Jericho was carried out by a German team between 1907 and 1909. They found piles of mud bricks at the base of the mound the city was built on. -         It was not until a British archaeologist named Kathleen Kenyon excavated the site with modern methods in the 1950s that it was understood what these piles of bricks were. She determined that they were from the city wall, which had collapsed when the city was destroyed. -         The Bible says that when the walls collapsed, the Israelites stormed the city and set it on fire. Archaeologists have found evidence of a massive destruction by fire just as the Bible states. Kenyon wrote in her excavation report: “The destruction was complete. Walls and floors were blackened or reddened by fire, and every room was filled with fallen bricks, timbers, and household utensils; in most rooms the fallen debris was heavily burnt.”   What caused the walls of Jericho to collapse? -         The common secular explanation is an earthquake must have caused the collapse. o       It must have been a very unusual earthquake because it struck in such a way as to allow a portion of the city wall on the north side of the site to remain standing, while everywhere else the wall fell.   -         Rahab’s house was evidently located on the north side of the city. o       The Bible states that her house was built against the city wall. Before returning to the Israelite camp, the spies told Rahab to bring her family into her house and they would be spared. Rahab’s house was miraculously spared while the rest of the city wall fell. o       This is exactly what archaeologists have found. The preserved city wall on the north side of the city had houses built against it. -         The timing of the earthquake and the manner in which it selectively took down the city wall suggests something other than a natural calamity…It was God at work.   Both Garstang and Kenyon found dozens of store jars full of grain from the Canaanite city of Jericho. -         The obvious conclusion is that these were from the city when it was burned, not looted, by Joshua. -         The archaeological record fits the biblical account precisely.

Bathsheba's Crispy Baked Potatoes with Rosemary

8 small new potatoes, quartered

4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 long sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

a sprinkle or two of Balsamic vinegar

radicchio leaves as needed

With starch, spice, and sweetness, Bathsheba's Crispy Baked Potatoes with Rosemary has all the makings of a great potato dish.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place potatoes, olive oil, and rosemary in large bowl; put a dinner plate over the bowl and toss, shaking up and down a few times until well-mixed. Arrange potatoes on large baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; bake, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Before serving, baste with Balsamic vinegar and place on a bed of radicchio for a fine presentation.

Yield: 8 servings

The Text

39b Then David sent word to Abigail, asking her to become his wife.

His servants went to Carmel and said to Abigail, “David has sent us to you to take you to become his wife.”

She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master's servants.”

42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and, attended by her five maids, went with David's messengers and became his wife.

I Samuel 25:39b-42, New International Version

A jug of olive oil was representative of the feast of kings, as the ancient Hebrews believed that olive oil was capable of restoring health and adding longevity.

Biblical Passage Notes

The Bible does not provide us with any words about the preparations for David's marriages, but there seems to be a long history associated with a wedding feast in the House of David. The imagery is seen over and over again in the Song of Songs, where some scholars and a longstanding tradition identify the male protagonist, the lover, as Solomon, David's son and successor. In addition, the parable of the wedding feast in the Christian gospels (Matthew 22:1–14, Luke 14:15–24) is rooted in a Jewish understanding of the marriage of a great king. The stories surrounding David were undoubtedly on the minds of the gospel writers as they related the teachings of Jesus, who himself was said to be a descendant of David.

The Preparation

What would a feast for such a great king look like? In modern-day Israel, one will come across more than a few sites pitching “King David's Feast” (such as Genesis Land just outside of Jerusalem) to the tourist trade; and many of the cookbooks of the last seventy years have a recipe or two that imagine some glorious confection worthy of the Jerusalem court. We've attempted a fair cross section of both offerings, while adding in a few recipes we think would make an 11th-century b.c.e. royal meal complete. If you're going to try the whole menu at one sitting, make sure you have left yourself a lot of preparation time and that you've invited lots of friends and family with hearty appetites!

FUN PAGE

PHILISTIA

Philistia

fi-lis´ti-a: The country is referred to under various designations in the Old Testament: namely, פּלשׁת, pelesheth (Philistia) (Psa_60:8 (Hebrew 10); Psa_87:4), פּלשׁתּים ארץ, 'erec pelishtı̄m, “land of the Philistines” (Gen_21:32, Gen_21:34), הפּלשׁתּים גּלית, gelōth ha-pelishtı̄m; Septuagint gḗ tṓn Phulistieı́m, “the regions of the Philistines” (Jos_13:2). The Egyptian monuments have Puirsatha, Pulsath (Budge), Peleset (Breasted) and Purasati (HGHL), according to the different voweling of the radicals; the Assyrian form is Palastu or Pilistu, which corresponds very closely to the Egyptian and the Hebrew. The extent of the land is indicated in Jos_13:2 as being from the Shihor, or Brook of Egypt (Revised Version), to the border of Ekron, northward. The eastern border was along the Judean foothills on the line of Beth-shemesh (1Sa_6:9) with the sea on the West. It was a very small country, from 25 to 30 miles in length and with an average width of about half the length, but it was fertile, being an extension of the plain of Sharon, except that along the coast high sand dunes encroached upon the cultivated tract. It contained many towns and villages, the most important being the five so often mentioned in Scripture: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. The population must have been large for the territory, which enabled them to contend successfully with the Israelites, notwithstanding the superiority of position in the hills to the advantage of the latter.

Journey from Succoth to Etham. - Succoth, Israel's first place of encampment after their departure, was probably the rendezvous for the whole nation, so that it was from this point that they first proceeded in an orderly march. The shortest and most direct route from Egypt to Canaan would have been by the road to Gaza, in the land of the Philistines; but God did not lead them by this road, lest they should repent of their movement as soon as the Philistines opposed them, and so desire to return to Egypt, פֶּן: μή, after אָמַר to say (to himself), i.e., to think, with the subordinate idea of anxiety. The Philistines were very warlike, and would hardly have failed to resist the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan, of which they had taken possession of a very large portion. But the Israelites were not prepared for such a conflict, as is sufficiently evident from their despair, in Exo_14:10. For this reason God made them turn round (יַסֵּב for יָסֵב, see Ges. §67) by the way of the desert of the Red Sea. Previous to the account of their onward march, it is still further stated in Exo_13:18, Exo_13:19, that they went out equipped, and took Joseph's bones with them, according to his last request. חֲמֻשִׁים, from חֹמֶשׁ lumbus, lit., lumbis accincti, signifies equipped, as a comparison of this word as it is used in Jos_1:14; Jos_4:12, with חֲלוּצִים in Num_32:30, Num_32:32; Deu_3:18, places beyond all doubt; that is to say, not “armed,” καθωπλισμένοι (Sym.), but prepared for the march, as contrasted with fleeing in disorder like fugitives. For this reason they were able to fulfil Joseph's request, from which fact Calvin draws the following conclusion: “In the midst of their adversity the people had never lost sight of the promised redemption. For unless the celebrated adjuration of Joseph had been a subject of common conversation among them all, Moses would never have thought of it.”

COLORING PAGE

COLUMNS

EXODUS AND DESERT WANDERING

Exodus and Desert Wandering

"When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land Philistines, although that was near; For God said: "Lest the people repent when they see war and return to Egypt." (Exodus 13:17)

Prof. Malamat explains the reason for this detour: At that time in Egyptian history, and lasting for only about 200 years, there was a massive, nearly impenetrable network of fortresses situated along the northern Sinai coastal route to Canaan. Yet these same defenses were absent near Egypt's access to southern Sinai ― because the Egyptians felt the southern route was certain death in the desert.

Therefore, when Moses tells the Israelites to encamp at a site that will mislead Pharaoh, the Egyptians will conclude that the Israelites "are entangled in the land, the wilderness has closed in on them" (Exodus 14:3). This, according to Malamat, "reflects a distinctly Egyptian viewpoint that must have been common at the time: In view of the fortresses on the northern coast, anyone seeking to flee Egypt would necessarily make a detour south into the desert, where they might well perish."

More evidence comes from an ancient victory monument called the "Elephantine Stele." Here is recorded a rebellion in which a renegade Egyptian faction bribed Asiatics living in Egypt to assist them. Although the rebellion ultimately failed, it does confirm that in the same time period when the Israelites were in Egypt, the Egyptians would very likely say, "Come let us deal wisely with them, for if war befalls us, they may join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land" (Exodus 1:10). "That is precisely what happened in the episode recorded in the Elephantine Stele," Malamat asserts.

Biblical criticism comes from the late archaeologist Gosta Ahlstrom. He declares: "It is quite clear that the biblical writers knew nothing about events in Palestine before the 10th century BCE, and they certainly didn't know anything of the geography of Palestine in the Late Bronze age," the time of the desert wandering and subsequent conquest of the land of Canaan. Ahlstrom's proof? He cites the biblical listing of cities along the alleged route that the Israelites traveled immediately before reaching the Jordan River ― Iyyim, Divon, Almon-divlatayim, Nevo, and Avel Shittim (Numbers 33:45-50), and reports that most of these locations have not been located, and those that were excavated did not exist at the time the Bible reports.

In the meantime, writings from the walls of Egyptian Temples say differently. It is well known that Egypt had much reason to travel to Canaan in those days; trade, exploitation, military conquest. These routes are recorded in three different Egyptian Temples ― listed in the same order as provided in the Bible, and dated to the exact period of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.

Another piece of outside verification is an ancient inscription housed in the Amman Museum. Dating to the 8th century BCE (at least), it was found in the Jordanian village of Deir Alla, which was Moabite territory in biblical times. This inscription tells of a person by the name of Bilaam ben Beor, known to the locals as a prophet who would receive his prophecies at night. These features match precisely the Bilaam described in the Bible (Numbers 21) ― his full name, occupation, nighttime prophecies. And of course, Bilaam was a Moabite.

From Which Perspective?

The biblical story of the Exodus is filled with divine intervention in the form of impressive miracles; the splitting of the sea, the revelation at Mount Sinai, the manna bread which fell from heaven, etc. In the opinion of Bible critics, the story is nonrealistic because there is little record of mass encampments from that time, and it is absurd to consider that the Israelites had provisions in the desert for such a huge population and for such a long period of time.

Not always fitting the academic view, is no indictment of the Bible.

However, this opinion needs to be viewed in its proper perspective. It is not the Bible that the archaeologists are impugning, rather they find inconsistencies with their own reconstructed version! The Bible clearly states that the Israelites' food, clothing, and protection was provided directly by God. That the Bible does not always fit the academic reconstituted view, does not constitute an indictment of the Bible.

As for the issue of encampments are concerned, it is nearly impossible to find traces of large Bedouin encampments in the Sinai Desert from 200-300 years ago. So would one expect the remains of large encampments after 3,000 years?