Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Jim West <jwest AT Highland.Net>]

At 10:33 PM 2/22/99 +0001, you wrote:

> Some of the Joshua "Blitzkreig" narratives may be aetiological ("What
> meaneth this heap of stones?"). But it makes sense to me that Ha`aY (Ai)
> means "the ruin", not "the city" Ha`iYR (Bethel). It makes military sense
> for a strongpoint like Ai to be garrisoned as a Forward Defended Locality
> for Bethel. Joshua could not afford to leave a loose-cannon undefeated
> military formation in Ai. It makes sense for the book of Joshua to be a
> record of an initial Blitzkrieg campaign, and Judges the slow follow-up
> operation.

But Ben- you are not doing history here- but merely retelling a sermon.
By your own admission- these stories are "Geschichte" and not "Historie".
Certainly everyone knows the difference between the two genres.

>
> Joshua attacked in the centre (Jericho, Bethel, Ai) and neutralised Gibeon;
> then he turned south to defeat the South Canaanite Confederation; then
> north to defeat the North Canaanite Confederation. The narrative tells
> how he pursued all the fugitives and killed all he could catch. But after
> any military operation there are survivors. These persisted for many
> generations. So it makes sense that the slow processes described in the
> Book of Judges would be necessary before all the land was possessed.
>

Again- you are merely retelling what the Bible says.  That would, in my
estimation, be equivalent to reporting about the British monarchy by using
only the royal records of the Queen's biographer.  But what is left out?
What embellished? What "theologized"?

> I haven't read as widely as you learned doctors and professors who post
> here. But I did read Noth, Bright, Orlinsky, Kaufmann, Rowley and
> Pfeiffer (to mention but a few) in my far-off College days in Bristol.
> Nowadays I would rather read the TeNaCh, than read about it. 8-)

I might recomment Niels Lemche's "Israel in history and tradition" for
starters.  Then, take a look at Ahlstom's history of Palestine.

Best,

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jim West, ThD
Quartz Hill School of Theology

jwest AT highland.net
http://web.infoave.net/~jwest