Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ruthy & Baruch" <alster AT comandcom.com>]

Shavua` Tov!

I sent this message yesterday, but it got sent back to me by Lyris.  I hope
it gets through this time (and is still relevant ...)

> 
> Shalom!
> 
> I wrote:
> > > However, there is at least one great difference between a-Tell and
the
> Ai
> > > narrative that puts this theory in doubt: the size of Ai according to
> > > Joshua.  Both in chap. 7, and in chap. 9, Ai is referred to as a
small
> > > city, smaller than Gibeon or Jericho.  However, a-Tell is one of the
> > > largest tells in Israel.  So we cannot say that a later writer used
the
> > > conquest story to explain the ancient ruin.
> 
> to which NPL responded:
> >     How??? The Israelite force that is beaten off counts 30.000 men
> > (Josh 8:3), the killing of people in Ai count 12.000 persons (Josh
8:25).
> I
> > will say that this counterargument has little to do with the narrative,
> some
> > may say eisegesis and not exegesis.
> 
> But in 7:3, the Israelites thought they could conquer Ai with 2 or 3
> thousand men.
> 
> NPL:
>  And there is nothing in Josh 9 about the
> > size of Gibeon.
> 
> Sorry, of course you're right.  It's in 10:2.
> 
> 
> NPL:
> >     The only thing that would probably be needed is to check
> > Finkelstein's Samaria survey to see whether he has been around the tell
> > proposed as Ai during this exchange.
> 
> I'll check as soon as I can get to a library, God willing, sometime this
> week.
> 
> Kol Tuv,
> Baruch Alster
> Kochav Ya`akov, Israel