Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Uri Hurwitz <uhurwitz AT yahoo.com>]

  Hi Jack,

  It is logical to apply to modern scholarly work
 the same critical approach that one applies to ancient
 texts such as Joshua or other HB books.

   Therefore it may be worthwhile to check other modern
 scholarly opinions about the complex issue of dating
 the composition of biblicsl books. These are
 controversial subjects.

    Even the dating of archaeological strata is
 disputed, as we know. For instance, the 10th - 9th
 centrury controversy is well known. Cf. the Finkelstein
 - Mazar charming dialogue in book form on the matter.

    Of course not everything had been  excavated yet.
 Even in Jerusalem suprising findings keep occurring.
 I'll only mention one here: the Reich-Shukron discovery
 of a bullae hoard which preceded Hezekiah's date by over
 a century, and points to wider literacy at a considerably
 earlier stage than had  been assumed till then.

   Which leads me to my final point: the literary form
 dated by some to the sixth century is polished in
 comparison, say, to Mesha. Such literary polish cannot
 spring up over night. The presumption that it required
 generations to develop can not be far fetched. Thus
 valid earlier material may well have been preserved
 in these texts, whenever they attained  their final form.

   I suggest, as I said, that other authorities be consulted
 on the geography of the Place Names in  Joshua.
 Incidentally a moderator of this list
published serious work on  biblical toponyms.

   Best,

   Uri Hurwitz                               Wilmington. VT