5.0 Israel Gains a Home

____ #. (5.1) Currently, a number of theories are advanced to explain how Israel conquered Palestine. 

         #. (5.1) List the central theme in each of the natural divisions of the book of Joshua:

(1) Josh. 1-12:

(2) Josh 13-21:

____ #. (5.1) Why does one have to read both Joshua and Judges to get a more balanced view of the conquest?

a) They each express a very similar view of how the conquest occurred.
b) Joshua 1-12 presents a picture of rapid conquest while Judges pictures it as a continuing struggle over a long period.
c) Joshua describes one part of the conquest, while Judges describes another.

        #. (5.2) List the two problems internationally that were going on during the time of the exodus and invasion of Canaan by the Israelites:
           (1)

           (2)

____ #. (5.2) Who were the ’Sea Peoples’?

a) The Hyksos invaders who ruled Egypt 1720-1570 B.C.E.
b) The Amorites who migrated from Mesopotamia into Palestine in the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries B.C.E.
c) A sea-faring people from the Grecian islands who were driven out of Egypt by Merneptah (1224-1211 B.C.E.).

____ #. (5.2) The migrating ’Sea Peoples’ became known as the 

____ #. (5.2) During the period from 1300 to 1100 B.C.E., the major enemy of the Israelite in the Promised Land became the 

          #. (5.3.1) Who was Rahab? Where did she live? What did she do that got her included in the biblical story?
 
 

         #.(5.3.1) How is Rahab connected to Jesus and to Christianity?
 
 

____ #. (5.3.1)  How many spies did Joshua send to check out the city of Jericho? 

 ____ #. (5.3.2) How did the Israelites cross the Jordan River into Canaan?
            a) They walked across the river where it was shallow.
            b) They went around it at the north end of the Dead Sea.
            c) The waters of the river were miraculously "dammed" up for enough time to cross it.
 

        #. (5.3.2) Describe how the Israelites commemorated the crossing of the Jordan River.
 
 

____ #. (5.3.3) How does the description of the battle for Jericho indicate the religious nature of the story?

a) The carrying of the ark around the walls of the besieged city.
b) The prominent role the number 7 plays in the story.
c) The portrayal of the battle as a holy war.
d) The pronouncing of a curse upon the defeated city ruins.
e) All of the above.

____ #. (5.3.3) Numerous archaeological explorations of the city of Jericho over the past 100 plus years have consistently supported the biblical account of the destruction of the city. 

         #. (5.3.3) Describe the concept of "holy war" from the battle of Jericho.
 
 
 

         #. (5.3.3) Can the concept of "holy war" be justified by followers of Jesus as applicable to situations today? Why?
 
 
 

____ #. (5.3.4) The story of Achan in Josh. 7:1-26 illustrates the principle of holy war by the

a) problems the Israelite army had in the battle for Ai, west of Jericho.
b) destruction of Achan, his family and all his property.
c) way God showed Joshua that Achan had kept loot for himself from the battle of Jericho.

____ #. (5.3.4) The annihilation of Achan along with his family and property is easier to understand when viewed from the social perspective of   a) individual responsibility for one’s actions.

b) corporate personality of clans of people.
c) a wrathful, cruel deity taking vengeance on innocent victims.

____ #. (5.3.4) Identify the connection between the story of Achan in Josh. 7:1-26 and that of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11.

       Acts 5:1-11. 5:1 But a man named Anani’as with his wife Sapphi’ra sold a piece of property, 5:2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 5:3 But Peter said, “Anani’as, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? 5:4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5:5 When Anani’as heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 5:6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
        5:7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 5:8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 5:9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Hark, the feet of those that have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 5:10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 5:11 And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.

a) No connection exists between these two biblical stories.
b) Ananias and Sapphira become the New Testament example to the early church just as Achan was to the children of Israel.
c) God shows wrath to Achan but grace and forgiveness to Ananias and Sapphira.

____ #. (5.3.5) Because the Gibeonites (Josh. 9:1-27) used deceit to trick the Israelite into a covenant agreement,

a) it had to be honored anyway for a covenant could not be dissolved.
b) the covenant was nullified immediately by the Israelite.
c) it was only partially followed since their deceit gave the Israelite the option of how to enforce the terms of the agreement.

        #. (5.3.7) In the summary narrative of conquest in Joshua 11:16-20, identify the verse that sets forth a justification for Joshua’s policy of complete extermination of the peoples and their property.

        Joshua 11:16-20. “11:16 So Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negeb and all the land of Goshen and the lowland and the Arabah and the hill country of Israel and its lowland, 11:17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Banal-gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death. 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 11:19 There was not a town that made peace with the Israelite, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; all were taken in battle. 11:20 For it was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts so that they would come against Israel in battle, in order that they might be utterly destroyed, and might receive no mercy, but be exterminated, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Which verse justifies the policy of total extermination?

          24:1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 24:2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. 24:3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 24:5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out. 24:6 When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 24:7 When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness a long time. 24:8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. 24:9 Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, 24:10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand. 24:11 When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you. 24:12 I sent the hornet2 ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. 24:13 I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.
          24:14 "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 24:15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
          24:16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 24:17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 24:18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
          24:19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 24:20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." 24:21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the LORD!" 24:22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses." 24:23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." 24:24 The people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey." 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the LORD. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, "See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God." 24:28 So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances.

Answer the following questions from the above text.

____ #. (5.4.3) Joshua 24:1-28 is best described as a 

         #. (5.4.3) Which city did this ceremony take place?
 

         #. (5.4.3) Which verse indicates who was present for this ceremony? 24:1
 

____ #. (5.4.3) Which of the following summaries best describes the central emphasis in 24:2-13?

a) A reminder of the Lord's past deliverance.
b) An admonition to faithful service to the Lord.
c) A pledge of obedience.
d) A visual confirmation of the covenant agreements.

____ #. (5.4.3) Which of the following summaries best describes the central emphasis in 24:14-15?

a) A reminder of the Lord's past deliverance.
b) An admonition to faithful service to the Lord.
c) A pledge of obedience.
d) A visual confirmation of the covenant agreements.

____ #. (5.4.3) Which of the following summaries best describes the central emphasis in 24:16-18?

a) A reminder of the Lord's past deliverance.
b) An admonition to faithful service to the Lord.
c) A pledge of obedience.
d) A visual confirmation of the covenant agreements.

____ #. (5.4.3) Which of the following summaries best describes the central emphasis in 24:26-27?

a) A reminder of the Lord's past deliverance.
b) An admonition to faithful service to the Lord.
c) A pledge of obedience.
d) A visual confirmation of the covenant agreements.

____ #. (5.4.3) What is the connection of Joshua 8:30-35 to Joshua 24:1-28?

          Joshua 8:30-35. 8:30 Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, 8:31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the Israelite, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, [an altar of unhewn stones, on which no iron tool has been used]; and they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, and sacrificed offerings of well-being. 8:32 And there, in the presence of the Israelite, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. 8:33 All Israel, alien as well as citizen, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark in front of the levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, blessings and curses, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the aliens who resided among them.

a) both are covenant-renewal ceremonies.
b) both are long worship services with the people having to listen to a long-winded speaker.
c) none since one took place at Mount Ebal and the other at Shechem.

____ #. (5.4.3.1) Which of the following represents Israelite religious elements borrowed from the Canaanites?

a) the divine name El as the equivalent to Yahweh.
b) the offering of animal sacrifices to God.
c) the high ethical standards for moral behavior.

a) the divine name El as the equivalent to Yahweh.
b) Israel adoption of the kingship.
c) religious practices adopted from the worship of Baal.

____ #. (5.4.3.1) Which of the following Canaanite influences upon the Israelite is indicated by 1 Sam. 8:20?

       1 Sam. 8:19-20. 8:19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No! but we will have a king over us, 8:20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles."

a) the divine name El as the equivalent to Yahweh.
b) Israel adoption of the kingship.
c) religious practices adopted from the worship of Baal.

        1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, "You have observed all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed me in all that I have commanded you; 3 you have not forsaken your kindred these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORd you God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your kindred, as he promised them; therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Take good care to observe the commandment and instruction that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, and to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul." 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.
       7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan; but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their fellow Israelites in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their tents and blessed them, 8 he said to them, "Go back to your tents with much wealth, and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with a great quantity of clothing; divide the spoil of your enemies with your kindred." 9 So the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the Israelites at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had taken possession by command of the LORD through Moses.
      10 When they came to the region near the Jordan that lies in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of great size. 11 The Israelites heard that the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region near the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the Israelites. 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh, to make war against them.
       13 Then the Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. 15 They came to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, 16 "Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, 'What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away today from following the LORD, by building yourselves an altar today in rebellion against the LORD? 17 Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which a plague came upon the congregation of the LORD, 18 that you must turn away today from following the LORD! If you rebel against the LORD today, he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. 19 But now, if your land is unclean, cross over into the LORD's land where the LORD's tabernacle now stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us; only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel against us^l by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity!'"
       21 Then the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 "The LORD, God of gods! The LORD, God of gods! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith toward the LORD, do not spare us today 23 for building an altar to turn away from following the LORD; or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or offerings of well-being on it, may the LORD himself take vengeance. 23 No! We did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, 'What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25 For the LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites; you have no portion in the LORD.' So your children might make our children cease to worship the LORD. 26 Therefore we said, 'Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, that we do perform the service of the LORD in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and offerings of well-being; so that your children may never say to our children in time to come, "You have no portion in the LORD." 28 And we thought, If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we could say, 'Look at this copy of the altar of the LORD, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.' 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn away this day from following the LORD by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle!"
       30 When the priest Phinehas and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassites spoke, they were satisfied. 31 The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar said to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the Manassites, "Today we know that the LORd is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD; now you have saved the Israelites from the hand of the LORD."
       32 Then the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the chiefs returned from the Reubenites and the Gadites in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the Israelites, and brought back word to them. 33 The report pleased the Israelites; and the Israelites blessed God and spoke no ore of making war against them, to destroy the land where the Reubenites and the Gadites were settled. 34 The Reubenites and the Gadites called the altar Witness^m; "for," said they, "it is a witness between us that the LORD is God."
  ----------------------------
^lOr make rebels of us
^mCn Compare Syr: Heb lacks Witness

Answer the following questions from the above text:

____ #. (5.4.2) The following text (Josh. 22:9-34) best illustrates what principle?

a) How the early Israelites dealt with problems that arose between the tribes.
b) That intimidation and coercion was used to keep all the tribes in line religiously.
c) Only one altar to God was tolerated.

____ #. (5.4.2) The following commentary statement about the literary structure of chapter 22 agrees with the paragraph divisions of the above New Revised Standard Version translation.

     Trent Butler, Word Biblical Commentary, 7:241. "This structural description of the chapter show that it contains two basic subsections: an opening theological summary (1-8) and the narrative (9-34). A formal analysis of each of these reveals the original setting and purpose of each."

____ #. (5.4.2) Which verse contains the textual variant issue addressed by the following comment in the NRSV Preface?

       "Occasionally it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission and that none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text. Such reconstructions are indicated in footnotes by the abbreviation Cn ("Correction"), and a translation of the Masoretic Text is added."

____ #. (5.4.2) What was the nature of the problem addressed in chapter 22?

a) The enemy who possessed the land.
b) Jealousy among the tribes and a desire for more land.
c) Threatened warfare among the tribes themselves because they could not trust one another and because they accused one another of apostasy.

____ #. (5.4.2) Which verse provides a reason for the large size of the altar referred to in verses 10-11? 

____ #. (5.4.2) Which of the following translations of verse 10 is the clearest that the location of the altar was on the west side of the Jordan River?

a) (KJV) "And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to."

b) (NIV) "When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan."

c) (Living Bible) "Before they went across, while they were still in Canaan, they built a large monument for everyone to see, in the shape of an altar."

____ #. (5.4.2) How does Numbers 25:6-13 relate to Joshua 22?

      Num. 25:6-13.  6 Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman into his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the Israelites, while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, 8 he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. 9 Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand."
      10 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "Phineas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by manifesting such zeal among them on my behalf that in my jealousy I did not consume the Israelites. 12 Therefore say, 'I hereby grant him my covenant of peace. 13 It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the Israelites.' "

a) It provides important background information about the leader of the delegation of Israelites that went to the tribes east of the Jordan.
b) No real connection exists between the two passages.
c) It provides helpful information about the orientation of the tribes that settled east of the Jordan.

         #. (5.4.2) Explain how Deut. 12:13-14 is related to Josh.22:13-20.

      Deut. 12:13-14.13 Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place you happen to see. 14 But only at the place that the LORD will choose in one of your tribes -- there you shall offer your burnt offerings and there you shall do everything I command you.

____ #. (5.4.2) The tribes on the east side of the Jordan ____ build an altar for sacrifice. 

____ #. (5.4.2) The purpose of the great altar built by the tribes on the east side of the Jordan was

a) to be a center to worship for these tribes different from the one at Shiloh.
b) to be a witness to the legitimate participation in worship of the Transjordan tribes with those on the west side of the Jordan.
c) to enable the Transjordan tribes to depart from worshipping the LORD.

        #. (5.4.2) What insight do verses 17-18 provide regarding why the delegation was concerned about the great altar the Transjordan tribes had built?
 
 

        #. (5.4.2)  What insight does verse 20 provide regarding why the delegation was concerned about the great altar the Transjordan tribes had built?
 
 

____ #. (5.4.4) Which of the following best describes the Deuteronomic theme in the book of Joshua?

a) The Israelites celebrate the heroic feats of their leader Joshua.
b) The sins of the nation were brought about by the sovereign will of Yahweh.
c) The faithfulness of Yahweh to keep his promises to give the people a land are celebrated.

        #. (5.6) Match the significant description to the correct judge from Judges 3-16. 

         #. (5.9) Match the descriptions to the correct view of the conquest in modern scholarship. 

____ #. (5.9) The term amphictyony, referring to a league of tribes in Greece, relates to the Israelite during the period of the judges in that for the Israelite it implies

a) a well structured national organization of the twelve tribes during this time.
b) a very loose knit confederation of the twelve tribes who worked as a unity only occasionally.
c) the disorganization of military and political structures that led to the later kingship.
 

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