1. The Premonarchic Period The nation of Israel in the Promised Land but with no king Joshua: Things look good, God in control Judges: not so good; need a king

2. Joshua: Conquest of Canaan Chapters 1-6, 10, 23-24

3. The Ark of the Covenant Exodus 25 describes the design for its construction. It was a sacred container containing. 1.Stone tablets of the Ten Commandments 2. Aaron's rod 3. A little bit of manna God’s presence was between the cherubim in “the mercy seat” (where he communicated with Moses (Exodus 25:22)

4. The Tabernacle Exodus 25-30 describes specific rules for its construction. It was a mobile temple within which sacrifices were carried out. The ark rested in the “Holy of Holies” or The most holy place. It was moved by the Levites from camp to camp during their 40 years in the wilderness. Solomon finally built a permanent temple to replace the tabernacle.

5. Holy War Delete the Inhabitants Deuteronomist history offers one solution to the Canaanites: kill them all without mercy. Yahweh is “a consuming fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24) All Canaanites are to be eliminated. This is a part of holy war in which the enemy is consecrated (sacrificed) to the attackers’ God and. Allowing the Canaanites to live would could corrupt the Israelites.

6. Holy War Deuteronomy 7.2-6: 2 and when the Lord your God gives them over to you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for that would turn away your children from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, hew down their sacred poles, and burn their idols with fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

7. More Holy War Deuteronomy 20:10-18 10 When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace. 11 If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you in forced labor. 12 If it does not submit to you peacefully, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it; 13 and when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword. 14 You may, however, take as your booty the women, the children, livestock, and everything else in the town, all its spoil. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you. 15 Thus you shall treat all the towns that are very far from you, which are not towns of the nations here. 16 But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive. 17 You shall annihilate them—the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—just as the Lord your God has commanded, 18 so that they may not teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they do for their gods, and you thus sin against the Lord your God.

8. Outline of Joshua 1God Commissions Joshua 2The spies and Rahab 3Crossing the Jordan on dry ground 4Commemorating the crossing 5Preparing (Circumcision and Passover, a theophany) 6The fall of Jericho 7Sin of Achan 8Capture of Ai 9the trick of the Gibeonites 10 the sun stands still and the five kings defeated 11-12 Summary of the conquest 13-22 Distribution of the land 23-24 Joshua’s messages to the people

9. Joshua 1: Commissioned Joshua 1: 8-9 –This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth. You shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then, you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

10. MosesJoshua Crossed Red sea on dry ground. Used rod. Theophony at burning bush. God promises to be with him Presents God’s law to the people at Sinai and Shittim Crossed the Jordan river on dry ground. Used the ark. Theophony near Jericho. Meets commander of God’s army who promises victory. Presents God’s law to the people at Shechem Joshua as another Moses “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Joshua 1:5b Both of them lead the entire nation doing what God says. Military leaders.

11. Joshua 2: Rahab, a harlot Strangers might have stayed at the house of A harlot without suspicion. As strangers, they could get information without danger from other men. She outsmarts the spies and the people of her own town. She ends up saving herself and her family and becoming an important woman in Israel’s history. She becomes part of the lineage to King David. The contracts the spies make with her violates the covenant of Dt. 20. After the deal is made, the spies add further conditions. The spies report only what she has told them.

12. Joshua 3 4. Stay away from the ark, it is dangerously holy 8 & 13. Joshua and priests must stand in the water before it parts. Demonstrate faith. The water stood still for about 26 km (from their place to the city of Adam) Miracle of crossing safely through a body of water happens again (Noah, Moses twice, Joshua) Illustration by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld's For Die Bibel in Bildern (German), 1853

13. Joshua 5 2. A second circumcision because the children had not been circumcised in the desert. It is now a new generation 10. the Passover is celebrated. 13. Joshua’s theophany further confirms his close relationship with the Lord. –Removes sandals like Moses (on holy ground) –The Heavenly army will be fighting with Joshua

14. Joshua 6: Jericho falls 16 And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, ‘Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. 17 The city and all that is in it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 As for you, keep away from the things devoted to destruction, so as not to covet * and take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel an object for destruction, bringing trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.’ 20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpets, they raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat; so the people charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 21 Then they devoted to destruction by the edge of the sword all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.

15. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho : Elvis Presley Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho Joshua fit the battle of Jericho And the walls come tumbling down God knows that Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho Joshua fit the battle of Jericho And the walls come tumbling down Good morning sister Mary Good morning brother John Well I wanna stop and talk with you Wanna tell you how I come along I know you've heard about Joshua He was the son of Nun He never stopped his work until Until the work was done God knows that Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho Joshua fit the battle of Jericho And the walls come tumbling down You may talk about your men of Gideon You may brag about your men of Saul There's none like good old Joshua At the battle of Jericho

16. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho : Elvis Presley Up to the walls of Jericho He marched with spear in hand Go blow them ram horns, Joshua cried 'Cause the battle is in my hands God knows that Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho Joshua fit the battle of Jericho And the walls come tumbling down You may talk about your men of Gideon You may brag about your king of Saul There none like Joshua At the battle of Jericho They tell me, great God that Joshua’s spear Was well nigh twelve feet long And upon his hip was a double edged sword And his mouth was a gospel horn Yet bold and brave he stood Salvation in his hand Go blow them ram horns Joshua cried 'Cause the devil can't do you no harm Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho Joshua fit the battle of Jericho And the walls come tumbling down

17. Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho : Elvis Presley Up to the walls of Jericho He marched with spear in hand Go blow them ram horns, Joshua cried 'Cause the battle is in my hands Then the lamb ram sheep horns began to blow The trumpets began to sound Old Joshua shouted glory And the walls came tumblin' down God knows that Joshua fit the battle of Jericho Jericho Jericho Joshua fit the battle of Jericho And the walls come tumbling down Down, down, down, down, down Tumblin' down

18. Joshua’s military conquests Joshua’s military conquests begin at Jericho.

19. Watch Out Joshua 23:9-13 God has been faithful. Now the people need to do their part. 9 For the Lord has driven out before you great and strong nations; and as for you, no one has been able to withstand you to this day. 10 One of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, as he promised you. 11 Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. 12 For if you turn back, and join the survivors of these nations left here among you, and intermarry with them, so that you marry their women and they yours, 13 know assuredly that the Lord your God will not continue to drive out these nations before you; but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a scourge on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the Lord your God has given you.

20. Watch Out more Joshua 23:14-17 This seems like an overly optimistic view of what has happened. 14 ‘And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one thing has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you; all have come to pass for you, not one of them has failed. 15 But just as all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the bad things, until he has destroyed you from this good land that the Lord your God has given you. 16 If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which he enjoined on you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you.’

21. 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. 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.’ 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. 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.’ 21 And the people said to Joshua, ‘No, we will serve the Lord!’ 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.’

22. Joshua’s pillar at Shechem Some archeologists believe this could be the stone Joshua erected at Shechem to hear and bear witness to Yahweh's covenant with Israel (Joshua 24:26-28) 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. 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.’

23. The division of the 12 tribes Notice that the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of Manasseh are on the east side of the Jordan River. They chose this land instead of the promised land, but their soldiers still went to help conquer the land of Canaan.

24. The Book of Judges

25. Questions 1.What moral and military challenges does Israel face in the promised land? 2.Do you think Israel needs a king? Explain? 3.What do you think about the women in Judges? (such as Deborah, Jael, Delilah—also Samson’s mother, women who killed Abimelech, and the dismembered concubine of the Levite) 4.What kind of people would you expect the Judges to be? 5.What kinds of people are the Judges? 6.How unified is this book?

26. Judges Folktales about heroes from the early years of Israel in Canaan They are assembled and put together within a framework Six major and six minor judges This is Israel’s premonarchic period No king –Both freedom and insecurity –Tribes are fiercely independent –Frequent skirmishes to defend territory involved only one or a few tribes at once. No Central sanctuary or strong priesthood –No uniform religion –No enforcement or teaching of Torah –Supplemented Yahweh with rival gods, especially Baal

27. The Book of Judges vs. the Book of Joshua Joshua –idealized view of Israel’s entry into Canaan. No defeat. –Territory all theirs. –Know and serve Yahweh (Josh 24 at Shechem, people swear to follow all the law) Judges –Struggling to maintain land. Make few gains –Shows how little of the land the tribes really possessed –Shows how little they seemed to know of Yahweh.

28. Redaction of Judges (one theory) Redactor compiled original collection (circa 800 BCE) –Theme: consequences of faithfulness or unfaithfulness to Yahweh –Stories have little in common, other than they follow a similar cycle. Deuteronomic redactor (circa 620 BCE) –added the moralizing intro of chapters 2:6-3:6, and perhaps added chapters 9 & 16 –Brought the number of judges to 12 Priestly redactors (circa 400BCE) (P source) –added 17-21 (no judges, but demonstrates problems of having no king) –Added historical prologue1-2:5

29. Deuteronomic Covenant When faithful to Yahweh, the people will prosper (Blessing) When not faithful to Yahweh, Yahweh will fight against them (Curse) Judges 2: 11-23 clearly shows this cycle. We’ve seen this cycle before, however Judges offers a unique perspective –It revolves around charismatic leaders –It happens in relation to not having a king –It happens within the promised land

30. The Cycle RESCUE. When a judge loyal to Yahweh presides and the people worship Israel’s God exclusively, the whole community prospers, winning battles against invading troops and reaping the benefits of their heritage. APOSTASY. After the Yahwist judge dies, however, the people soon “prostitute themselves to Baal.” HARDSHIP. This arouses Yahweh’s anger and causing him to deliver them over to enemy oppression. CRYING OUT TO THE LORD. In their anguish, the people then cry out to Yahweh, who “feels pity” and raises up a new judge to overthrow their oppressors. After a generation of revival, the people again backslide, and the whole cycle begins anew.

31. The other nations still around? Three reasons are given for why remnants of the nations formerly occupying Canaan survived 1.as a punishment (2:20-21) 2.as a test of obedience (2:22-23, 3:1,4) 3.to train Israel in the art of war (3:2)

32. An Outline of Judges Resuming conquest of Canaan with failures highlighted (Ch 1) Introduction to and need for the judges (2-3:6) 1. Othniel (3:7-11) 2. Ehud (3:12-30) 3. Shamgar (3:31) 4. Deborah (4-5) 5. Gideon, also called Jerubbaal (Chs 6-8) Abimelech (Gideon’s son tries to become king) (9) 6. Tola (10:1-2) 7. Jair (10:3-5) 8. Jephthah (10:6-12:7) 9. Ibzan (12:8-10) 10. Elon (12:11-12) 11. Abdon (12:13-15) 12. Samson (Chs 13-16) The Levite’s story (Chs 17-21)

33. What are the Judges? Military leaders Charismatic individuals Spirit filled (“the spirit of the lord came upon him”) Spontaneous Heroes Didn’t judge matters among the people (except Deborah) Not necessarily devout or upright

34. The Major Judges 1.Othniel Caleb’s younger brother 2.Ehud a left-handed Benjamite who murders the obese King Eglon of Moab 3.Deborah (and Barak) political murder (like Ehud’s) is an execution of divine judgment. (Jael kills Sisera with a hammer and tent peg) 4.Gideon He comes from a family of Baal worshippers but God is suddenly with him. (feels insignificant and inadequate) (keeps asking for signs from God) (reduces army from 22,000 to 300) (refuses invitation to be king, but his bad son, Abimilech accepts) 5.Jephtha and his daughter (Wins great victory but sacrifices his daughter)

35. Samson Unlike the other heroes/judges. Angels twice foretell his birth to a childless couple. Dedicated as a Nazarite (but doesn’t follow Nazarite ideal. He leads no army. A single hero (provoked through relations with Philistine women.) Sexual affairs force him to confront the enemy Some say he was a mythological character transformed by Hebrew writers into an Israelite champion. His peers didn’t seem to regard him as a judge or hero or God-chosen) He’s a little like Jael, an unexpected single deliverer

36. The Death of Samson And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.—Judges 16: 21-31 Gustave Doré

37. Samson & Achilles At Troy, Achilles fell in love with Polyxena She’s the youngest daughter of Priam and Hecuba, King and Queen of Troy and the brother of Hector who Achilles kills. She vows to avenge her brother's death There are some similarities between the fall of Achilles and the fall of Samson. Unstoppable warriors had a secret to their strength and one weakness Loved too many women and women from among their enemies Both told their secrets to lovers who needled them Betrayed by women they foolishly trusted Successfully trapped by the enemy

38. Regina Spektor “Samson”Samson You are my sweetest downfall I loved you first, I loved you first Beneath the sheets of paper lies my truth I have to go, I have to go Your hair was long when we first met Samson went back to bed Not much hair left on his head He ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed And history books forgot about us and the bible didn’t mention us The bible didn’t mention us, not even once You are my sweetest downfall I loved you first, I loved you first Beneath the stars came falling on our heads But they're just old light They're just old light Your hair was long when we first met Samson came to my bed Told me that my hair was red Told me I was beautiful and came into my bed I cut his hair myself one night A pair of dull scissors and the yellow light He told me that I'd done alright and kissed me till the morning light the morning light and he kissed me till the morning light Samson went back to bed Not much hair left on his head Ate a slice of wonder bread and went right back to bed We couldn't break the columns down No, we couldn't destroy a single one and the history books forgot about us and the bible didn’t mention us not even once You are my sweetest downfall I loved you first