Central Park Bible Community A community of young adults at Irving Bible Church

Joshua (Week 4) Preview

Hey folks, our 4th week in Joshua is coming up, and this week Richard will be leading our discussion. Below is the homework. I look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday night.

What to Read?

Joshua 3-5:13

Observations and Background:

Israel is referred to as a nation, which suggests that Israel was unified at this time, and that the book was written earlier in Israel’s history. Later in Israel’s history, the term “nation” took on a negative context and was only used to refer to foreign nations.This is the first time the ark is mentioned as explicitly leading Israel. This could be an example of the metaphor called synecdoche (“part for the whole” or “whole for the part,” e.g. “The White House says,” is synecdoche for “The President says”) referring to God’s leading.

2000 cubits is about 1000 yards or about ten football fields. One commentator says this is far enough to see but too far to accidentally touch it. What are your thoughts on the distance?

Joshua says “by this, you will know!” when referring to the crossing. This term was only used once before, in Num 16:28. What does it refer to here?

Joshua’s role is less direct in this crossing that was Moses’ in the crossing of the Red Sea. Moses himself led the Israelites then, while God, through his ark, leads now. The ark had not yet been built during the crossing of the Red Sea.

3:13 is one of the only times the ark is referred to as the “ark of the LORD” and not the “ark of the Covenant”.

During the rest of the year, the Jordan is easy to cross. It is only during the spring that it can become difficult. This site in particular was unusually wide and difficult to mount a mass crossing.

Of the 83 usages of the term “to this day” in the OT, 15 appear in Joshua, which is more than in any other book. Scholars believe there may be a deep cultural context to the term as it is used in historical works. It routinely appears in other ancient histories, such as in the works of Appian.

In Hebrew, the term “Gods people” is used to describe the older generation as it left Egypt. This generation was later described by the term “nation of God’s enemies”. The younger generation was born “in the wilderness” before becoming a “nation of God’s enemies”, but then was circumcised and became “God’s people”

Gilgal means something similar to “roll away.”

Things to think about: What is the purpose of this section?

3:7 & 4:14 Joshua needed to be exalted in the eyes of Israel. Why is this so? Can you think of any examples of any other leaders in the bible who needed to be exalted? What role does 3:7 play in the passage and how does it relate to 3:10? What is the reason for the explanation in 3:15 about the banks of the Jordan overflowing—why would the author’s contemporary readers need to know this? What is the sign and the memorial of in 4:6 and 4:7—in other words, what is the memorial testifying to? How will the memorial effect future generations? There are two piles of rocks—one directly commanded by God and the other placed by Joshua in the river which lasts till “this day”—did Joshua add to the command of the Lord or was this also implied? Is the purpose of this passage to suggest to the author’s contemporary readers that they too ought to make memorials or is something else going on here? What is the significance of 4:14 to the passage? Does 4:24 suggest an evangelistic purpose—why or why not? What significance does 5:1 and 5:9 have to the passage? 5:12 How does this correlate to the first passover in Exodus 12?

Joshua (Week 3) Preview

Hey folks, Kyle will be leading us through Joshua 2 this week and we've got some homework to do to prepare for class.

This week read Joshua 2 (and reread Joshua 1 if you have forgotten what happened) before class.

As you read about Rahab and the Spies (wbagnfarb), think about the purpose of this story. What possible purpose could this story serve?

Also, like we learned last week, make sure to take note of the plot, the actors involved, the dialogue, thematic events,  and the setting.

Some background factoids to think about-

• harlot.
  • "a woman professionally committing fornication"  OR
  • "a single woman tavern keeper"

• Rahab has been determined to be a common Canaanite name prior to the time of Joshua. just like Ashely or Callie now.
• There is a literary device called a 'chiasm' in this chapter, where similar clauses are repeated later

A:  (9)  and said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land,

B: and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.

C: (10)  "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Seabefore you when you came out of Egypt,

C': and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

B': (11)  "When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you;

A':  for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

• The spies quote Rahab word for word when they report back to Joshua. Weird?

See you Sunday!

Joshua (Week 2) Preview

Hey folks, the following is from John in preparation for this Sunday's lesson. Please read it before class so we can have a lively (and informed) discussion.

REVIEW:

1. Geography plays an important role in the strategy of Joshua’s Conquest. Note especially the key fortresses conquered along the International Coastal Highway—Lachish and Hazor.

2. Authorship is…well, difficult. What are our options? Joshua + later editor(s). Later author +  oral and/or literary tradition.

3. Audience is also difficult. The book could be written to people living shortly after the time of Joshua with editors modernizing the text to refer to events during the period of the Judges. It could also have been put together during the time of the Judges as a reflection of the conquest in relation to contemporary events. Some put it much later during the monarchy, but the literary evidence seems to point to a time earlier.

PREVIEW:

1. Dating: 1400s or 1200s? What’s the big deal?

2. Introduction to Joshua with discussion on Joshua 1. REREAD JOSHUA ONE AND GET ORIENTED TO THE TECHNIQUE OF BIBLE STUDY BELOW:)

GETTING INTO THE TEXT:

OBSERVATION: Some of us see, but we do not observe”

Grammatical observations: verbs, subject/object, dependent and independent clauses, phrases—especially prepositional, connectives

Literary observations: key persons, places, events, ideas, times, emotion, tone, figures of speech

Relationship observations: comparison, contrast, repetition, continuity, continuation, climax, cruciality (pivot point), interchange, cause/effect, purpose, instrumentation, explanation or analysis, preparation or introduction, summarization, interrogation

INTERPRETATION: Engaging the text on the terms of the text

Historical: questions about the author, audience, location, perspective of the writing, problems, purpose of writing

Culture: political, geographical, economic, legal, agricultural, military, family, dietary, architectural, clothing, social, religious

Literary: Setting, Characters (direct description, word and thoughts, actions, responses, self-characterization), Plot development (Type: physical, character, or moral plot?, What creates suspense: danger and tests, question of destiny, divine human encounters?, What are the nature of the tests or choices of the main character: strength, intelligence, resourcefulness, morality? What changes take place from the beginning to the end: plot changes—tragic, punitive, pathetic, comic, admiration; character changes—reform, degeneration, revelation? What foils, dramatic irony, poetic justice is there? Do the selected details communicate reality, morality, values?)

Grammatical: word meanings, figures of speech (similies, metaphors, metonymy, synecdoche, personification, hyperbole, irony, paradox, euphemism, rhetorical questions, etc), clause meanings (assertions, commands, questions, requests), supporting clause contributions (causal, concessional, comparative, conditional, purpose, result, temporal, local, relative)

APPLICATION: Christ in you

1. Know the Interpretation

2. Know the Applicational Situation

3. State the Application in the Form of a Principle

4. Think of the Principle in Terms of Relationships to God, Self, Others, Enemies

Joshua (Week 1)

John introduced our new series on the book of Joshua this past Sunday night by leading a discussion on time period, context, and authorship. He set the stage for our study by introducing us to the geography and peoples of the ancient eastern Mediterranean region. The intention was to break into chapter one, but we didn't quite get there. I should have taken notes, but, in short, here's what I remember.

Time Period: We're not exactly sure when the events of Joshua took place, but it's sometime between 140o BC and 1200 BC.

Context: The back drop for the events of Joshua is that the Israelites having been freed from Egypt by God, led by Moses, had just concluded a 40 year meandering through the desert. A whole generation of Israelites has died off, including Moses, without seeing God's promise of a land of their own fulfilled. Joshua is the new leader of Israel and part of the younger generation that gets to enter the promised land. Interestingly, parts of Joshua sound as if they were written in the later period of Israel's judges.

Author: We don't know, but it may not be Joshua since the book of Joshua eventually records Joshua's death.

Since we'll likely be breaking into Joshua 1 next week, it can't hurt to review the "homework" we had for this week. It's pasted below. Any additional instructions from the teaching team will also be posted here.

As always, feel free to use the comments section to share insights and ask questions. And please feel free to correct my rough recollection of Sunday's lesson.

FIRST THINGS FIRST:

1. Who wrote this thing anyway? External evidence says it is Joshua, the book’s main character, but the external evidence is 1000 years after the book was written. Weak sauce.  Internal evidence? It couldn’t have been completely written by Joshua because the book records his death, although an editor could have come back and added this scene (some suggest Phinehas). It probably wasn’t written long after Joshua because the book presents Rahab as still being alive (6:25), the sanctuary not permanently located (5:27, 2 Sam 21:1-6), Jebusites still occupying Jerusalem (15:8, 2 Sam 5:6), Canaanites still in Gezer (16:10, 1 Kgs 9:16), etc. On top of that, several clues suggest this is pretty ancient including the practice of having meeting with spies at a prostitute’s house, the list of ancient civilizations that are distinctive to the 2^nd millennium BC (e.g. Hivites), and contemporary parallels of a Hittite account of walls falling down.However, there are several things that point to some time after Joshua—mentioned is the relocation of the tribe of Dan (19:40, Jdg 18:27), Judge Jair (13:30, Jdgs 10:3-5), and the expansion of Caleb’s territory (15:13-19, Jdg 1:8-15). Finally, the phrase “to this day” seems to push it past Joshua a little. Are these notes explained solely by an editor reworking Joshua’s stuff? If it was written in the time of Judges instead of the time of Joshua, how might this impact the interpretation of the story?

2. How in the world was this put together? Modern critical theory places a lot of emphasis on a hypothesis that claims a bunch of editors collated a some different ancient texts together pretty late in Israel’s history to come up with the Old Testament (JEDP). This theory is not without significant flaws, but it does raise a valuable point—the Bible used sources and is not ashamed to admit it.  Even Joshua points to some “Book of Jashar” that recorded the event of the sun standing still before Joshua did (10:13). In any case, Joshua is more similar to Deuteronomy than any other book of the Bible in style and language—phrases such as “love the Lord your God” and “Moses, servant of the Lord” are repeated in both. Some say this reflects the same author. Others explain the similarities as coming from the same school of thought. What do you think?

3. What’s going on here? Jumping into Joshua is like watching Back to the Future II without having seen Back to the Future I—you can make through all right, but it is always better to have some background. Moses has led the Israelites from the Egyptian captivity through the desert for 40 years and the first generation has died because of disobedience. Moses would die too because of his own disobedience, but he would be highly revered by the people and it is prophesied that one like him would be raised up (read Deuteronomy 18:15-19). Joshua was Moses’ chief assistant. His original name “Hosea” meant “salvation,” but Moses called him Joshua instead meaning “Yahwheh saves.” He was personally chosen by Moses as his assistant (Ex 24:13), he was in charge of a group of Israelites to drive back an Amalekite attack (Ex 17:9), he was one of twelve spies sent into the land (Num 13:8), and he was commissioned by Yahweh to succeed Moses as leader when he died (Deut 31:14).

GETTING STARTED: READ JOSHUA 1 FOR 7/11.

In every good story, the beginning and the end are the most important parts to determining the message—they are the covers on the book that set the tone and bring it to clarity.  You see this in movies—in Avatarthe main character is called “meat” in a somewhat awkward scene at the beginning where soldiers dehumanize him for his handicap—this “dehumanization” carries through the rest of the film as a major theme. In the classic Apocalypse Now (much like its written counterpart The Heart of Darkness), you have to pay close attention to the main character’s eyes to finally grasp where the movie is taking you.  So pay attention here!  Joshua 1 sets the tone for the message of the book—while it may not be immediately clear here, you should be able to start formulating some ideas as to what the message is going to be. Start thinking in terms of plot, characterization, theme, foreshadowing, etc.

Things to consider as you read:

v. 1. Note the abrupt beginning. In the Hebrew, the verse begins with a conjunction that demarks a continuation of something previous.  The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy all begin the same way.

v. 1-2. Whenever “the Servant of the Lord” appears in Joshua (around 15x), it always refers to Moses with one exception.  However, the title “Servant of the Lord” is never directly attributed to Moses outside of this until his death in Deuteronomy 34:5.

v.1-2. “Servant” with a theological referent can either mean a “slave to God” or a “dependent upon God”

v. 5: God with Joshua. What is this?

1. A divine spiritual presence

2. A metaphor substituting cause for effect (metonymy): God’s of blessing (effect) substituted for God’s accompaniment (cause). E.g. “He speaks in a strange tongue:” Language (effect) substituted for a muscle that produces it (cause).

v. 6. “be strong” can mean 1) to be stronger than, 2) to take courage, 3) to harden (the heart)

v. 7 two translation options: 1) “Only be strong and very courageous IN ORDER to be careful to do according to all the law…” or 2) “Only be strong and very courageous. INDEED, be careful to do according to all the law…”

v. 8. One commentator has said what is to literally “read quietly here” is the practice of memorization. Some translations have meditate.

v. 12-14. The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh cut a deal with Moses—they would fight with the rest of Israel until the promised land was secured if they could take land east of the Jordan river (and east of what was promised) (Deuteronomy 3:18-20).