The Lost World of the Israelite Conquest (eBook)

J. Harvey Walton (MA, Wheaton College Graduate School) is a researcher in biblical studies and has contributed to a variety of publications. He is pursuing graduate studies at St. Andrews University. John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. Previously he was professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for twenty years. Some of Walton's books include The Lost World of Adam and Eve, The Lost World of Scripture, The Lost World of Genesis One, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, The Essential Bible Companion, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (with Victor Matthews and Mark Chavalas).Walton's ministry experience includes church classes for all age groups, high school Bible studies and adult Sunday school classes, as well as serving as a teacher for "The Bible in 90 Days." John and his wife, Kim, live in Wheaton, Illinois, and have three adult children.

Preface

Introduction

Abbreviations
Part I: Interpretation

Proposition 1: Reading the Bible Consistently Means Reading It as an Ancient Document

Proposition 2: We Should Approach the Problem of the Conquest by Adjusting Our Expectations About What the Bible Is

Proposition 3: The Bible Does Not Define Goodness for Us or Tell Us How to Produce Goodness, but Instead Tells Us About the Goodness God Is Producing
Part II: The Canaanites Are Not Depicted as Guilty of Sin

Proposition 4: The Bible Teaches Clearly and Consistently That Affliction by God Cannot Be Automatically Attributed to Wrongdoing on the Part of the Victim

Proposition 5: None of the Usual Textual Indicators for Divine Retribution Occur in the Case of the Canaanites

Excusus: The Midianites in Numbers 31

Proposition 6: Genesis 15:16 Does Not Indicate That the Canaanites Were Committing Sin

Proposition 7: Neither the Israelites nor the Canaanites Are Depicted as Stealing the Other's Rightful Property
Part III: The Canaanites Are Not Depicted as Guilty of Breaking God's Law

Proposition 8: The People of the Land Are Not Indicted for Not Following the Stipulations of the Covenant, and Neither Is Israel Expected to Bring Them into the Covenant

Excursus: Demons and Idolatry in the Old Testament

Proposition 9: Ancient Law Codes Such as the One Contained in Leviticus 18-20 Are Not Lists of Rules to Be Obeyed, and Therefore the Canaanites Cannot Be Guilty of Violating Them

Proposition 10: Holiness Is a Status Granted by God; It Is Not Earned Through Moral Performance, and Failing to Have It Does Not Subject One to Judgment

Proposition 11: The Expulsion of the Canaanites from the Land in the Conquest Cannot Be Evaluated by Comparison to the Expulsion of the Israelites from the Land in the Exile Because Israel Is Under the Covenant and the Canaanites Are Not
Part IV: The Language and Imagery of the Conquest Account Has Literary and Theological Significance

Proposition 12: The Depiction of the Canaanites in Leviticus and Deuteronomy Is a Sophisticated Appropriation of a Common Ancient Near Eastern Literary Device, Not an Indictment

Excursus: The Invincible Barbarians and the Rephaim

Proposition 13: Behaviors That Are Described as Detestable Are Intended to Contrast with Ideal Behavior Under the Israelite Covenant, Not to Convict the People Who Did Them of Crimes

Proposition 14: The Imagery of the Conquest Account Recapitulates Creation
Part V: What God and the Israelites Are Doing Is Often Misunderstood Because the Hebrew Word Herem Is Commonly Mistranslated

Proposition 15: Herem Does Not Mean "Utterly Destroy"

Excursus: Hyperbole in Conquest Accounts

Proposition 16: Herem Against Communities Focuses on Destroying Identity, Not Killing People of Certain Ethnicities

Excursus: What Is Happening in Deuteronomy 7

Proposition 17: The Wars of Israelite Conquest Were Fought in the Same Manner as All Ancient Wars

Proposition 18: Rahab and the Gibeonites Are Not Exceptions to the Herem, and the Use of Herem Against the Amalekites Does Not Indicate That Herem Is Punishment

Excursus: Ḥerem and the Removal of Impurity

Proposition 19: The Logic of the Herem Event of the Conquest Operates in the Context of Israel's Vassal Treaty
Part VI: How to Apply This Understanding

Proposition 20: The Old Testament, Including the Conquest Account, Provides a Template for Interpreting the New Testament, Which in Turn Gives Insight into God's Purposes for Us Today

Proposition 21: The Application of Herem in the New Covenant Is Found in Putting Off Our Former Identity and Surrendering to the Lordship of Christ, and Therefore Herem Has Nothing to Do with Killing People

Conclusion

Notes

Subject Index

Scripture Index