Chapter 6 of Joshua might be the most violent chapter I have encountered so far. In it, Israel took the city of Jericho, and “destroyed with the sword every living thing in it - men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep, and donkeys” (Joshua 6:21). The Bible has some explaining to do.
I recently purchased Robert Alter’s The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. Compared to other modern English translations, Alter wanted to preserve more of the original Hebrew wordplay, rhythm, and tone. And, he adds commentary throughout. In his commentary on Joshua Chapter 6, he says that historically, Jericho “could not have been an object of Joshua’s conquest.” The archeological evidence suggests that the town of Jericho was abandoned centuries before Joshua came.
This complicates matters. One option is to ignore the archeological evidence and believe the Bible reports the facts. I have sympathy for this approach. We live in a world where no two scientists agree on everything, and there’s ample evidence for things science says are impossible. Seeing the Bible as the ultimate authority on everything provides a sense of certainty.
However, I think that approach requires degrading the Bible, pulling it down into the world of mere facts. The Bible is concerned with more important matters. Historical truth, while important, is less important than spiritual and moral truth. I would rather read the Lord of the Rings than a factual biography of Tolkien. To truly raise the Bible above all other books is to recognise that it’s more true than a history book. Besides, ignoring the archeological evidence in this case means ignoring all of archeology, and giving up on knowing any history at all.
So, we can at least comfort ourselves knowing that Joshua’s killing spree didn’t actually occur. And, the story doesn’t end with instructions for future generations to do the same. It’s a mythical story about the foundation of a nation, and not a model to emulate. Which brings us to another problem: Why make up a story about the annihilation of an entire city?
The story shows Israel depends on God. They didn’t win the battle because of their skill. They won because they obeyed God. God made the people of Jericho afraid, and God made the walls of Jericho fall.
Chapter 7 and 8 emphasise this point. God defeated Jericho because Israel obeyed, but after the battle, a man named Achan sinned. He took some of the plunder for himself, against God’s instructions. The next battle Israel fights is a disaster. God tells Joshua they have a sinner amongst them, and that’s why they lost a battle. Then, they execute Achan for his sins, and their luck returns. For Israel, military success entirely depends on obedience to God.
The strange thing is that after Achan is executed, God allows Israel to take the plunder for themselves. It seems unfair. God makes an arbitrary rule (take no plunder), then executes someone for violating the rule, then immediately gets rid of the rule. Is taking plunder bad or not?
This is where comparing stories is helpful. Placing Israel in the promised land is a clear parallel to placing Adam and Eve in the garden. Adam and Eve are told not to eat from the tree of knowing good and bad. However, if they are to rule the land and play their proper role as images of God, they will have to know the difference between good and bad. Wisdom itself is not bad, but there are good and bad ways to gain wisdom. Listening to the snake and taking wisdom on your own terms is bad, but gaining wisdom through listening to God is good. If Adam and Eve resisted taking false wisdom on their own terms, they would have gained true wisdom through God.
Achan disobeyed God to take plunder, but the rest of Israel showed they could resist. After they resisted, God granted permission to take plunder. In this story, plunder is a metaphor for wisdom. The Bible tells us that there are good and bad ways to gain wisdom. The bad way is to take it for yourself, and the good way is to stop trying so hard and trust God. This reminds me of something Jesus said: “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Mathew 10:39). If you spend all your energy trying to preserve your life, you’ll stop living. If you surrender your life to something greater, you begin to live. Achan didn’t trust God, and took plunder for himself. The rest of Israel trusted God by resisting plunder, and plunder is their reward.
I wonder how that applies to me? I don’t have snakes telling me what to do, so how can I tell if I’m on the right path to wisdom? In what ways am I trying too hard, and how can I surrender?