Can we share this land together?

Joshua 23:4

History and myth dance hand in hand, mixing facts and fictions in ways that have always informed and transformed human society, for better and for worse. This tension becomes most complicated when what’s at stake is who owns the land and with it, who has control and power. When it comes to the bloody book of Joshua, just one chapter away from its end, the apparent admission to contrary narratives is confusing: Did Joshua conquer the whole land as described in the first half of the book and annihilate the natives - or did much of the promised land remain occupied by its resistant original settlers, as is suggested by the second half of the book?  

Chapter 23 introduced Joshua’s final speech. A 110 year old man, echoing the final words of Moses, reflecting on his glorious legacy and leaving instructions for completion of the task. 

He directly mentions that many local nations remain to be conquered, despite his many wins: 

רְאוּ֩ הִפַּ֨לְתִּי לָכֶ֜ם אֶֽת־הַ֠גּוֹיִ֠ם הַנִּשְׁאָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֛לֶּה בְּנַחֲלָ֖ה לְשִׁבְטֵיכֶ֑ם מִן־הַיַּרְדֵּ֗ן וְכׇל־הַגּוֹיִם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִכְרַ֔תִּי וְהַיָּ֥ם הַגָּד֖וֹל מְב֥וֹא הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃

“See, I have allotted to you, by your tribes, the territory of  these nations that still remain, along  with all the nations that I have destroyed, from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.”

Joshua 23:4

Perhaps it’s in the confusion between the different parts of the book and the conflicting narratives that whatever the truths may be hidden? 

Prof.Mordechai Cogan, in his essay Israel's Incomplete Conquest of Canaan, offers some possible clues and further questions: 

“How to envision the conquest of Canaan was the subject of controversy in ancient Israel over the generations... The story of Joshua’s complete conquest, often spoken of as a Blitzkrieg, may have been attractive and heartening to some, but it was a fantasy about a past that never existed. Evidently, at one point after settling the land, perhaps as early as the reign of Solomon, the goal of completing the conquest was abandoned.

The need to rationalize the continuing presence of Canaanites and other assorted peoples as Israel’s neighbors generated a proliferation of explanations: Israel sinned and was punished; fighting the Canaanites would be heartening for the people; Canaanites test the faith of Israel; Canaanites were too strong to conquer; Canaanite labor was useful for Israel’s early monarchs.”

And perhaps a more interesting question is not if this conquest did or didn’t occur - but rather: What has been the purpose and expression of this text over time? What do we do with it now? 

In his monumental book, How to Read the Bible,  Harvard Divinity Professor Harvey Cox echos this important question, inviting us to ponder the purpose of this narrative in our own lives:

“The centuries-long persistence of the idea of a promised land makes it one of the most enduring themes in history. It not only shaped Jewish thought but later became integral to the identity of European settlers in America and of the Dutch “Voortrekkers” in South Africa.  It still Inspires some of the West Bank settlers in Israeli occupied Palestine, who often pointed to the ‘conquer and settle’ motif in Joshua as the divine command they are trying to fulfill today.”

As we prepare to close the book of Joshua and journey onwards into Judges - these ethical and moral questions persist, as do the riddles about this books’ history, intention and purpose - for us modern readers. On both ordinary and festive days we are invited to brave the mist, the cloudy space between the certain facts and their authoritative purpose, to find the fluid mystery where there is room for all of us to dwell, together, safely in our promised lands of gratitude and plentitude, honoring the good earth we all equally inherited,  to which we all equally belong, and whose collective fate is in our hands. But only if we all work - together.

Below the Bible Belt: 929 chapters, 42 months, daily reflections: Join Rabbi Amichai’s 3+ years interactive online quest to question, queer + re-read between the lines of the entire Hebrew Bible, with daily reflections, weekly videos and monthly learning sessions. January 2022-July 2025

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