Joshua's campaign of Canaan and near eastern historiography

Seters, John Van

doi:10.1080/09018329008584943

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…4 This description may evoke the "superhuman" army in Isa 5:26-29, who are indefatigable. Gosse, for example, argues that Isa 13:2-5 takes up 5:26-29 and amplifies it (Isaïe 13,(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)23,124). Notably, however, while the army of Isa 5 is portrayed as strong and undefeatable, it does not refer to a divine army, since it uses the term ‫גוים‬ ("nations"), which is never applied to the divine armies.…”

Section: A Divine Military "Host"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ronald E. Clements, meanwhile, argues that they are the Babylonians who would wreak havoc on Judah before having events reversed upon themselves (Isaiah 1- 39, NCBC [London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1980], 132-33). Gosse notes that ‫גבור‬ denotes professional soldiers (Isaïe 13,(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)23,126). 6 John D. W. Watts, Isaiah 1- 39, WBC 24 (Waco, TX: Word, 1985), 196.…”

Section: A Divine Military "Host"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nor does he need to, for the appearance of a divine figure bearing weapons before a battle was a good omen in the ancient Near East. 10 The location of 5:13-15 prior to the conquest of Jericho is thus logical-the figure's presence serves as a good omen, a reassurance of divine support for the coming battle.…”

Section: A Divine Military "Host"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While this may not prove beyond doubt that the host of heaven were never conceived of as a divine army, it should demonstrate that caution is needed when dealing with "the host of heaven" and that it is necessary to consider why YHWH's army is not called a host. In the first section, I explore texts that mention a (potentially divine) "host" near a military context and are sometimes claimed to reflect the involvement of the divine army in warfare (Isa 13:2-5, Josh 5:13-15, Dan 8: [10][11][12][13][14]. As I will demonstrate, these texts do not reflect the host of heaven acting in a military manner but are better interpreted as portraying human armies (Isa 13), divine command of a human army (Josh 5) or divine worshipers (Dan 8).…”

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confidence: 99%

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The Host of Heaven and the Divine Army: A Reassessment

Quine¹

2019

Journal of Biblical Literature

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That YHWH was perceived to command a divine army in the heavens brooks no argument. Traditionally, the phrase "host of heaven" ‫השמים(‬ ‫)צבא‬ has been associated with this divine army. In this article I reassess the relevant evidence and argue that the host of heaven are not portrayed in this role. The biblical texts contain numerous references to YHWH's divine army, but these forces are never called a host ‫.)צבא(‬ Rather, the diversity of terminology employed in reference to YHWH's army suggests that it possessed no fixed terminology. It may be that the biblical authors deliberately did not use the term host in order to avoid associating YHWH's divine army too closely with the weaknesses of human armies.That YHWH was believed to command a divine army is not in doubt. The central question of this article, however, is whether "the host of heaven" ‫צבא(‬ ‫)השמים‬ should be identified with this divine army. The term ‫צבא‬ regularly refers to human armies in the biblical corpus, and thus the ‫השמים‬ ‫צבא‬ are commonly associated with the divine army in scholarly literature and popular conception. 1 In this article, however, I will demonstrate that, in the biblical texts, "the host of heaven" are never portrayed as a military force or as acting in a military manner. 2 This article is the result of research undertaken for my doctoral thesis: Cat Quine, "Ritual, Rhetoric, and the Polemic against the Host of Heaven" (PhD diss., University of Nottingham, 2018), funded by Midlands4Cities AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership. Thanks are due to my funders and my supervisor, Prof. Carly L. Crouch, for her comments on earlier drafts of this material.1 E.g., E.

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Section: A Divine Military "Host"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Divine Military "Host"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Divine Military "Host"?mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Host of Heaven and the Divine Army: A Reassessment

Quine¹

2019

Journal of Biblical Literature

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“…31.31-34 and contradicting the view Thesis 2: A Private Debate over Many Centuries There can be no doubt that each of the four books in the Former Prophets began to be composed in the seventh or sixth century BCE. For example, John Van Seters has shown that Joshua's core narrative depends on Assyrian-era conquest accounts, and Na'aman makes an excellent case for viewing part of Joshua 10 as the folk memory of Sennacherib's invasion. 69 Philippe Guillaume suggests that the earliest version of Judges was a collection of stories about legendary 'saviors' set in the decentralized region of the former northern kingdom (when there was no king in Israel). 70 Samuel began its career as a kind of picaresque novel, but has incorporated at least a few details derived from Iron Age II oral traditions and perhaps inscriptions.…”

Section: Thesis 1: Deuteronomic Debate Not Deuteronomistic Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Deuteronomistic History or Deuteronomic Debate? (A Thought Experiment)

Noll¹

2007

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

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This study intends to replace Martin Noth’s Deuteronomistic History hypothesis with an approach that makes better use of all available data. Three thesis statements establish a new paradigm for future research. First, to the extent that they have Deuteronomy in view, the Former Prophets represent not a deuteronomistic ideology, but a Deuteronomic debate. Second, the like-minded intellectuals who produced these scrolls did not intend to create authoritative scripture because their writings were not intended for mass consumption. Third, each book of the Former Prophets presents a distinctive pattern of response to Deuteronomy, usually negative but occasionally positive. In sum, what we have in the Former Prophets is a conversation with Deuteronomy. What we do not have, except for a few late glosses, is deuteronomism.

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Military Coups in Ancient Israel and Their Implications for Conceptions of YHWH’s Divine Army

Quine

2020

Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament

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Military officers who posed a threat to the kings of Israel are readily found throughout the biblical texts. Although officers were often loyal servants who fought battles on behalf of their kings, they could also prove dangerous adversaries if the tide of opinion turned against the monarchs. In this light, it is interesting that YHWH's divine army never mentions any generals or ranks; despite its innumerable numbers, YHWH had sole command. This paper explores whether this portrayal of YHWH's divine army was a natural consequence of the authors' focus on YHWH, or whether it was influenced by an awareness of the threat that military commanders could pose toward their kings.

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Joshua's campaign of Canaan and near eastern historiography

Cited by 11 publications

References 1 publication

The Host of Heaven and the Divine Army: A Reassessment

The Host of Heaven and the Divine Army: A Reassessment

Deuteronomistic History or Deuteronomic Debate? (A Thought Experiment)

Military Coups in Ancient Israel and Their Implications for Conceptions of YHWH’s Divine Army

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