Historical Books: Joshua–2 Kings

Abstract

Historical Books:Joshua–2 Kings Christopher T. Begg, Sophia A. Magallanes, Fred W. Guyette, John W. Wright, Paul L. Redditt, and David A. Leiter 339. [Joshua] Pekka Pitkänen, "The Use of Legal Tradition in Joshua and the Composition of the Pentateuch and Joshua," OTE 29 (2016) 318-35. P.'s article looks at how Priestly legal materials are used in Joshua. That usage extends to such topics as the allotment of towns of refuge, the Levitical cities, the concept [End Page 85] of centralization of worship (see Josh 22:9-34) and the Passover. P.'s argument is that in Joshua the Priestly material has been incorporated within a Deuteronomic framework and that Joshua can be seen as a document that combines P and D legal materials in a quite distinctive way such that the latter serve as an interpretative context for the former in accordance with the narrative order of the P and D materials in the Pentateuch. In connection with the above argument, P. also addresses various relevant textual issues such as the portrayal of the Passover in Joshua, and, more broadly, questions of theory construction and their bearing on the above topic. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B] 340. [Joshua 1] Marie-France Dion, "L'intelligence intuitive pour vivre selon la Torah: Jos 1 comme relecture et récriture identitaires du Deutéronome," Constructing Religious Identities, 39-54 [see #610]. D. proposes an interpretation of Joshua 1 as a subversive re-reading of Deuteronomy, a discursive reinterpretation placed in the mouth of Yhwh himself. In Joshua 1, Israel's identity is not founded on the promised land or on the conquest nor even on the Law as such, but rather in the presence of Yhwh in the midst of his people, a presence which is grasped by an intuitive understanding (insight) obtained through a meditative study of the Law, which alone can establish a dynamic and living relationship between Israel and its God (one has here the seeds of the whole rabbinic spirituality and ethics which arose after the destruction of the Second Temple). Via her analysis of the structure of the text and of the semantics of the verb śkl (hiphil), translated by her as "acquire an intuitive understanding," D. recontextualizes in the postexilic period the story of Joshua 1, which, narratively speaking, unfolds at the time of the conquest, and which, from a redactional perspective, has hitherto been associated with the work of the Deuteronomist of the royal or exilic periods. [Translated and adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 341. [Joshua 5–11] Ian Douglas Wilson, "Conquest and Form: Narrativity in Joshua 5–11 and Historical Discourse in Ancient Judah," HTR 106 (2013) 309-29. W. proposes that examination of the "narrativity" (i.e., how historical events are narrativized) of Joshua 5–11 helps bridge the gap between literary and historical criticism. W. begins with an overview of scholarship concerning the Deuteronomistic History, especially with regard to the Book of Joshua. In doing so, he presents his own approach to the literary context of Joshua 5–11. Next, he introduces postmodern literary approaches to ancient texts, focusing on Hayden White's notion of "narrativity," i.e., the way in which narratives (form) present the contents of (hi)story. In this section, he preliminarily proposes a literary and historical milieu for Joshua 5–11. Via his "narrativity" approach, W. highlights specific literary features in Joshua 5–11 that point to a postexilic Judean origin.—S.A.M. 342. [Judges] Francis Landy, "Between Centre and Periphery: Space and Gender in the Book of Judges in the Early Second Temple Period," Centres and Peripheries, 133-62 [see #608]. From a literary approach that merges new historicist and psycholanalytic methodologies, L. discusses the Book of Judges, its stories and characters, paying particular attention to the story of the "Levite's Concubine" (Judges 19–21). His analysis of this story stands on its own, but also raises center-periphery (C-P) observations that shed light on the book as a whole. … "The absence of a center for Israelite life in the book, e.g., draws, by necessity...