Pentateuch–Joshua: a settler-colonial document of a supplanting society

This article examines the ideology of Pentateuch–Joshua in comparison with recent social scientific scholarship on settler-colonialism and supplanting societies. It argues that Pentateuch–Joshua can be seen as a legitimating document for ancient settler-colonialism and supplanting

Ancient Israel and Philistia: Settler Colonialism and Ethnocultural Interaction

This essay, concentrating on the Iron Age I period, looks at the possibility of seeing the early Israelite and Philistine societies as two settler colonial societies formed through colonising migration. An important part of the processes of settler colonialism involves intermixing and mutual influence between colonisers and indigenes, and an analysis of these aspects will be included. Some reflection will be made on the interplay of textual and archaeological evidence in trying to construct a settler colonial model. The essay will also include reflection on broad patterns of group identity formation based on considerations of ethnicit

The Use of Priestly Legal Tradition in Joshua and the Composition of the Pentateuch and Joshua

This article looks at how priestly legal materials can be seen to have been used in Joshua. This includes the allotment of towns of refuge, levitical towns, the concept of centralization of worship (Joshua 22:9-34) and the Passover. The argument will be that priestly material has been incorporated in a Deuteronomic framework and that Joshua can be seen as a document that quite uniquely combines Priestly and Deuteronomic legal materials. In this, Deuteronomic legal materials can be considered as encompassing priestly materials from an interpretative perspective, in line with the narrative order of Priestly and Deuteronomic materials in the Pentateuch. Relevant textual issues will also be taken into consideration, such as with the portrayal of the Passover in Joshua. In addition, the article considers issues that relate to theory construction and how they relate to the topic in question

Ancient Israel and settler colonialism

This essay looks at ancient Israel as a settler colonial society. After an introductory paragraph that describes the significance of the study of ancient Israel for the study of settler colonialism, it summarises various approaches to the study of the history of ancient Israel. It then presents evidence for seeing the Israelite documents and early history in settler colonial terms. Finally, it looks at some aspects of decolonisation of the biblical narrative based on acknowledging at least the very possibility of a settler colonial nature of early Israel

Central sanctuary and the centralization of worship in ancient Israel from the settlement to the building of Solomon's Temple : A historical and theological study of the biblical evidence in it's archaeological and ancient near eastern context.

This thesis examines the history and theology of the centralization of worship. Part I examines the theology of the central sanctuary and local sanctuaries, especially from the standpoint of divine presence. Part II carries out an exegesis of the centralizing altar laws of the Pentateuch, together with an examination of their narrative and conceptual relationship to the noncentralizing altar laws of the Pentateuch. Part III examines the history of the centralization of worship from the settlement to the building of Solomon's temple. The study is contextualized by an examination of relevant archaeological and ancient Near Eastern material. Emphasis is placed on the dating of the various biblical materials under investigation, and their overall rhetorical concerns. It is argued that as well as being present in heaven, Yahweh is present on earth continuously at the ark at the central sanctuary and intermittently at local altars. Priestly material argues for the importance of the central sanctuary, but also allows local altars. Deuteronomy envisages centralization under conditions of peace and complete settlement, but otherwise allows local altars. During the earliest days of the settlement, there was no centralization requirement. In the last days of Joshua, Shiloh became the place where Yahweh's name dwelt and centralization was implemented. During the Judges period, centralization was not possible because of the disturbed situation. With the loss of the ark to the Philistines at Aphek, Shiloh was rejected as the chosen place, and there was no place in which Yahweh's na me dwelt until the building of Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. The history and theology of the centralization of worship are thus compatible with each other within the period discussed, whatever the date and provenance of the relevant biblical material. However, the history of the central sanctuary and the literary form and rhetorical concerns of the book of Joshua suggest that it and the sources it uses, such as Deuteronomy, may have been written before the disaster of Aphek and the rejection of Shiloh

P/H and D in Joshua 22,9-34

This paper examines Joshua 22,9-34, a passage where the Transjordanians are potentially violating the law on centralization of worship. It builds on the author’s previous work that relates to the passage (cf. Central; Reading). Joshua 22,9-34 has generally been recognised to attest priestly features, and Noth’s classic assertion was that Joshua 22,9-34 is an isolated priestly addition in the book of Joshua. However, one may argue that the passage also exhibits Deuteronomic features and ties back to the rest of the Deuteronomic book of Joshua, in addition to having links with the book of Numbers, including Numbers 32 as a prime case. The paper will then suggest that, from the perspective of legal interpretation, Joshua 22,9-34 can be plausibly read as a priestly passage that has been carefully integrated in the Deuteronomic book of Joshua. More specifically, the paper will suggest that the passage in the context of the book of Joshua and Genesis-Joshua as a whole can be very plausibly seen as interpreting Pentateuchal legal materials based on the idea that centralization of worship in Deuteronomy (esp. Deut 12) is a continuation in the land of the concept of centralization in the wilderness in priestly material (Lev 17)

Reading Genesis–Joshua as a Unified Document from an Early Date: A Settler Colonial Perspective

This essay proposes based on literary-compositional considerations how two authors working together could have composed Genesis–Joshua. After this, it suggests that Genesis–Joshua can be seen to reflect a sociopolitical transformation of ancient Canaanite societies into an Israelite one(s) through a process that can be labeled as ancient settler colonialism, and that the document could have been written concomitantly. Subsequently, relevant ancient Near Eastern and archaeological evidence will be considered, suggesting compatibility with the idea that Genesis–Joshua has reused and readapted existing traditions together with creative narrative retelling for its socio-political purposes, and that this could have already taken place from the late second millennium Bce on. The essay concludes by drawing out some explicit contemporary implications of such a reading of Genesis–Joshua

Humans and the fourth industrial revolution: Reading the world and the canonical word

This essay will offer considerations for contextualising Christianity as a religion in the changing societal setting influenced and even driven by new technological developments in the early third millennium AD, especially as they relate to the so-called fourth industrial revolution. The essay will include an analysis of a variety of factors that contribute to the accompanying global environment, with select comments on Asia and Korea as part of it. The discussion starts by outlining the overall developmental trajectory of human societies in the context of world history since the move from hunting and gathering to agrarian societies and the beginning of civilization. In this connection, the role of developing societal structures, including states and empires, is of paramount significance to consider, with the fourth industrial revolution standing in a continuum of this development. The essay then points out how the canonical scriptures were written in the context of such social structures, even if the societies known to and experienced by the biblical authors were less advanced technologically than ones today. An outline of Christianity’s interaction with society especially in Christendom times and the move towards post-Christendom and its significance add to the considerations. The essay then moves towards formulating a set of practical oriented suggestions on how Christianity as a religion and individuals identifying with Christianity could best situate themselves within their societal contexts and interact with them in the contemporary world. On the whole, the essay argues in line with the position that, rooted in a careful interaction with the canonical writings, it is vital for Christians to fully deliberate on and seek to engage with the world at the global level in addition to addressing local issues. In this, striving for justice and equality with Jesus’s commandment of loving one’s neighbour as oneself at the forefront offers a key ethical principle and paradigmatic model of action, to be accompanied with critical analysis of past successes and failures and an openness towards innovation in the future

Ancient Israelite population economy: ger, toshav, nakhri and karat as settler colonial categories

This paper looks in detail at the often studied categories for aliens and foreigners, together with the karat (“cutting off from his people”) command in the Pentateuchal legal materials from the perspective of ancient Israel as a settler society. In conversation with previous approaches to these categories, the paper explores how relating them to concepts of a population economy in settler colonial societies can help better understand the text. Such issues as the tripartite division to a settler community, indigenous and exogenous others are considered, and comparisons with other corresponding societies are made as part of the paper. The paper then also looks at how these categories could fit in with various potential settings in ancient Israel, including pre-exilic and postexilic times