THE LOST WORLD OF THE ISRAELITE CONQUEST

Covenant, Retribution, and the Fate of the Canaanites

JOHN H. WALTON

J. HARVEY WALTON

An imprint of InterVarsity Press

Downers Grove, Illinois

InterVarsity Press

P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426

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©2017 by John H. Walton and Jonathan H. Walton

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Cover design: David Fassett

Images: © Baker Publishing Group and Dr. James C. Martin, courtesy of the British Museum, London, England

ISBN 978-0-8308-9007-1 (digital)

ISBN 978-0-8308-5184-3 (print)

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

Part 1: Interpretation

Proposition 1: Reading the Bible Consistently Means Reading It as an Ancient Document

Proposition 2: We Should Approach the Problem of the Conquest by Adjusting Our Expectations About What the Bible Is

Proposition 3: The Bible Does Not Define Goodness for Us or Tell Us How to Produce Goodness, but Instead Tells Us About the Goodness God Is Producing

Part 2: The Canaanites Are Not Depicted as Guilty of Sin

Proposition 4: The Bible Teaches Clearly and Consistently That Affliction by God Cannot Be Automatically Attributed to Wrongdoing on the Part of the Victim

Proposition 5: None of the Usual Textual Indicators for Divine Retribution Occur in the Case of the Canaanites

Excursus: The Midianites in Numbers 31

Proposition 6: Genesis 15:16 Does Not Indicate That the Canaanites Were Committing Sin

Proposition 7: Neither the Israelites nor the Canaanites Are Depicted as Stealing the Other’s Rightful Property

Part 3: The Canaanites Are Not Depicted as Guilty of Breaking God’s Law

Proposition 8: The People of the Land Are Not Indicted for Not Following the Stipulations of the Covenant, and Neither Is Israel Expected to Bring Them into the Covenant

Excursus: Demons and Idolatry in the Old Testament

Proposition 9: Ancient Law Codes Such as the One Contained in Leviticus 18–20 Are Not Lists of Rules to Be Obeyed, and Therefore the Canaanites Cannot Be Guilty of Violating Them

Proposition 10: Holiness Is a Status Granted by God; It Is Not Earned Through Moral Performance, and Failing ...