Joshua

J. Gordon McConville &

Stephen N. Williams

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

© 2010 J. Gordon McConville and Stephen N. Williams

All rights reserved

Published 2010 by

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /

P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

www.eerdmans.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McConville, J. G. (J. Gordon)

Joshua / J. Gordon McConville & Stephen N. Williams.

p. cm.—(The Two horizons Old Testament commentary)

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN 978-0-8028-2702-9 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. Joshua—Commentaries. 2. Bible. O.T. Joshua—Theology.

I. Williams, Stephen N. (Stephen Nantlais) II. Title.

BS1295.53.M43 2010

222´.206—dc22

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

This book is fondly dedicated to

Betty McConville

and

Megan Williams

who taught their sons where to look for a light on their path and a lamp for their feet.

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction to Joshua (Gordon McConville)

The Book

The Audience of Joshua

Dating and Historicity

Reading Joshua as Scripture

Joshua and Theology

Commentary on Joshua (Gordon McConville)

Theological Horizons of Joshua (Stephen Williams)

Theology in the Book of Joshua

The Question of the Land

Possession and Loss

The New Testament and the Land

Back to the Land?

The Question of Genocide

The Grim Tale

What and Why?

Did God Really Say …?

Radical Accommodation

Conclusion

Idolatry

At Stake

Practices of the Nations

The Practice of Israel

A Matter of Life and Death

Touching on Beauty

Covenant

Behind the Covenant

Covenant and Privilege

Covenant and Law

Conclusion

God of Miracle and Mystery

Something Rich and Strange

Approaching the Miraculous

What Exactly Are We Told?

The Scientific Question

The Half-Seen World

Joshua and Biblical Theology (Gordon McConville)

Introduction

Key Themes of the Book of Joshua

Joshua and Genesis

Joshua and Exodus

Joshua and Leviticus

Joshua and Numbers

Joshua and Deuteronomy

Joshua and Judges-Kings

Conclusion

Joshua in Biblical Theology

The Problem of Evil and Violence

Joshua-Kings: Chaos, History, and Violence

Joshua, Chaos, and History in the Rest of the Old Testament

Conclusion

A Response to Gordon McConville (Stephen Williams)

Reading Joshua Today (Stephen Williams)

The Question of History

The God of Joshua

God as Personal

God of Power

The Character of God

Divine Lordship

A Response to Stephen Williams (Gordon McConville)

Bibliography

Author Index

Scripture Index