make theological points. So the failure of the people to prosecute a ‘holy war’ takes the nation back towards Egypt on an ‘anti-exodus’ journey.5 The conquest of Transjordan, by contrast, is held up as an example of the way things should be done (Plöger 1967: 20–22). It becomes clear that chapters 1–3 relate to the theological concerns of the book of Deuteronomy, especially ‘holy war’, ‘decision’ and the journey of Israel, rather than to the Deuteronomistic history per se. It should, of course, be