Several scholars have noted that many elements of Joshua 10 imitate Neo-Assyrian conquest accounts, including elements that are clear exaggerations as well as supernatural interventions by the patron deity. Joshua’s campaign in southern Canaan in particular seems to reflect the campaign fought by Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 BCE. Numerous fortified cities were captured and destroyed by the Assyrians at that time, including Lachish, Libnah, Eglon (Tel ‘Eton), and Debir. Bible scholar Nadav Na’aman flatly states “we may conclude that Joshua’s campaign to the Shephelah and the hill country of Judah in vv. 29–39 is a general reflection of Sennacherib’s campaign of 701 BCE.” (see source below, p. 233) Joshua’s hanging of the five kings from trees also finds an exact parallel in how Sennacherib treated the Philistine rulers of Ekron by hanging their corpses from poles. In other words, it’s nationalistic hyperbole that casts Joshua as a great conquerer in the style of the Assyrian kings.
Sources:
- Nadav Na’aman. “The ‘Conquest of Canaan’ in the Book of Joshua and in History”, Canaan in the Second Millennium BCE. 1994.
- K. Lawson Younger, Jr. Ancient Conquest Accounts: A Study in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical History Writing. 1990
- Yigal Levin, “Conquered and Unconquered: Reality and Historiography in the Geography of Joshua”, The Book of Joshua (BETL 250), ed. Ed Noort, 2012.
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