The Skeptics' Overrated Bible on Joshua

as analyzed by Sheila Rangslinger

Some of these items will be covered by articles on the historicity of the Conquest, found here, and will be referenced only with the letters CONQ. Items of the destruction of the Canaanites will be referred here and designated with a CAA. Items having to do with the Land Promise are covered in the series found here and will be designated with a LAND.

1:3-5 God promises to give Joshua all of the land that his "foot shall tread upon." He says that none of the people he encounters will be able to resist him. But later we find that God didn't keep his promise, and that many tribes withstood Joshua's attempt to steal their land. "Steal"? God is the owner and the Canaanites were squatters. LAND.
2:1 Joshua's spies "came into an harlot's house, named Rahab." I wonder what they were doing in a harlot's house. SAB looks for dirt; we note in reply that in the ancient world, harlots and innkeepers were regarded as prime sources for intelligence information. He can get his mind out of the gutter.
2:4-5 Rahab lies to those who were searching for Joshua's spies. Lying is condemned several places in the Bible, but Rahab is reworded by God by being spared during the destruction of Jericho (Jos.6:25). And in James (2:24), Rahab is also praised for lying. So the Bible both condemns and approves of lying. See here.
3:10 Joshua tells the Israelites that God will "without fail" drive out the Canaanites and the Jebusites. But later, the Bible tells us that he could not drive them out. LAND.
3:17 The priests were able to cross the Jordan without getting their feet wet. And the problem, other than SAB's bigotry against miracles, is what?
4:24 Should we fear God? See here.
5:2-3 At God's command, Joshua makes some knives and circumcises "again the children of Israel the second time" (ouch!) at the "hill of the foreskins." And the problem is, what? Many cultures have such rites of initiation; the female form is often abusive, but the male form is not.
6:4-7, 13-15 God's plan for the destruction of Jericho: Have seven priests go before the ark with seven trumpets of ram's horns. Then on the seventh day, they go around the city seven times. Finally, the priests blow a long blast from the ram's horns, all the people shout, and the walls will fall down. Other than the obvious bigotry against miracles, see here. SAB is no military tactician.
6:17 "And the city shall be accursed ... and all that therein, to the Lord: only Rahab the harlot shall live." God explains that Rahab is to be spared since she hid Joshua's spies and lied to those who were searching for them (2:4-5). But why was everyone else killed? Some of them were probably liars too. See above plus CAA.
6:18-19 Keep yourselves from "the accursed thing". Whatever that is. But be sure to save all the silver and gold for God! Yes, and the problem with this is what? SAB apparently thinks God should be satisfied with leftovers from Fred Sanford's place. Israel got to keep the booty after this.
6:21 "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword." CAA, plus this is a matter of ritual purity; see here.
6:24 After killing everyone, "they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein." Only the valuables (silver, gold, brass, and iron) did they keep to "put into the treasury of the house of the Lord." CAA.
6:26 Joshua says that those who try to rebuild Jericho will be accursed by God, and will have to sacrifice both their oldest and their youngest sons in its construction. Well, Jericho still exists today, and is often considered to be the world's oldest, continuously occupied city. Beg pardon, but the prophecy didn't say it would never be rebuilt, and the chap who tried later did lose his sons, on the record.
7:1, 24 Was Achan the son of Carmi or of Zerah? See here.
7:1-13 Joshua and all the elders tear their clothes, fall on their faces, and put dust on their heads. They perform this tantrum because the Israelites lost a battle (God was punishing them because one man (Achan) "took of the accursed thing"). I wonder what "the accursed thing" was? Knowledge, tolerance, kindness perhaps? "Tantrum"? SAB the bigot doesn't recognize ancient behaviors of regret and penitence, and as a double bigot doesn't recognize that such demonstrative behavior was normal for people in the ANE. The ignorant, intolerant hypocrite here is SAB.
7:15 If you happen to see "the accursed thing," don't touch it. If you do, you, your family, and all of your animals must be burned. SAB apparently thinks this is funny; modern translations say "devoted things" in line with ancient concepts of purity (see above).
7:24-25 "And Joshua ... took Achan ... and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his sheep... And all of Israel stoned them with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones." This is because Achan "took of the accursed thing" -- whatever that means. See just above. But why would God require that Achan's sons and daughters (and even his animals) be stoned to death along with him? His family was all in on it, and his animals were ritually impure. Next thing you know otherwise, people will deliver accusations just to try to get your animals for themselves. The Bible doesn't say. Cultural study, however, does. But it does tell us that "the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger" when Achan, his children, and his animals were stoned to death and their dead bodies burned. This story tells us about the loving kindness of the biblical God. This blather tells us SAB still thinks love is mushy sentimentality, not concern for the greater good. In an ancient world where civilization always teetered on the edge, such rigid enforcement was a benefit to the greater good.
8:1-29 In Joshua 8 the Israelites destroy Ai and make it a desolate heap. But archaeology has revealed that Ai was an abandoned city by the time of the Israelites and that this story is nothing more than a myth invented to explain the ruins of an ancient city that the Israelites encountered. See Archaeology and Biblical Accuracy by Farrell Till. No, actually, don't as Till is no expert and no archaeologist. See CONQ above and/or the works of David Rohl.
8:3,12 In verse 3, Joshua takes an army of 30,000 to destroy the city of Ai. But verse 12 says he took only 5,000 men. Um, no -- v. 12 just says he picked 5 out of 30K to take up at a particular place.
8:8 God instructs Joshua to burn the city of Ai. Yes, and the problem is? What? This was ancient warfare. Were they supposed to throw tulips or just trip people and give them noogies as they came out?
8:22-26 Joshua and his army, per God's instructions, slaughter "all the inhabitants of Ai." CAA.
8:28 This verse says that Ai was never again occupied after it was destroyed by Joshua. But Nehemiah (7:32) lists it among the cities of Israel at the time of the Babylonian captivity. D'oh! If Joshua's book was written before the time when Ai was resettled -- hello? It;'s about 800 years between Joshua and Nehemiah, folks!
8:29 Joshua hangs the king of Ai on a tree until evening. Yes, and so what? This was a typical method in that day -- exposure of the body as a status degradation ritual. SAB doesn't like it? Too bad for him, he's a weenie living in a soft bed.
8:31 After Joshua kills all the inhabitants of Ai, burns their city, and hangs their king on a tree, he kills some animals and burns them as a "peace offering" to his warlike God. Ah. Has SAB had any animals killed (at the slaughterhouse) and had a BBQ with them lately?
9:21-27 God curses the Gibeonites to be slaves of the Jews forever. And the problem is? This was again ancient warfare. See here.
10:10-11 God slaughters the Amorites and even chases them "along the way" as they try to escape. Then he sends down huge hailstones and kills even more of them. CAA.
10:12-13 In a divine type of daylight savings time, God makes the sun stand still so that Joshua can get all his killing done before dark. "Is this not written in the book of Jasher?" Beats me. Lots of stuff beats SAB, especially ancient culture. But see here.
10:14, 42 "The Lord fought for Israel." I wonder what kind of weapon he used. Probably the jawbone of an ass. Couldn't have been that, SAB's mouth is still intact. How about miraculous power as a weapon? 10:19 God tells Joshua to "pursue after your enemies and smite the hindmost of them." (Kick their butts.) Don't let any of them escape "for the Lord your God hath delivered them into your hand." CAA and a cheap laugh.
10:24-26 Joshua tells his captains to "put your feet upon the necks of these kings." He says, "thus shall the Lord do to all of your enemies." Then Joshua kills the kings and hangs them on trees. CAA.
10:28-42 Joshua, at God's command, kills everyone and everything that he can find (including babies and little children)-- or, as the Bible puts it, he "utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord commanded." CAA.
11:6-17 God delivers the Hazorites into Joshua's hand, and he knows just what to do with them: he smites them all with (you guessed it) the edge of the sword until "there was not any left to breathe." CAA. 11:9 "And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him: he houghed their horses." CAA plus here.
11:20 "For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly." Notice that God hardens their hearts so that he can have an excuse to kill them. No, He hardens their hearts to make them arrogant and come out to fight Israel, versus staying in their city and costing Israelite lives and resources during a protracted siege. D'oh! See also CAA.
12:4 "And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which as of the remnant of the giants ..." Why is there no record of any of these giants in the archeological record? Maybe the same reason there was no record of the Hitties, other than in the Biblical record -- until we did more searching...
15:20, 33 Here it says that the cities of Eshtaol and Zoreah were given to Judah, but in 19:40-41 the same cities are given to Dan. See here.
15:32, 36 Poor Joshua must have had trouble with math. He says there are 29 cities in verse 32, but he lists 38 in verses 21-32. Then he says there were 14 cities in verse 36, but lists 15 in verses 33-36. Ditto, and entry below in the same link.
15:63 God promised the Israelites that he would drive out all the inhabitants of the lands they pass through. But this verse shows that he didn't keep his promise since he couldn't drive out the Jebusites. LAN.
16:10 "And they drave not out the Canaanites." Once again God fails keep his promise to destroy all the people the Israelites encounter. LAN.
17:12-13 The Israelites, contrary to God's promises to them, could not drive out the Canaanites. LAN.
17:17-18 Joshua tells Manasseh that he will be able to drive out the Canaanites, but it turns out (see Jg.1:27-28) that he couldn't do it. LAN.
18:16 "Which is in the valley of the giants on the north ..." Giants, according to the bible, were quite common in biblical times. Why then is there no archeological evidence for them? Same as above. But keep in mind as well the height of the average ancient was pretty darned low -- 5' 4" was tall. 6' would have been "giant" and you don't even want to know what Shaq would be called...
19:40-41 These verses say that Zorah and Eshtaol were given to Dan, but according to 15:20, 33, they were given to Judah. See above.
21:23-24 Here it says that the cities of Aijalon and Gathrimmon were given to Dan, but in 1 Chr.6:66, 69 they are given to Ephraim. See here. 21:43-45 According to these verses, God fulfilled his promise to give the Israelites all of the lands that they encountered. But in several places the Bible tells us that these promises were not kept. LAN.
22:20 "Did not Achan son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel?" To find out see Jos.7:1-26. But I thought his father was Carmi. Thinking does seem to be SAB's problem. See above for all.
24:19-20 God is jealous and will never forgive you for your sins. And if you worship other gods, "He will turn and do you hurt, and consume you." And the problem with this, is?
24:32 This verse says that Jacob purchased the sepulchre, but Acts 7:16 says that Abraham bought it. See here.