Peaceful invasion of Canaan

The Bible seems to indicate that there was a military invasion of Palestine when Israel came into Canaan. But a growing number of archaeologists are now contending that such a violent invasion of Canaan by Israel is inconsistent with the archaeological record.

http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=593

Evidently this modern view began to change in the 1930s when John Garstang and William F. Albright excavated at Jericho and Beitin. But the beliefs of some of the people of Judea at the time of Christ also thought military genocide was unacceptable. Certainly Christ would not and he seemed to be in agreement with Moses.

Yet, some still believe that ancient Israel was a theocracy in which God commanded the nation through prophets and gave them power and authority to carry out genocide and defeat what we imagine to be idolatrous peoples. And then we are suppose to believe Jesus changed the policy of God to "forgiveness and grace .... and the rule is nonviolence, gentleness, and love".

According to Matt Flannagan and Paul Copan a two-pronged argument by Nicholas Wolterstorff s that “First, it is quite implausible that those who authorized the final form of the text [of Joshua] were affirming that all Canaanites were exterminated at God’s command. Second, the accounts that appear to say otherwise are utilizing extensive hyperbole and are not intended to be taken literally” (84-85)

They go onto complex arguments suggesting that Joshua was using “hagiographic hyperbole".

But if we just look at the text we see.

Deuteronomy 20:17 But thou shalt utterly destroy^[1] them; [namely], the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

The verb "destroy" is the Hebrew word charam is translated "destroy" 34 times but "utterly" 10 times and "devote" twice. It is also translated "accursed", "consecrate", "forfeited", "flat nose", "utterly to make away", and "slay" at least once.

What if Joshua actually meant "devote" or "consecrate" some of those times we see the translators making his use of the word charam mean "destroy"?

How can a single word mean "to ban, devote" also mean "destroy utterly, completely destroy" or mean "to consecrate, devote" also mean "dedicate for destruction"?

As a noun charam the same word appears as "net" or "accursed thing" 9 times each, just "accursed" and "curse" 4 times each, "cursed thing" and "devoted" 3 times each.

The same noun translated "destruction" twice 1 Kings 20:42 and Zechariah 14:11 is also translated "devoted thing" twice in both Leviticus 27:28 and Numbers 18:14.

And the same word translated "dedicated thing" in Ezekiel 44:29 once is translated "destroyed" in 1 Samuel 15:21 .

The Hebrew word charam as noun and verb is composed of three letters ChetReishMem םרח. If we remove the letter Mem and replace it with the letter Deleth we get the word charad ^[2]

Did we read the Bible wrong in these accounts of genocide?

We hope to explore this view in the future........

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Footnotes

↑
02763 ^םרח^ charam \@khaw-ram’\@ a primitive root ChetReishMem; v; AV-destroy 34, utterly 10, devote 2, accursed 1, consecrate 1, forfeited 1, flat nose 1, utterly to make away 1, slay 1; 52 and is also a noun 02764 ^םרח^ cherem
1) to ban, devote, destroy utterly, completely destroy, dedicate for destruction, exterminate
1a) (Hiphil)
1a1) to prohibit (for common use), ban

1a2) to consecrate, devote, dedicate for destruction

1a3) to exterminate, completely destroy

1b) (Hophal)
1b1) to be put under the ban, be devoted to destruction

1b2) to be devoted, be forfeited

1b3) to be completely destroyed

2) to split, slit, mutilate (a part of the body)
2a) (Qal) to mutilate

2b) (Hiphil) to divide
- ח Chet The Life Force - Dynamic nature of - cause and effect - give life and live.[fence, thread, hedge, chamber...cycle] (Numeric value: 8)
- ר Reish Process of Clarification The "head" or "beginning". Life's revelation. [Head... Person head highest] (Numeric value: 200)
- מ ם Mem Fountain of water, a flow, a fountain of the Divine Wisdom [massive, overpower chaos] (Numeric value: 40)
↑ 02729 ^דרח^ charad \@khaw-rad’\@ a primitive root; v; AV-afraid 20, tremble 13, fray away 2, careful 1, discomfited 1, fray 1, quaked 1; 39
1) to tremble, quake, move about, be afraid, be startled, be terrified
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to tremble, quake (of a mountain)

1a2) to tremble (of people)

1a3) to be anxiously careful

1a4) to go or come trembling (with prep)

1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to cause to tremble

1b2) to drive in terror, rout (an army)

About the author

Brother Gregory
White Rock

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