Intro
I have already posted two writings about “Joshua and Deuteronomy.” The primary concerns of the posts were that ① Deuteronomy is different from the first four books (Gen – Num) of the Pentateuch, and ② Joshua, as a part of the Deuteronomistic History(DH), is related to Deuteronomy.
There is one last item that I want to add here, but the general direction of this post is different because I am going to talk about Joshua’s connection with the four books (Gen – Num), not just Deuteronomy. Martin Noth understood Joshua, along with Judges, Samuel, and Kings, as “Deuteronomistic,” and many scholars still use the term “Deuteronomistic History” though they criticize or modify Noth’s ideas in a variety of ways. Consequently, the term “Deuteronomistic” or “Deuteronomistic History” can mislead you to think Joshua and other DH books are exclusively related to Deuteronomy. But that is not true. The books of DH are not homophonic but polyphonic. To understand Joshua (or the books of DH) properly, therefore, we must try to see a larger picture of the text instead of seeing its immediate context. Let me give you three simple examples of Joshua’s connection with Gen – Num.
Continue reading “Joshua and Deuteronomy (3)”