I would recommend reading some archaeology, Chad.
These tales which were written down reflect later realities. The "Israelites" are supposed to have fought with Arad, Edom and Moab but these states did not come into existence until the Arabian trade under the Assyrians in the 8th-7th centuries BC.
Joshua is supposed to have destroyed Ai and Jericho as part of his "campaign" but Ai was not occupied from the MBA to the Iron Age and even then it was a piddling shithole. Jericho was destroyed by an earthquake c 1,500 BC and, as archaeologist Bill Dever put it, "the real miracle of Joshua was that he destroyed a city that wasn't there."
Hazor and Bethel were destroyed in the 13th century. Dor and Megiddo in the 12th. Lachish has destruction layers in BOTH the 13th and 12th centuries!
Jerusalem, Debir and Hebron show no evidence of destruction at all.
The "Israelites" were directed to avoid the northern route where the Philistines were because their god...who had just allegedly kicked the Egyptian's asses...was too much of a pussy to save them from the Philistines. But the Philistines did not even arrive in the region until c 1150 BC as part of the Sea people migration and probably had a hand in some of the 12th century destuctions noted above.
This stuff never happened.
I recommend Dever's "Who were the early Israelites and where did they come from" ( Dever likes long titles!) or israel Finkelstein's "The Bible Unearthed."
These tales which were written down reflect later realities. The "Israelites" are supposed to have fought with Arad, Edom and Moab but these states did not come into existence until the Arabian trade under the Assyrians in the 8th-7th centuries BC.
Joshua is supposed to have destroyed Ai and Jericho as part of his "campaign" but Ai was not occupied from the MBA to the Iron Age and even then it was a piddling shithole. Jericho was destroyed by an earthquake c 1,500 BC and, as archaeologist Bill Dever put it, "the real miracle of Joshua was that he destroyed a city that wasn't there."
Hazor and Bethel were destroyed in the 13th century. Dor and Megiddo in the 12th. Lachish has destruction layers in BOTH the 13th and 12th centuries!
Jerusalem, Debir and Hebron show no evidence of destruction at all.
The "Israelites" were directed to avoid the northern route where the Philistines were because their god...who had just allegedly kicked the Egyptian's asses...was too much of a pussy to save them from the Philistines. But the Philistines did not even arrive in the region until c 1150 BC as part of the Sea people migration and probably had a hand in some of the 12th century destuctions noted above.
This stuff never happened.
I recommend Dever's "Who were the early Israelites and where did they come from" ( Dever likes long titles!) or israel Finkelstein's "The Bible Unearthed."
