An Atheist Explores the Bible Part 42: The thrilling tale of drawing up borders (pace Mark Knopfler and James Taylor) (Joshua 16-20


Joshua 16-20
The thrilling tale of drawing up borders. Seriously. If you want a more entertaining cartography-based work, try this http://bit.ly/1BKyvLp

 Welcome to another instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Bible version).In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the King James Bible, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. 

For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/2F8f9JT
For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP

And now:


Joshua 16
“And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel”

I guess I was right last chapter, as here we get a little gazetteer of the lands of the tribes of Joseph and Ephraim. Some of the place names I recognise from news stories from the middle east, so I wonder how many are still extant places and if anyone has used these chapters to draw up a geo-political map of post-conquest promised land. What am I saying? Of course they have. After all, I found plenty of technical drawings for building Noah’s ark and the tabernacle.

Also of note is that the Ephraimites aren’t able to fully conquer the Canaanites of Gezer who end up living amongst them as servants. So that’s another group of conquered peoples who don’t end up exterminated or excluded.

Joshua 17
“There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan”

Ech, this chapter was confusing. It’s basically the divisions of land for the tribe of Manasseh, and we get mention again that some of the inheritors in this tribes are women (although I have a feeling that the name of the father is different). I got a bit lost in the lineage here, as I’ve been labouring under the concept that the twelve tribes are derived from Jacob’s twelve sons, but it seems here that Manasseh is a derivative of Joseph, which somewhere I’ve forgotten coming across this information.

There’s some complex borders drawn up between Ephraim and Manasseh, and once again Canaanites are left alive amongst them, and again I have a feeling that this will come back to haunt them.

There’s also some wrangling about the lot of the tribe of Joseph, and Joshua gives them a wooded mountain in the land of the giants but doesn’t offer more. I think. Again I suspect this could foment discontent, perhaps.

Joshua 18
“And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance”

Joshua chides the remaining seven tribes  for not taking their place in the promised land, and sends three surveyors  from each tribe to divide it up into seven portions, which are then appointed by lot. The rest of this tribe is a gazetteer of the lands of the tribes of Benjamin.

Joshua 19
“And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.”

More boundary-drawing. The tribe of Simeon get an allotment from the lands of Judah (which are too big for them). Zebulon, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan are also outlined. The tribe of Dan attack the city of Leshem to improve their coastal territory. Finally the Israelites in turn grant Joshua the city of Timnathserah on Mount Ephraim, and there the land is divided.

Joshua 20
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses”

A tiny little chapter, of only 9 verses, in which the six cities of refuge are appointed. I’ve discussed the concept of the cities of refuge before, I think, so I won’t do so here. Otherwise it’s a continuation of book-keeping.

Well, that was a simple selection. Hardly the most exciting reading, but functional.

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