Authorship of the Book of Joshua
excerpt from Joshua and the Promised Land
by Roy H. May, Jr.
This story about the entry into the Promised Land, however, was written years afterwards. It is not an eyewitness account. It was written in the seventh and sixth centuries before Christ. The events of those centuries shaped the Book of Joshua. (See the Time Line, Appendix A, page 103.)
The first edition was written in a happy time when the future seemed bright. This was the period of King Josiah 640-609 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era). He followed the especially repressive reign of King Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-17). King Josiah, however "did what was right in the sight of the Lord" (2 Kings 22:2). During his reign, in 621 B.C.E., the Book of Deuteronomy was discovered in the wall of the Temple (2 Kings 22:3-20). King Josiah began a series of reforms based on Deuteronomy. He also forthrightly asserted Judah's independence from Assyria. The Assyrians had overthrown the northern Kingdom of Israel in the previous century and still exercised much influence in the region. King Josiah wanted to reunite the northern Kingdom of Israel with his own southern Kingdom of Judah. Jerusalem would be the center of cultural and religious life.(3) (Maps of these two kingdoms are found in Appendices B and C, pages 105-106.)
These efforts were supported by reformers who based their national renewal movement on the Book of Deuteronomy. They were the intellectuals behind King Josiah's reforms. The renewal movement flourished. It exercised great influence on court and national life. For this renewal movement, King Josiah and the religious and political reforms he had undertaken based on the Book of Deuteronomy were almost ideal. From the perspective of the renewal movement, the king was a national leader who governed faithfully according to the covenant. King Josiah, the reformers hoped, represented a new beginning for the nation. He would be the example for future kings.
During this time, the renewal movement produced a first edition of the Book of Joshua. Its purpose was to support King Josiah and so to emphasize, the qualities of God-fearing leadership. In the story of the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua was modeled after King Josiah. This reinforced the reformers' ideas about faithful leadership. (4)
However, the geopolitical situation changed. In 609 B.C.E., King Josiah was defeated and killed by the Egyptians at the battle of Meggido (2 Kings 23:29-30). Judah came under Egyptian control. The golden era of King Josiah came to an abrupt end. A few years later, in 605 B.C.E., the Babylonians under the command of Nebuchadnezzar decisively defeated the Egyptians (2 Kings 24:1-7). Now the Babylonians became the unquestioned rulers of the region that included Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:10-17). This led to the expulsion of some of Jerusalem's leading citizens and skilled workers. Judah's kings of this period were Nebuchadnezzar's puppets who rolled back Josiah's reforms. From the viewpoint of the renewal movement reformers, these kings "sinned against the Lord." They believed Yahweh was punishing Judah for unfaithfulness. After King Zedekiah rebelled in 586 B.C.E., Nebuchadnezzar's army occupied Jerusalem. It destroyed the Temple. The remaining wealthy Hebrews of Judah and Jerusalem were forced into Babylonian Exile (2 Kings 25:1-21). For the people of Judah, it was a time of hopelessness and despair. It seemed that history had come to an end. God must have abandoned the covenant.
It was this disheartening political and religious situation that confronted the reformers. They believed neither that all was lost, nor that Yahweh had abandoned Israel! They were convinced that corruption and unfaithfulness on the part of their own kings, court officials, and leading citizens had led to their nation's being overrun by a foreign power. They wanted to incite resistance to the Babylonians. They wanted to incite resistance to the Babylonians. The especially sought to instill a sense of hope in the people. They wanted to see a future national political and moral order faithful to Yahweh. They were looking to the future when there seemed to be no future!
During (some scholars believe just before) the Exile, the final edition of the Book of Joshua was prepared by these reformers. This is the version in our Bible today Although it was a time of national despair, the leadership qualities of Joshua (like former King Josiah)--faithfulness to the covenant, and Yahweh as a mighty warrior--all served to inspire an oppressed people. (5)
The members of this renewal movement were known as the "Deuteronomistic Historians" because the Book of Deuteronomy expressed their theology and concerns about national life. They viewed the theology of the Book of Deuteronomy as the ideology of national salvation. They interpreted Israelite history in the framework of that book.
Scholars believe this group wrote the books from Joshua through 2 Kings (excepting Ruth). These books reflect so many similarities in literary style and ideas that a common editor seems very likely. They form what scholars call "Deuteronomistic History." The Book of Joshua is part of that Deuteronomistic historical framework. So are the books of Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. These politico-religious historians wrote history in the interest of religious renewal and national salvation.
Of course we don't know exactly when or where the Book of Joshua was written, or the names of its authors or editors. The Book of Joshua may have originally been written independently of the other books. Since Jerusalem seems so important to these books, it is believed to be the location of the writers. However, the editor of the Book of Joshua was also very familiar with the traditions of the former northern Kingdom of Israel. Indeed, much of the content of the Book of Joshua comes from northern traditions.
The exact date of the writing is also unknown. We know that the whole Deuteronomistic historical work (Joshua through 2 Kings) was completed after 561 B.C.E. during the Exile. That is the date of the last event recorded in 2 Kings (the release from prison of Judah's King Jehoiachin). Since these books probably had different authors but a later common editor, it is probable that the final edition of the Book of Joshua was prepared during the Exile. What seems dear is that the invasion by foreign powers and the internal political and religious turbulence of this time period provoked the writing of the final edition of the Book of Joshua.
The Deuteronomistic Historians
Since the Book of Joshua was edited by the Deuteronomistic Historians we need to know who they were. The movement's origins were in the former northern Kingdom of Israel where anti-king and anti-city feelings as well as social justice issues, had been especially strong. These concerns were expressed by the eighth century B.C.E. prophets Amos and Hosea in the north, and Isaiah and Micah in the south. When the Kingdom of Israel was overrun by the Assyrians (722 B.C.E.), the Deuteronomistic Historians fled south. For nearly a century, they re-worked their theology from Judah. The kings of this period were corrupt. King Manasseh (687-642 B.C.E.) was especially dictatorial and repressive. The Deuteronomistic Historians probably had to work secretly. However, when Josiah became king (640 B.C.E.), they became publicly prominent. During this period the prophet Jeremiah emerged. He continued to be a public figure until after the final fall of Jerusalem (587 B.C.E.). He was very concerned for the "poor of the land." His work emphasized social justice and religious reform. Jeremiah was important in Deuteronomistic circles. His prophetic work contains many of the movement's ideas. Jeremiah's deuteronomic themes include denunciation of Judah's unfaithfulness and idolatry, his prophecy of deserved punishment, his emphasis on the covenant and interpretation of history as divinely guided. Following the fall of Jerusalem, these historians edited his work. (6) Babylonian imperialism and other changing political fortunes probably drove the Deuteronomistic movement into secrecy. However, it was not stamped out. During the Exile its members continued to work by writing the history of the Hebrew people.
Foototes:
3. On the reign of King Josiah, see Robert Althann, "Josiah," in David Noel Freedman, ed., The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 3 (New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Auckland: Doubleday, 1992), pp. 1015-1028. (return to text)
4. Concerning editions of the Book of Joshua, see Robert G. Boling, Joshua, A New Translation with Notes and Commentary, The Anchor Bible (Garden City and New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. 1982), pp. 132-134. (return to text)
5. Some of these time period differences are readily apparent. For example, it is evident that Joshua 3-12, the great battle narratives, are totally different from Joshua 13-24. Scholars believe that the origins of these chapters are in different times. They reflect different historical situations. Thus Joshua 3-12 reflects a time such as that of Josiah (when Judah was strong and hoped to restore its lost territory) whereas Joshua 24, for example, suggests a time of uncertainty (such ad the coming or actual exile). Scholars also base their conclusions on the usage of certain names and places that are associated with specific periods, and on careful, highly technical analysis of the style and vocabulary utilized in the various sections. See Boling, Joshua, pp. 132-136. (Full reference appears in note 4.) (return to text)
6. Norman K. Gottwald, The Hebrew Bible: A Socio-Literary Introduction (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), pp. 396-398. (return to text)
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