excerpt from Joshua and the Promised Land
by Roy H. May, Jr.
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.
Footnotes:
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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