Texts in Conversation
Joshua 24 challenges the people to choose between ancestral gods and the gods of the Amorites, language later echoed in Judges 6 where the land of the Amorites again represents Canaan. The repetition shows how “Amorite” functioned as a generic term for the land’s earlier inhabitants.
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Joshua 24:15
Hebrew Bible
13 I gave you a land in which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build, and you are eating the produce of vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’ 14 “Now obey the Lord and worship him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. 15 If you have no desire to worship the Lord, then choose today whom you will worship, whether it be the gods whom your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family will worship the Lord.” 16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery in the land of Egypt and performed these awesome miracles before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Judges 6:10
Hebrew Bible
8 the Lord sent a prophet to the Israelites. He said to them, “This is what the Lord God of Israel has said: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and took you out of that place of slavery. 9 I rescued you from Egypt’s power and from the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them out before you and gave their land to you. 10 I said to you, “I am the Lord your God! Do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living.” But you have disobeyed me.’” 11 The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared and said to him, “The Lord is with you, courageous warrior!”
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The generational “forty years” of wilderness wandering in Amos 2:10 and 5:25 is also formulaic. Compare with Exodus 16:35; Numbers 14:33–34; 32:13; Deuteronomy 2:7; 8:2–4; 29:4; Joshua 5:6; 14:7; Nehemiah 9:21; Psalm 95:10; and the references to the “40th year” of wandering in Numbers 33:38; Deuteronomy 1:3. The “land of the Amorites” apparently represents the land of Canaan, with “Amorite” functioning as a generic term for pre-Israelite inhabitants. See Genesis 15:7–21 and particularly the reference in verse 16 to the “iniquity of the Amorites,” whose land will be given to Abram’s descendants. See also the “land of the Amorites” in Joshua 24:15; Judges 6:10 ..."
Dearman, J. Andrew
"Some Observations on the Exodus and Wilderness Wandering Traditions in the Books of Amos and Micah" in Hoffmeier, James Karl, and James Karl Hoffmeier (eds.) Did I Not Bring Israel out of Egypt? Biblical, Archaeological, and Egyptological Perspectives on the Exodus Narratives
(pp. 255-267) Eisenbrauns, 2016
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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