Texts in Conversation
The same sacred tree at Shechem appears in two pivotal moments of reform. Jacob buries foreign gods under it in Genesis 35, and centuries later Joshua sets up a stone under it after demanding the same rejection of foreign gods.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 35:2
Hebrew Bible
1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Let us go up at once to Bethel. Then I will make an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress and has been with me wherever I went.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession and the rings that were in their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem
Joshua 24:23
Hebrew Bible
23 Joshua said, “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to the Lord God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.” 25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement for the people, and he established rules and regulations for them in Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s sanctuary.
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Notes and References
"... The tradition about casting off idols in Genesis 35 calls to mind the assembly in Shechem that is described in Joshua 24: Jacob's command to the people to rid themselves of idolatry, "Put away the alien gods in your midst" (Genesis 35:2), reminds us of Joshua's words to "put away the alien gods that you have among you" (Joshua 24:23). Both traditions describe an object's burial under the terebinth tree in Shechem: "And Jacob buried them under the terebinth that was near Shechem" (Genesis 35:4), and "[Joshua] took a great stone and set it up under the terebinth in the sacred precinct of the Lord" (Joshua 24:26). ..."
Shinan, Avigdor and Yair Zakovitch
From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends
(p. 116) The Jewish Publication Society, 2012
* 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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