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B. First Campaign: Jericho and AiIn preparation for the invasion Joshua sent two men across the Jordan River to infiltrate Jericho and discover its weaknesses. The spies found an accomplice in Rahab, a Jericho prostitute. She hid them from the king of the city-state of Jericho and in return extracted a pledge of protection from them: When they attacked Jericho, she and her family would be spared.
Before the spies left, Rahab uttered an amazing profession of faith (2:8-13). She, a Canaanite, expressed her belief that Yahweh had providentially given the land of Canaan to the Israelites. The spies brought back an encouraging report, no doubt intentionally in contrast to the report of the ten cynical spies in the wilderness (see Numbers 13-14). Israel was ready to attack.
The priests picked up the ark and left Shittim, heading for the Jordan River. When their feet touched the waters of the Jordan, it stopped flowing and the people crossed over on dry ground. This miracle of the crossing parallels the miracle of crossing the Reed Sea (see Exodus 14), and by association with Moses and this miracle, Joshua's leadership is again validated. Furthermore, these two crossings bracket the early history of the Hebrews: Yahweh delivered them from oppression crossing the Reed Sea on dry ground, and he brought them into the Promised Land crossing the Jordan River on dry ground.
 Figure 6.3 Crossing the Jordan River
Once the entire group had crossed over, a representative from each tribe picked up a stone from the river bottom and carried it to Gilgal. Together they erected a twelve-stone monument to the crossing. One of the historical-theological motifs of the book of Joshua is remembering. The events to be remembered include this miraculous crossing that Yahweh engineered, the victory over Jericho, and especially the making of the covenant. As you read the book of Joshua, note how the Israelites were to remember the work of Yahweh, and how each event was marked with a physical memorial, usually a heap of stones in some distinctive formation. This twelve-stone monument is just the first of many such memorials.
Also at Gilgal Joshua had all the male Israelites circumcised. The core of this circumcision story appears to be an etiology, that is, a story explains a phenomenon well known to the writer and his original readers. In this case, the pile of foreskins left over after the mass circumcision (notice that this is another "heap," hence a memorial) was used to explain the place name Gibeath-haaraloth (5:3), a place presumably in the vicinity of the crossing. The name literally means "Hill of Foreskins." This etiological tale was then taken up by the writer and incorporated into the narrative to make a significant point about the disposition of the Israelites. Those who were circumcised were, of course, the second generation of Israelites since the departure from Egypt. That they were uncircumcised implies that the first generation had been unfaithful in yet another way. They had failed to perpetuate the essential sign of the covenant (see Genesis 17).
Gilgal, the first stopping place in the Promised Land, had additional significance. There the Israelites kept the Passover celebration for the first time since its founding in Egypt the night of the exodus. This was supposed to be a yearly celebration, yet it was the first time it had been observed since leaving Egypt. The text again suggests that the second generation was faithful whereas the first had not been.
Finally, with an unmistakable sign, Yahweh signaled that the Israelites had finally arrived in the land of promise: the manna that had sustained them for forty years in the wilderness ceased. Why? They no longer needed miraculous feeding because the produce of the "land flowing with milk and honey" would amply provide for them.
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| ToC | Reading the Old Testament | . . . Chapter 6. Joshua | ToC |
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