Problematize the Exodus-Liberation-Settlement Motif from the Adivasi Perspective

Joshua 7:1-9 outlines the initial failed attack on Ai. One possible reading is to say that the omission of YHWH’s voice in the attack is the reason that they were defeated. While there is some truth that can be extracted from this, I think it’s more beneficial to note that the text attributes this failure to the poor military advice given to Joshua (Joshua 7:3). In addition, it is also helpful to note the lack of reason given for the Israelites needing to take on Ai. Unlike the two occurrences with Moses that I have already mentioned, Ai posed to no threat to the Israelites. Unlike Jericho, YHWH gave no command regarding whether Ai was to be attacked or not. Verses 6-10 show Joshua to fall down and inquire of the Lord (which is something I’m

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek. The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield. When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did Hashem let us get defeat ? Let us bring the ark of Hasham covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us  of our enemies.”

In opening a defense of the conquest of Canaan we must look into the Israelites history, and see how God had formed them, and why they felt called to conquer the inhabitants of Canaan. According to the Old Testament scripture the land of Canaan had been promised by the Creator of the Universe to the Israelites in Genesis 17:8, in which God tells Abraham the father of the nation Israel, “And I will give

* Led Israelites into Promise land. * Joshua battled the Amalekites. * Captured the city of Jericho.

Joshua was born a slave in Egypt but he was selected to follow Moses as the leader of Israel. He was the man God used to fulfill His promise regarding the land of Canaan. Joshua had been Moses' Chief of Staff. He assisted him, ministered to him, and led the armies into battle. He watched and learned as God led Moses. He experienced the

Unfortunately, though the Israelites were successful in their attempts to flee, the Joad's never really found what they could consider to be a Promised Land. Though they were able to improve on their situation, they were never lucky enough to really satisfy their dreams of living a comfortable life.

In Israel and Judah warfare would be an integral part for the Jewish to reclaim their homelands. With warfare came several brutalities that would be illustrated in the book of Deuteronomy and Joshua. In the book of Deuteronomy, it describes the killings of entire populations in Gad after their capture, plunder the towns, and took whatever resources they had. This was all done with the support of God. In the book of Joshua, has the theme of rule and capture. It describes the brutalities that took place in capturing Jericho. Joshua would commit atrocities that involved exterminating everything in the city by sword. Both books, highlights the atrocities needed to reclaim their holy land. There is no evidence that there is any regulation on their warfare. Soon Israel would be taken over by the

God wanted to Hebrews to be let free from Egypt. To accomplish this God sent ten plagues to Egypt. At this time Moses was the leader of the Hebrews. Moses led his people out of Egypt and into the desert. They wondered the desert for 40 years until they found the land that God had promised them. Joshua led the Hebrews to take over the land from the people who lived there before the Hebrews were

The Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe who built and lived in Jerusalem prior to its invasion by King David. The Books of Kings state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus before this event. According to some biblical chronologies, the city was overthrown by King David in 1003 BC or according to other sources 869 BC. The Hebrew Bible describes the Jebusites as living in the mountains, besides Jerusalem. (Numbers 13:29, Joshua 11:3) In Exodus, the 'good and large land, flowing with milk and honey' which was promised to Moses as the future home of the distressed Hebrew people included the land of the Jebusites (Exodus 3:8). According to the Book of Joshua, Adonizedek led an alliance of Jebusites, and the tribes from the neighboring cities of Jarmut, Lachish, Eglon and Hebron against Joshua, (Joshua 10:1-3) but was soundly defeated, and killed.

Many ran, especially those who lived in the hills, although they need not fear—Nebuchadnezzar only had need for the skilled and the wealthy. Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, and a number of his followers were some of the people who attempted to flee from the threat of Babylon. Zedekiah and his sons were captured in Jericho, and were brought back to Babylonian territory. Once there, Nebuchadnezzar had Zedekiah’s sons killed in plain sight of the king, who was then summarily blinded in order to ensure that the sight of his dead sons would be the one forever in his mind. Meanwhile, Jerusalem was successfully conquered by the Babylonians, who destroyed it and the artifacts within. Thus, the Exodus, or the Babylonian Captivity,

The ways that the Navajo and Judeo-Christians view the story of creation are starkly different, and they shed light onto the cultural differences between the two groups. Many things can be inferred from the ways these tales differ, but in this paper I will be analyzing the different things these stories imply about human nature. The Judeo-Christian story of Genesis describes humans as something close to the divine and different in nature from the beings around them. They are the center of the story, and the events they run into are about their relationship with their own humanity. The Navajo story of The Emergence treats humanity as on the same level as the rest of nature, and their struggle is one with the world around them.

They all fought for a different reason, not a common goal. The initial objective was to save their fellow Christians and regain Jerusalem in God's name, but there were also some other agendas happening in the background. According to Source 1-4, they all fought for not the same goal.

Yahweh is no longer able to protect them because they have broken their covenant with the living God. According to one dictionary Suzerain and Vassal relationship is described as “A form of international relationship where one nation (a vassal) pays tribute to and pledges allegiance to another nation (the suzerain).” This kind of Suzerain-vassal treat is very common in the ANE. “The framework of the Sinai covenant has significant affinities with suzerain-vassal treaties from the ancient Near East, specifically, the Hittite treaties of the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BCE and the Assyrian treaties of the seventh and sixth centuries BCE. Due to breaking the Suzerain-Vassal relationship by Hezekiah, Sennacherib sends a campaign against Judah. Lawson and Younger mentions that “The cuneiform text summarizes the campaign of Sennacherib in 701 BCE, undertaken to quell the revolt of vassal states in the West which had broken out upon the death of Sargon four years earlier.” Breaking the treaty is a serious offense to the suzerain and consider as a “revolt” and brought consequences upon the vassal. Not only that, the vassals faced curses against them for breaking the treaty or covenant. And Hezekiah, the King of Judah relies on Egypt for help and while under suzerain-vassal relationship. (2 Kgs 18:20) Kitchen mentions “Sennacherib held a dunbar or rally of loyal vassals, who dutifully brought or sent their tribute,

confusion among the enemy; in which Joshua sung and used trumpets to destroy the great city of Jericho; another example of faith winning over evil includes David fighting Goliath with a slingshot. All such examples taught us lessons that there is no way we can win over evil without the help of God.

Chapter ten begins with the revolt of Rehoboam’s reign. Israel rebels against the house of David when Rehoboam chooses to disregard the elders who had served Solomon and instead enforces a stricter rule on the people. Although the split between Israel and Judah is not explicitly made official, chapter 11 foreshadows the split as it profiles the emergence of a rival leader in the form of Jeroboam. The chapter talks about how Rehoboam gains power through building up his family and building up cities in preparation for fighting against the rest of Israel. Rehoboam abandons the law of the Lord and is attacked by the king of Egypt. God had originally intended to use Egypt to completely destroy Israel, but since the people humbled themselves, Egypt took the treasures in the Temple and subjected the people to servanthood. Rehoboam continued to reign and faced continual warfare with Jeroboam, the king of Israel. Chapter 13 talks about how his son Abijah succeeded him as the king of Judah. Abijah inherited the animosity with Jeroboam as chapter 13 narrates a fierce battle in which Abijah wins because Judah cried out to the Lord. Judah saw a time of good fortune as the son who succeeded Abijah, Asa, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. After ten years of peace and prosperity, Asa’s army defeated Cushite forces in a feat that was clearly the work of the Lord. In Chapter 15 the Lord spoke to Asa through Azariah to encourage him to keep seeking the Lord, so Asa initiated a series of major reforms to reduce the pagan cultures in Judah. However, in chapter 16 Asa makes an alliance with the king of Aram to retaliate against Baasha king of Israel. God was angered that Asa did not look to the Lord for help first. Asa was angered at this messenger, so he sent the messenger to prison and brutally oppressed some of the people. Asa stopped seeking the Lord and was punished with a