Introduction
Introduction
Endless War
This chapter shows the trajectory of biblical interpretation that leads to Democrats, Iranians, and Palestinians alike in figuring the dreaded and fearful “them” that is to be opposed at all turns. It tells the story of how the biblical figure of Joshua entered modern political life. It helps understand specific moments like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress or the contrasting notion that Barack Obama's election indicated the onset of the Joshua Generation by moving through the Book of Joshua itself, siting alternate readings of the biblical text, and pointing out the history of its Israeli interpretation. The chapter analyzes the political currency of the idea of a Promised Land. As it provides a cultural genealogy of the term “occupation” in Hebrew, the chapter also assesses the rhetoric of war and its relationship to social reality.
Keywords: biblical text, biblical figure, Book of Joshua, Benjamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama, Promised Land, social reality
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