The Conquest of Land and Language
The Conquest of Land and Language
This chapter assesses the conquest described in the first half of the Book of Joshua and shows how the war story forges the collective of Israel. It explains how the Book of Joshua tries to balance a unifying national narrative that enlists disparate groups in a project of centralization and the recognition of the relative independence and legitimacy of the constitutive groups. It points out that while the conquest in the Book of Joshua appears to be successful as a mobilizing story, it also suggests an underlying disunity. The chapter proposes that a competition between a movement of centralized nationalism and a decentralized social order best explains the two distinct sections of Joshua. It also follows the conquest in Joshua and analyzes the dynamics of its representation, ultimately reviewing how the account of total war shapes the confederation of distinct local groups.
Keywords: Book of Joshua, constitutive groups, centralized nationalism, decentralized social order, Israel
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