Semănătorul (The Sower)
October 2023, Volume 4, Number 2
DESTRUCTION AND DISPOSSESSION OF THE CANAANITES IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA
David M Howard, Jr.
ABSRTACT
In Joshua 6:17–21, we encounter the first significant discussion in the book of the related concepts of setting the Canaanites apart for destruction and driving them out of the land. The supposed “genocide” of the Canaanites is one of the most vexing questions in the entire Old Testament and a leading reason that many people dismiss the Old Testament as hopelessly barbaric, so an examination of the issues here is in order.
We will discuss this in five discrete sections: (1) the idea of setting people or things apart to the Lord for destruction; (2) the idea of driving out the Canaanites from the land; (3) the concept of “Yahweh war” (also known as “holy war”); (4) the ethics of Yahweh war; and (5) the New Testament and violence.
KEY WORDS: The Canaanites, inheriting the land, dispossession, holy war, violence.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58892/TS.swr4210