Course Description

Joshua is a challenging book in the contemporary context. Its violence, historical difficulties, and literary oddities cause some to dismiss its contributions to one's spiritual life. However, it holds great potential for Christians, and is an ideal book for reflecting on challenging yet untapped resources in the Old Testament. To that end, this course will explore the intersection of historical, literary, ethical, and theological issues in Joshua that confront Christians today. This course also aims to further student competence in the exegesis and interpretation of the texts of the Old Testament. It presupposes knowledge of the basic steps of exegesis and of the Old Testament (as introduced in BIBL 503).