The History of the Ancient Civilizations. Duncker Max
two good hours north-west of Jebus, was the most important. These four cities joined the Hebrews against the ruling Amorites,[671] and combined with them. The craft of the Gibeonites, by which they succeeded in deceiving Joshua about their Canaanitic descent, is intended to explain the sparing of such an important part of the old population in opposition to the pre-dated command of extirpation. And if to this is added the fact that Joshua, when he had once sworn to grant their lives, made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole community, this, no doubt, rests on the fact that at a later time king Saul, "in his zeal for Israel," intended to extirpate all the Gibeonites, and did extirpate part, "though Israel had sworn to them;" that David favoured them, but Solomon made "all that was left of the Amorites, Jebusites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Hivites bond-servants to this day."[672] The king Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem, who, startled by the fall of Jericho and Ai, and "the peace which Gibeon had made with Joshua," brings about the league of the Amorite princes in the south against the invasion of the Hebrews, belongs to the prophetic revision; in the first text the Jerusalem of later times is still the city of the Jebusites. The description of the great battle and of the miracle at Gibeon against the Amorites belongs to the second text. The miracle is founded merely on the poetical expression in the Israelite song of victory, "the sun stood still and the moon stayed till the people had punished their enemies," which meant no more than that the day had been long enough, and the moon had shone long enough, to allow them to achieve a great defeat of the Amorites, and to pursue them a considerable distance. After this day Joshua is said to have taken Hebron, Debir, Libnah, and Lachish, to have conquered the kings of Northern Canaan in a great battle, and to have gained their cities, including Hazor. This narrative with its particulars, according to which the conquest of Canaan took place in consequence of the battle of Gibeon and a second great victory of the Israelites at Lake Merom, belongs to the revision,[673] and is open to serious difficulties. In the first place we are told that Joshua, for a long time, had fought against all the kings; but Hazor, the abode of Jabin, which Joshua had attacked, we find shortly after as again the abode of Jabin. A large number of places which Joshua is said to have taken are subsequently not in the hands of Israel, and both in the Book of Joshua and the Book of Judges mention is made of separate battles of the tribes among which the battle about Hebron, which the tribe of Judah obtained, is the most conspicuous.[674]
It was the view of both texts that the whole land was promised and plighted to the Hebrews. They did not dwell on particulars in order to bring out more definitely and clearly the community of the tribes, the divinely-arranged and righteous division of the land among them. After the war, in the traditional account, had continued about five years, and Joshua was eighty-five years old, he and Eleazar, the son of Aaron, divide by lot the territory gained on this side of the Jordan. The first text here defines the portion of the tribe of Judah with special minuteness, the second dwells upon the importance of the tribe of Ephraim. Last of all, the forty-eight cities, on an average four in each tribe, were set apart for the Levites. Of these forty-eight thirteen are mentioned as allotted to the families of the priests of the tribe of Levi. These lie entirely in the territory of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, while the ark of the covenant evidently was placed at Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim. In the neighbourhood of this sanctuary, therefore, the priests must have had their dwellings. On the other hand, Nob, which in Saul's time was called a city of the priests,[675] was not among these thirteen cities. And among the thirty-five cities which are said to have been given to the Levite ministers, several are found which were not conquered by the Israelites, such as Taanach, Gezer, Jibleam, and Nahalal. Of the thirteen towns of the priests and the six cities of refuge, which were partly cities of the priests and partly of the temple-servants, Hebron, the first-mentioned, was, as has been already remarked, conquered later on, and not by Joshua. These arrangements have arisen out of ideals; there never were Levite cities in Israel, and the right of asylum in the cities of refuge was not recognised till a later time. Even if we set aside the sacerdotal scheme for the distribution of the land, we cannot repose complete confidence in an apparently ancient enumeration of the conquered kings and cities given in the Book of Joshua. Allowing that it belonged to one of the two original texts, it has been altered and interpolated.[676] Cities are mentioned as conquered which are not mentioned in the preceding narrative; others are quoted as subjugated which evidently remained long after in the hand of the Canaanites, like Taanach and Megiddo.[677]
Adopting, therefore, as our principal basis the accounts which are in existence about the battles of the various tribes, we shall have to assume that the course of affairs was somewhat of this kind. The two tribes of Reuben and Gad and the greater part of the tribe of Manasseh preferred to remain on the east of the Jordan. The fertile depression round Jericho naturally formed the first object of attack. Jericho was taken. But the destruction of the city can hardly have been completely carried out; for not very long after we find it again inhabited.[678] That the Hebrews after taking Jericho established themselves at Gilgal, and from this place undertook flying campaigns against the cities of the Amorites, are statements which, as to the fact, need not excite any doubts. The covenant with the neighbouring four cities of the Hivites, which was appealed to even in the time of the kings, proves evidently that these cities united with the Israelites and fought on their side against the Amorites. In order to defend Gibeon against the Amorites, who wished to punish their defection, the great battle against the Amorites took place near this city, which is proved to be a fact by the old song of victory. By this overthrow the power of the Amorites seems to have been broken. Their defence henceforth is confined to each of the cities maintaining itself. But the attacking party also lost their unity. The various tribes of the Israelites attempted to conquer the districts which pleased them; and the campaign of conquest broke up into local conflicts. The tribe of Ephraim, accompanied by the greater part of the remaining tribes, turned northwards to the green heights and shady valleys of Shiloh and Shechem. Here, on "the mountain of Ephraim," the Ephraimites settled; the sacred ark was placed at Shiloh, and here at Timnath-Serah, "which he had sought from the people and had obtained," Joshua took up his abode, and built the city and dwelt therein. Round the fortress of the prince the best part of the tribe must have settled. On the same mountains lay the portion of land which belonged to the priest of the sacred ark, Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron.[679] Near a sanctuary at Shechem, under the oak, the priests and elders of the tribe assembled for the administration of law and justice. The Ephraimitic text represents the sons of Joseph as saying to Joshua that they were a numerous people, and that Mount Ephraim was too narrow for them. Joshua replied, Go up to the forest, and hew out for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaims, if Mount Ephraim is too narrow for you. They answered: The mountain will not be gained by us; there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley at Beth-shean, and in the valley of Jezreel. But Joshua said: The mountain shall belong to thee. It is forest, hew it down, and the outgoings shall belong to thee. Thou shalt drive out the Canaanites.[680]
The tribes of Judah and Simeon turned to the south after the battle of Gibeon, and settled in the mountain land of Hebron; here they succeeded in acquiring a considerable territory. But it was only by slow degrees, through long and severe battles, that the two tribes advanced. The tribe of Judah first overcame the king of Bezek, and took him prisoner. From the king as from the rest of the prisoners the thumbs and the great toes were cut off. Then the king of Bezek said: Three score and ten kings having their thumbs and their great toes cut off gathered what fell from my table; now I have been requited.[681] Of more importance was it that Caleb the son of Jephunneh established himself in Hebron, the old metropolis of the land of the south (