REL 2029 Chapter : Moses Israel
Document Summary
Led by moses"s successor, joshua: go in and encounter canaanites. Have to deal: canaanites quite advanced, maybe more-so than israelites. Fortified cities, etc: israelites come to reside with canaanites as they take and reside in canaanite cities. Cultures blend: god vs. baal: baal becomes appealing to israelites as they settle among. Bad stuff: ritual prostitution; opposes practice of judaism. Hebrews resist (go hebrews!) and attempt to govern: early governance, shofetim judges, or informal tribal chieftains. Shofetim = recognized authorities, loosely recognized; ruled w/ tribal elders and emerging priestly class: many shofetim existed, only a few in scripture, scripture says shofetim hand-chosen by god to protect from threatening foreign power, eventually, judges too weak. Scripture: people want a king, god says okay. Picks saul: david: saul didn"t unify people. David exiled, came back, kicked saul descendant"s butt, took over. Scripture: god picks david to take over after saul, after that kings from david line: circa 900s bce.
