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History, Religion, and Ideology: the Caleb Tradition

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2014

James W. Flanagan
James W. Flanagan*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan
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Abstract

The interaction among religion, ideology, and history must be kept in mind if one is to understand any of these or their role in society. Within the Hebrew Bible, the Caleb Tradition illustrates how religion and politics influenced several writers' interpretations of early Judahite and Israelite history, and in turn, how their histories were employed for religious and political ends. By recognizing these relationships, the reader is able to unravel one of the most complicated periods in Israel's history, which has been obscured by early historians-politicians-theologians. The study also suggests problems that may be expected when a biblical basis is proposed for modern society.

Type
Articles
Information
Horizons , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , Fall 1976 , pp. 175 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © The College Theology Society 1976

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References

1 The connections have been the subject of recent study within the field of ancient history and elsewhere. As is apparent in the introduction here, I am especially indebted to the work of my colleague, George E. Mendenhall. See his The Tenth Generation (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1973), pp. 188–197Google Scholar; “The Conflict Between Value Systems and Social Control,” Unity and Diversity, eds. Goedicke, H. and Roberts, J. J. M. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1975), pp. 169–180Google Scholar; “The Ancient in the Modern—and Vice Versa,” Michigan Oriental Studies in Honor of George G. Cameron, ed. Orlin, L. (Ann Arbor: Near Eastern Studies, University of Michigan, 1976), pp. 227–253Google Scholar.

2 Compare the contrasts between values and interests in Mendenhall, “Values Systems,” pp. 176-178.

3 Weippert, Manfred, “Fragen des Israelitischen Geschichtsbewusstseins,” Vetus Testamentum 23 (1973), p. 416Google Scholar; McKenzie, John L..The World of the Judges (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1966), pp. 82–84Google Scholar. The standard theories regarding the Israelite settlement are summarized by Weippert, Manfred, The Settlement of the Israelite Tribes in Palestine (SBT 2/21; London: SCM, 1971), pp. 127–145Google Scholar.

4 The fullest literary criticism has been done by Roland De Vaux and Walter Beltz. They agree substantially on the assignment of sources, and each finds isolated examples of E material, but these are so scarce that they can hardly constitute more than fragments or redactions. The narrative material may be divided as follows: J (Numbers 13:17b-20, 22-24, 27-31; 14:4, 11-25, 39-45); P (13:1-17a, 21, 25-26, 32-33; 14:1-3, 5-10, 26-38); and later redactions (14:11-23a and 14:39-45). See De Vaux, Roland, “The Settlement of the Israelites in Southern Palestine and the Origins of the Tribe of Judah,” Translating and Understanding the Old Testament, ed. Frank, Harry T. and Reed, William L. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1970), pp. 108–134Google Scholar; Beltz, Walter, Die Kaleb-Traditionen im Alten Testament (BZAW 98; Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1974), 11–46Google Scholar; Noth, Martin, Numbers (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1968), pp. 101–102Google Scholar; Noth, Martin, A History of Pentateuchal Traditions (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1972), pp. 19, 32Google Scholar; Wagner, S., “Die Kundschafterges-chichten im Alten Testament,” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1964), pp. 255–269CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

5 Noth, , Numbers, p. 110Google Scholar.

6 Moses is missing in the Samaritan Pentateuch, vs. 17a. WHWH is the only divine epithet used.

7 The people with Caleb and the inhabitants of the land are 'am. Israel in 13:31 is a gloss in parallel with 14:39 and in 13:24 is an editorial expansion.

8 Noth, (Tradition, pp. 133, 372)Google Scholar asserts that there is a local Kenizzite-Calebite tradition found in Joshua 15:13-19 ( =Judges 1:10-15) which is not found in the Pentateuch. See Burney, C. F., The Book of Judges (1918; reprint, New York: KTAV, 1970), pp. 45–52Google Scholar.

9 Israel is mentioned only in vs. 1 and vs. 28 which are both from the hand of the compiler. The narrative shows a preference for the “house of Joseph” and the names of individual tribes. YHWH is the only divine epithet except for elohim on the lips of Adonibezek (vs. 8).

10 Tradition-history criticism of Judges has been extensive. See Richter, Wolfgang, Die Bearbeitungen des “Rettersbuches” in der Deuteronomischen Epoche (Bonn: Peter Hanstein, 1964), pp. 113–115Google Scholar; Richter, Wolfgang, Traditiongeschichtliche Untersuchungen zum Richterbuch (Bonn: Peter Hanstein, 1963), pp. 384–402Google Scholar; Boling, Robert, Judges (Anchor Bible 6A; Garden City: Doubleday, 1975)Google Scholar, passim.

11 McKenzie, John L., “The Historical Prologue of Deuteronomy,” Fourth World Congress of Jewish Studies (vol. 1; Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1967), p. 97Google Scholar; von Rad, Gerhard, Deuteronomy (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966), pp. 40–41Google Scholar; Noth, , Traditions, p. 131Google Scholar.

12 Joshua appears as a servant of Moses rather than as a spy in vs. 38. See De Vaux, , “Settlement,” p. 110Google Scholar.

13 De Vaux, , “Settlement,” p. 110Google Scholar.

14 Beltz, , Kaleb-Traditionen, pp. 38–46Google Scholar.

15 Soggin, J. Alberto, Joshua (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1972), pp. 140–141Google Scholar.

16 Cross, Frank M., Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1973), pp. 273–275, 287Google Scholar.

17 Several studies have used the tradition as a guide for tracing the history. See Clements, Ronald, Abraham and David (SBT 2/5; London: SCM, 1967), pp. 35–46Google Scholar; Mayes, A. D. H., Israel in the Period of the Judges (SBT 2/29; London: SCM, 1974), p. 107Google Scholar.

18 A southern and separate settlement of Judah has been proposed by earlier scholars and is now gaining support again. See Meek, Theophile J., Hebrew Origins (1936; reprint, New York: Harper Torchbook, 1960), p. 40Google Scholar; Olmstead, A. T., History of Palestine and Syria (New York: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1931), chaps. 14,15,17Google Scholar; Jepsen, Alfred, “Zur Überliefer-ungsgeschichte der Vätergestalten,” Wissenschaftliche der Karl-Marx-Universität 3 (1953/1954), pp. 271–272Google Scholar; Clements, , Abraham, p. 39Google Scholar.

19 See articles by Albright, W. F., Tufnell, O., and Nelson Clueck in Archaeology and Old Testament Study, ed. Thomas, D. Winton (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967), esp. pp. 208, 215, 303, 388–389Google Scholar. Recent excavation reports support earlier discoveries. See series of articles in Biblical Archaeologist 34 and 35.

20 Mendenhall, , Tenth Generation, pp. 153, 162Google Scholar; Elman, R. Service, Primitive Social Organization (2nd ed.; New York: Random House, 1971), pp. 100–109Google Scholar. Both demonstrate that the formation of tribes depends in part upon opposition.

21 Noth, Martin, Das System der zwölf Stämme Israels (BWANT 4 [1930]; reprint, Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1966), p. 108Google Scholar. The southern confederation included Judah, Caleb, Othniel, Cain, Jerahmeel and Simeon.

22 Noth, , History, p. 182Google Scholar.

23 1 Kings 12:21, 23; 2 Chronicles 11:1; and 1 Chronicles 28:4 on the lips of David claiming that the house of Judah was his father's house.

24 Implied by Clements, , Abraham, p. 48Google Scholar. See Mendenhall, , Tenth Generation, p. 163Google Scholar; Weippert, Helga, “Das Geographische System der Stämme Israels,” Vetus Testamentum 23 (1973), p. 86Google Scholar.

25 Including Tell el-Far'ah in the Negeb, Bethshan, and the Delta region. See Albright, W. F., Archaeology pp. 113, 116–117Google Scholar; Mitchell, T. C., “Philistia,” Archaeology and Old Testament Study, p. 411Google Scholar. See Mendenhall's, discussion of the Sea Peoples in Tenth Generation, pp. 142–173Google Scholar.

26 Note that Saul's fate was begun and ended by the Philistines; David emerged as the slayer of Goliath and conquered the Philistines at the time of his move to Jerusalem. Each man's life has an inclusio effect which relates to the structure of the Books of Samuel. Further evidence of this will be presented elsewhere.

27 Evidence of the tension between North and South has been presented elsewhere. See Flanagan, James W., “Court History or Succession Document?” Journal of Biblical Literature 91 (1972), pp. 172–181CrossRefGoogle Scholar; also Bruggeman, Walter E., “On Coping with Curse: a Study of 2 Samuel 16:5-14,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 36 (1974), pp. 175–192Google Scholar, esp. note 7.

28 Flanagan, James W., “Judah in All Israel,” No Famine in the Land, eds. Flanagan, J. and Robinson, A. (Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1975), pp. 111–112Google Scholar.

29 This point has been stressed in Mendenhall's recent writings. See also McKenzie, John L., A Theology of the Old Testament (Garden City: Doubleday, 1974), pp. 82, 244–257Google Scholar.