The Reformation
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 60, No. 1 – Fall 2017
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
The Gift of the Land and the Fate of the Canaanites in Jewish Thought. Edited by Katell Berthelot, Joseph E. David, and Marc Hirshman. New York: Oxford, 2014. 435 pages. Paperback, $35.00.
These three scholars have amassed a very helpful collection of essays that were originally presented as papers at a conference convened jointly by the Centre de Recherche Français à Jérusalm (CNRS-MAEE), the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, and the Yad Izhak Ben Zvi Institute for Research on the Land of Israel. The conference took place on December 8–10, 2009.
The book is divided into three parts. Part One is titled, “The Land: Theological and Ethical Issues.” Chapter one is titled “‘Everything Was Fulfilled’ versus ‘The Land That Yet Remains:’ Contrasting Conceptions of the Fulfillment of the Promise in the Book of Joshua,” by Nili Wanza. Wanza details what he calls the different conceptions of the state of the land and the fate of the Canaanites found within the book of Joshua. The concepts presented are the complete conquest ( Josh 1–12), partial conquest where the native inhabitants continue to dwell in the land (Josh 13–23), and the concept of remaining land to be conquered ( Josh 13:1–6). Chapter two, “Josephus’ Land Theology, a Reappraisal” by Michael Avioz, presents an early Jewish perspective on the subject. He asserts that Josephus recognized various biblical perspectives and therefore downplayed the theology of land.
In Ishay Rosen-Zvi’s chapter, “Rereading herem: Destruction of Idolatry in Tannaitic Literature,” he asserts that the proper reading of the command to put things under the ban is to destroy personal items, but in the case of public items the command was separation. Chapter four, written by Menahem Kister, deals with the fate of the Canaanites. He draws upon the body of Second Temple Jewish literature to show that the topic was debated within early Jewish sources. Menachem Kellner points out in “And Yet, the Texts Remain: The Problem of the Command to Destroy the Canaanites” that there were tendencies to interpret the relationship of Israel and Canaan through what is at times called the us/them, or self/other paradigm. In Chapter nine, which deals with the 19th century, Matthias Morgenstern argues that Jewish thinkers made attempts to deal with the tension between biblical descriptions of conquest and their own conceptions of enlightened morality.
Part two deals with “The Changing Uses of the Category ‘Canaanites’.” This section contains chapters with analysis of specific historical cases of the use of the term Canaanite in Jewish history. Katel Berthelot’s essay, “Where May Canaanites Be Found? Canaanites, Phoenicians, and Others in Jewish Texts from the Hellenistic and Roman Period” details how the word Canaanite was used in the time immediately following the composition of texts in the Hebrew Bible. She shows that names of specific people from the author’s own times (such as Srian, Phoenician, etc.) were used to refer to the ancient Canaanites. Evyatar Marienberg demonstrates that some used the term Canaanites to describe slaves working in medieval Jewish households.
Part three describes “Modern Jewish Thinkers on the Gift of the Land and the Fate of the Canaanites.” Warren Havey’s essay discussing “Rabbi Reines on the Conquest of Canaan and Zionism” points out that Jewish tradition developed the idea that since God returned Israel to the land in a non-violent manner through Cyrus, they should be pacifists. Another interesting contribution is that of Baruch Alster. He describes Rabbi Moshe Feinstein‘s teaching on obligatory war (“R. Moshe Feinstein on Milhemet Mitzvah: Halakah, Morality, and Exegesis”) as suggesting that obligatory war (against Amalek and the seven Canaanite nations) has to be approved by God each time the question arises. Since the Urim and Thumim are no longer in use to discern God’s answer to this question of war, Israel may only fight in self-defense.
The book has several strengths, including the fact that it does present a helpful description of Jewish thought regarding the gift of the land of Israel, thus accomplishing its purpose. The book presents nineteen chapters of careful scholarship that is well researched, as evidenced by the plentiful endnotes. The book is also valuable because of its attention to a uniquely Jewish perspective. Christian works on the gift of the land of Israel often deal with theological ideas and their development, but this work is descriptive in nature – analyzing ancient writings about the topic. The analysis of ancient sources can aid modern interpreters by showing where certain exegetical turns, such as the contemporary people identified as Canaanites, had their origin. Furthermore, the book can contribute a different perspective to Christian readers who may not encounter Jewish thinkers on a regular basis. Since the book contains contributions from many different scholars, one gains insight from a variety of voices and perspectives.
On the other hand, the book is uneven and without a unified argument since it is a compilation of papers. For example, chapter two is a mere six pages (with eight pages of notes and bibliography, two more pages than the chapter). Then, chapter four is 25 pages long with 10 pages of notes and bibliography. Another weakness of this work is that it represents a mainly Jewish discussion that may not have much bearing on Christian application (though one might argue that it should have influence on Christian interpretation). The book makes use of highly specialized discus-sions, and not all readers will be familiar with them. For example, the first essay by Wazana assumes knowledge of the modern scholarship on the composition of the book of Joshua. He also assumes the reader is familiar with all the current theories of the Israelites’ settlement of the land. Even so, the book accomplishes its purpose, and can be recommended as a research tool for scholars and doctoral students. In terms of ministry this book could be used as a way for the minister to gain familiarity with other viewpoints about the conquest and settlement of the land (especially the first chapter) as well as understanding the reasons for differing modern identifications of the people referred to as Canaanites within the Hebrew Bible.
