Academic Article: Canaanite Destruction & the Stranger (CBQ)

Glanville M. Herem as Israelite Identity Formation. Canaanite Destruction & Stranger

Catholic Biblical Quarterly 83 (2021): 547–570.

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Synopsis: This study examines the ḥērem texts in Deuteronomy and Joshua, focusing on their function in Israelite collective identity construction and their relation to texts concerning the gēr. Studies have argued that these texts operate metaphorically for internal Israelite matters (Rowlett) or in order to differentiate the Israelite group (Crouch). This fresh examination of the ḥērem texts focusses upon redaction and intertextuality within the Deuteronomic tradition, the relationship with texts concerning the gēr (stranger), and insider-outsider distinctions. The ḥērem texts in (Dtr and post-Dtr) Deuteronomy and Joshua reshape Israelite identity around obedience to torah, communicating that YHWH has given the land to the people grouping that embodies the Deuteronomic vision. Interrelated with these texts is Deuteronomy’s ethic of incorporating the gēr as kindred, which intensifies in the Dtr and post-Dtr redactions in which ḥērem occurs. Outsiders play a prominent role in this drama, in at least three ways: first, via the outsider these books redefine Israelite identity around torah, also foreshadowing Israel’s imminent exile; second, the inclusion of Canaanites (e.g., Rahab in Joshua 2 and 6) portrays the inclusivism of the Israelite community; third, torah stipulates that Israel enfold the outsider (gēr) as kindred, as a matter of Israelite identity. This inclusivism signals that the ḥērem texts are operating at a metaphorical level. The ḥērem texts function (among other things) to “hold” Israel to the Deuteronomic ethic of enfolding the stranger as kindred.

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