The Joshua Generation: Israeli Occupation and the Bible
(Paperback)
Available Formats
Publishing Details
The Joshua Generation: Israeli Occupation and the Bible
By (Author) Rachel Havrelock
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press
29th March 2022
United States
Classifications
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
Political ideologies and movements
Nationalism
Social groups: religious groups and communities
222.206
Physical Properties
Paperback
264
Width 156mm, Height 235mm
Description
How a controversial biblical tale of conquest and genocide became a founding story of modern Israel No biblical text has been more central to the politics of modern Israel than the book of Joshua. Named after a military leader who became the successor to Moses, it depicts the march of the ancient Israelites into Canaan, describing how they subju
Reviews
The Joshua Generation demonstrates conclusively that the book of Joshua projects a nation-building process that itself also reveals to have been quite other than what was actually happening on the ground. The most original move, however, in this book is the demonstration that the book of Joshua was used for similar ideological purposes by David Ben-Gurion in his promulgation of a Joshua study group at his official dwelling in the late 1950s and onward. A very well written, scholarly responsible work that demonstrates the significance of historical literary analysis and historical geography for the consideration of our own political possibilities right now.--Daniel Boyarin, University of California, Berkeley
The Joshua Generation goes beyond traditional biblical scholarship, offering an evocative study of the role of the bible in Israeli culture and the impact of politics on modern scriptural reinterpretations. Havrelock raises gripping questions about the intersection of the bible with history, archaeology, politics, and national memory.--Yael Zerubavel, author of Desert in the Promised Land
Engagingly written. By tracing the trajectory of interpretations and uses of the book of Joshua at various stages in its history, Havrelock shows how a marginal text for Jews in the diaspora became foundational for the formation of a mythic national identity in modern Israel.--Colleen M. Conway, author of Sex and Slaughter in the Tent of Jael: A Cultural History of a Biblical Story
Author Bio
Rachel Havrelock is associate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is the author of River Jordan: The Mythology of a Dividing Line and the coauthor of Women on the Biblical Road: Ruth, Naomi, and the Female Journey. She lives in Chicago. Twitter @RachelHavrelock
