Under the watch of a HOLY God (Part II)

Now what is the non-textual evidence for the Valley of Achor and Israelite conquest of Ai?

This post was sadly delayed due to Blogger crashing and subsequent need to do a bit of re-writing and re-researching. But with that extra work I do now have extra information on the Valley of Achor. This requires splitting up the original post into at least two parts. Examination of evidence for Ai will be in the second part. I'd better post what I have about Achor forthwith to avoid another crash.


Facts, Traditions, and Widespread Beliefs regarding the Valley of Achor and Ai:

• Geographical Valley of Achor:
• Joshua 7:24-26, "Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor. Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” And all Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day, and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the valley of Achor to this day."
• The valley of Achor lay in hill country
• One should look for reference or sign of a stone heap (not yet discovered to my knowledge)
• The modern name of the valley should relate to the original name of Achor
• Achor - Hebrew for "disturbance" or "trouble"
• Jerusalem.com - The Prat River running along the Wadi Kelt is considered the River Perath named in Jeremiah 13:3-5. Among the springs supplying the River Perath, the Spring of Ein Kelt is associated with the River Kerith belonging to the Kerith Ravine named in 1 Kings 17:3.
• Strong's Concordance - "Perath" in Jeremiah 13:3-5 is also translated as the "Euphrates". The word derives from a root meaning "to break forth" or "rushing"
• Strong's Concordance - "Kerith" in I Kings 17:3 derives from "karath" which means "to cut off" or "cut down".
• Joshua 15:1, 5-8, "Now the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families . . . And the border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. The border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and it ended at En-rogel. Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem) . . ."

Modern walk from Ein Hajla Spring to Gey Ben Hinom St, Jerusalem. This is the region of Joshua's Judah-Benjamin border, on which the Valley of Achor lay, just south or southwest of Jericho.

• Travel Palestine - The name of Beth Hoglah in Joshua 15 is retained by the modern day Ain Hajla Spring.
• Wikipedia - The modern West Bank settlement of Beit HaAravah is named after the town of Beth Aravah named in Joshua 15, whose general location it shares on the Aravah/Arabah plain. In the 1930s-1940s, Jewish settlers began cultivating the soil of Beit HaAravah (after washing out the salt), making it known for its produce of vegetables and fruit throughout the country (see Hosea 2 verses below).
• Joshua 15 implies that the stone of Bohan lay in the Valley of Achor. Therefore the Valley of Achor lay "above" (likely in altitude) and North-west of Beth-arabah, since the northern boundary of Judah was being described from east to west in Joshua 15. North-west of modern day Beit HaAravah lie Aqabat Jabr and the east entrance to the Wadi Kelt valley.
• Joshua 18:11-20, "Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. From there the border continued to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward . . . The border extended from there and turned round on the west side southward . . . Then the south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. The border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. It extended northward and went to En-shemesh and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. It continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down to the Arabah. The border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border. Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side."
• It is clear that Judah's northern border shared much of Benjamin's southern border.
• Therefore, the Valley of Achor (Joshua 15) lay on the southern side of Benjamin.
• Jericho lay on the northern border of Benjamin.
• Therefore, the Valley of Achor lay south (or south-west) of Jericho.
• Shalom Israel Tours - The Jewish Mitzpe Jericho ("Jericho Lookout") community of 450 families has a clear view of Jericho from the southeast mountains. This community is adjacent to the Wadi Kelt/Nachal Prat nature reserve.

View from Mitzpe Jericho of the Jericho plain (Shalom Israel Tours)

• Isaiah 65:9-10, "'I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
              And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
              Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
              And My servants will dwell there.
        'Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
              And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
              For My people who seek Me.'"
  
• Hosea 2:14-15, "'Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
              Bring her into the wilderness
              And speak kindly to her.
        'Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
              And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
              And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,
              As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.'"
• The Shalom Israel Tours link above already mentioned Israelite settlement in the vicinity of Wadi Kelt (as suggested by Isaiah's "for My people")
• Look for a roadway in the Vally of Achor (Hosea's "door of hope")

Shepherd in the vicinity of the Wadi Kelt (Israel Tour Guide)

• Israel Tour Guide - The Wadi ("valley") Qelt/Kelt and Nahal ("stream bed") Prat run east from Jerusalem to Jericho, where the Nahal Prat runs into the Jordan River. The Nahal Prat is supplied by three springs. Shepherds with their sheep can be seen along the Wadi Kelt/Qelt. Hasmonean period aqueducts enabled cultivation of figs, dates, pomegranates, and citrus up through the early Arab period. Palaces, settlements, monasteries, and an Israelite Iron Age ruin dating to the time of the Israelite kings are also found in the valley.
• Shalom Israel Tours - In the En Prat nature reserve is the Firan Monastery, which is surrounded by cultivated terraces, orchards, and cisterns.
• See the Holy Land - The Wadi Qelt's 35 km winding course provided the route for a large section of a Roman roadway running from Jerusalem to Jericho. St. George's Monastery built in the 5th century into the cliff face of the Wadi Qelt is known for hospitality.

Monastery of St. George built into the cliff face of the Wadi Kelt (See the Holy Land)

 
 . . . Part B to follow.

Fighting against the odds--Jericho.

Within literary context, then, the Biblical account supports a historical Joshua. But the account of Joshua makes some pretty big claims on how God fought for Israel as they entered and conquered Canaan. So those historical claims should be backed up by historical facts and traditions, should they not? Oh boy, that's another big endeavor, partly because Scripture basically records how the Israelites left no survivors in the cities they conquered. So unless the Canaanite peoples had time to send pleas for help prior to overthrow by the Israelites, the only surviving verbal testimony would be from the Israelites--and who trusts the conqueror's account of a conquest? Well . . . perhaps there is additional evidence to consider.

"The Battle of Jericho" as sung by the Morman Tabernacle Choir

Facts, traditions, and widespread beliefs regarding Joshua's conquest of Canaan:

• Etymology of "Canaan":
• Dictionary.com - from Hebrew "Kena'an" referring to either the land between the Jordan, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean, or referring to a grandson of Noah by the same name.
• Merriam Webster's Dictionary - from Gr. "Kanaan", which comes from Heb. "Kena'an" referring to the ancient land of Phoenicia and Palestine.
• Jewish Virtual Library - "The name Canaan first appears in documents from the 15^th century B.C.E. and was variously written: Akkadian: Kinani (m), Kinaḫḫu / i, etc.; Egyptian: Knʿn·w and P -knʿn; Ugaritic: Knʿny ("a Canaanite"); Phoenician and Hebrew: Knʿn. Most scholars connect the name with the Hurrian term kinaḫḫu meaning (reddish) purple. Support for this is found in the similarity between the Greek Φοῖνιξ meaning reddish purple and Φοινίκη meaning Phoenicia. Those who derive the name from the Semitic root kn' consider it either a name for the conchiferous snail which yielded purple dye, or a term for the western nations, because the sun set in the west (see also Astour 1965). Since purple cloth was the chief export of Phoenicia, the term Canaan also appears in the sense of merchant (Isa. 23:8; Zeph. 1:11; Prov. 31:24; et al) [emphasis added]"
• Isaiah 23:8-12, "Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? The LORD of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty, to despise all the honored of the earth . . . The LORD has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strongholds. He has said, 'You shall exult no more, O crushed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.'"
• Canaanite Giants:
• Anastasi Papyrus - "Amenmope's chariot is on a narrow mountain pass above a ravine in which some four or five cubit (seven foot) tall Shashu are lurking. The road is rough and tangled with vegetation and the Shashu look dangerous and fierce. Amenmope wrecks his rig and has to cut it loose with a knife from some trees it is tangled up in."
• Wisdom Library - The Egyptian Execration texts tells of "Iy aneq"/"Iy'anaq", which appear to correspond to the Biblical Anakim. The Egyptian texts place curses on these Iy aneq and refer to Ashdod as the "city of the giants"

  
                        From Wikipedia "Shasu" article 

• Shasu - An Egyptian carving of Egyptians beating two Shasu spies depicts the Shasu spies as being greater in stature than the Egyptians. While pharaohs were depicted as greater in stature than their "inferior" subjects (History World), it is odd that enemy foreigners would be shown as greater in stature than Egyptians, unless this reflected reality.
• ABC.net - Ancient Egyptians had an average height of 5.1 ft, which would have been short compared to the 7 ft tall Shashu.
• Jewish Encyclopedia - Jewish people on average are ~5.3 ft in height, which would have been short compared to "short giants" of just 7 ft like the Canaanite Shashu described by the Egyptians.
• Deuteronomy 9:1-3, "[Moses instructing the Israelites about to cross the Jordan into Canaan] 'Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, "Who can stand before the sons of Anak?" Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.'"
• Conquest of Jericho:

• Jewish Virtual Library - summary of the history of Jericho
• Jewish Magazine - history of Jericho from a Jewish perspective.
• UNESCO World Heritage Site - Tel e-Sultan, or ancient Jericho, is considered both the oldest and the lowest lying town on Earth, resting at 258 m below sea level. In the Middle Bronze Age around 1580 B.C., the Canaanite city-state of Tel e-Sultan and its mud-brick wall at that time were violently destroyed by fire. Evidence of nomadic invasion also exists, but according to the UNESCO summary the nomadic invasion dates one to two centuries prior to the fire. After the fire, Tel e-Sultan remained largely unsettled during the Late Bronze Age, being instead resettled in the later Iron Age.
• Creation.com - article which contains many quotes from archaeologists Garstang, Kenyon, and Pritchard from their excavations at ancient Jericho and Gibeon. Dates given are as follows: Early Bronze Age - third millenium B.C., Middle Bronze Age - 2000-1550 B.C., and Late Bronze Age - 1550-1200 B.C. I do not agree with the dating conclusion regarding the time of Joshua in this article, but the quotes from archaeologists are quite interesting:
• "'Traces of intense fire are plain to see, including reddened masses of brick, cracked stones, charred timber and ashes. Houses alongside the wall were found burnt to the ground, their roofs fallen upon the domestic pottery within'" (Garstang)
• "'On a brick ledge in a corner of this room we found the family provision of dates, barley, oats, olives, an onion and peppercorns, all charred but unmistakable; while a little store of bread, together with a quantity of unbaked dough which had been laid aside to serve as leaven for the morrow’s baking, told plainly the same tale of a people cut off in full activity.'" (Garstang)
• "'One gets used to burnt layers in excavations of this kind, for it was the usual fate of houses and cities to perish by fire; but this was no ordinary burning. The layer of ashes was so thick and the signs of intense heat so vivid, that it gave the impression of having been contrived, that fuel had been added to the fire.'" (Garstang)
• "We have nowhere been able to prove the survival of the walls of the Late Bronze Age, that is to say, of the period of Joshua. This is at variance with Professor Garstang’s conclusions. He ascribed two of the lines of walls which encircle the summit to the Late Bronze Age. But everywhere that we examined them it was clear that they must belong to the Early Bronze.' Kenyon concluded that an earthquake had brought the walls down. 'The face of the wall can be seen fallen outwards from the stone foundations.'" (Kenyon)
• "'As our detailed knowledge of Palestinian archaeology has gradually increased over the past thirty years or so, it has become apparent that there was a very sharp break between the Early Bronze Age of the third millenium and the Middle Bronze Age of the first half of the second. Common everyday pots are the most sensitive barometer of a drastic change in population. There is virtually no continuity in pottery between the two periods'" (Kenyon)
• "'These relics of the Middle Bronze I people seem to indicate a fresh migration into the town of a nomadic people who brought with them an entirely new tradition in pottery forms and new customs in burial practices. They may have come into Palestine from the desert at the crossing of the Jordan near Jericho and may then have pushed on to settle eventually at places such as Gibeon, Tell el-Ajjul and Lachish, where tombs of this distinctive type have been found.'" (Pritchard)
• Concerning the invading "nomads": "'Since there is this interval before houses appear, they must have lived in tents or very slight structures, thus providing clear evidence of their nomadic origin. Though they lived on the tell [Tel e-Sultan], they were not really interested in it as a town. Their occupation spread right down the slopes, and they never built themselves a town wall.'" (Kenyon)
• New York Times - Archaeologist Dr. Bryant Wood dated this great burning of Jericho to the Late Bronze Age, or ~1400 BC, contradicting Kathleen Kenyon's earlier work.
• "A study of ceramic remnants, royal scarabs, carbon-14 dating, seismic activity in the region and even some ruins of tumbled walls produced what is being called impressive evidence that the fortified city was destroyed in the Late Bronze Age, about 1400 B.C. . . . The prevailing view among scholars has been that the city was destroyed some 150 years earlier . . . [as in the UNESCO write-up]"
• "A three-foot layer of ash, containing many pottery fragments and mud bricks from a wall, was found at the site, well preserved because it was sealed by sediments that accumulated over the years the destroyed city lay unoccupied. The charred fragments have been dated at 1410 B.C., plus or minus 40 years [So taking 1410 B.C. compared to UNESCO's 1580 B.C. the median date is ~1495 B.C.--this approximation compares pretty well with early historians dating of the Exodus at 1550 B.C. as related in my blog post "A Nation Redeemed. (Part I)" on July 10th, 2016, remembering that the Exodus was followed by 40 years wandering in the wilderness]. Finally, several Egyptian scarabs, or amulets, found in tombs at Jericho had inscriptions placing them in the same period."
• "'The presence of these grain stores in the destroyed city is entirely consistent with the biblical account,' Dr. Wood wrote. 'The city did not fall as a result of a starvation siege, as was so common in ancient times. Instead, the Bible tells us Jericho was destroyed after but seven days.'"
• Joshua 6:1-5, "Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. The LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors . . . on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead."
• Joshua 6:16-21, "Joshua said to the people, 'Shout! For the LORD has given you the city. The city shall be under the ban, it and all that is in it belongs to the LORD; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in the house shall live, because she hid the messengers whom we sent' . . . and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city. They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.."
• Joshua 6:26-27, "Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, 'Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.' So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land."
• Joshua 8:1-28, "Now the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the people of war with you and arise, go up to Ai; see, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king just as you did to Jericho and its king; you shall take only its spoil and its cattle as plunder for yourselves. Set an ambush for the city behind it.' So Joshua rose with all the people of war to go up to Ai . . . Israel took only the cattle and the spoil of that city as plunder for themselves, according to the word of the LORD which He had commanded Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation until this day."
• To be continued . . .

 

A Lesson in Belief.

Moving forward from Moses, Aaron, the Tabernacle of Testimony, and the Ark of the Covenant, we encounter Joshua. You probably hear the name of Joshua and think, "the Battle of Jericho". From a historical standpoint, that battle would have been a test of belief indeed. So how contextually supported is the story of Jericho and the life of Joshua in Scripture?

"I Lift My Hands" by Chris Tomlin

Old Testament References to Joshua:

• Numbers 14:36-38, "The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 'How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me?' . . . 'Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun' . . . 'Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.' As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why would God speak to historical Moses and Aaron about a merely imaginary Joshua?
• Why mention the father of a merely figurative Joshua?
• Why would it be written in Scripture that the Lord swore He would punish Israel for forty years for their guilt, if the story of the spies, including Joshua, was fake?
• Where in Scripture do you find an imaginary plague from the Lord? If the plague was real, must not Joshua have been a real (not merely figurative) Israelite?
• Deut. 31:14-26, "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.' So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. The LORD appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent. The LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land' . . . 'Now therefore, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it on their lips, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel' . . . So Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the sons of Israel. Then He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, 'Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.' It came about, when Moses finished writing the words of this law in a book until they were complete, that Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying, 'Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark . . . '"
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why would the Lord speak to a historical Moses just before his death about an imaginary Joshua succeeding him?
• Where in Scripture does the Lord commission an imaginary man for leadership?
• Why would an imaginary Joshua be recorded in the real law of Moses, which was kept beside the real Ark of the Covenant?
• How could a merely imaginary man lead the real sons of Israel into a new land?
• Joshua 6:26-27, "Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, 'Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho; with the loss of his firstborn he shall lay its foundation, and with the loss of his youngest son he shall set up its gates.' So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Where in Scripture are curses merely imaginary?
• Why associate a specific city with an imaginary curse?
• If the curse in Joshua 6 was real, how could Joshua be merely figurative?
• Joshua 19:49-50, "When they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders, the sons of Israel gave an inheritance in their midst to Joshua the son of Nun. In accordance with the command of the LORD they gave him the city for which he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and settled in it."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why write of the real sons of Israel apportioning land to a merely imaginary Joshua?
• Why specify the city given to Joshua and its location in the territory of Ephraim, if Joshua was a simply figurative character?
• Judges 2:6-10, "When Joshua had dismissed the people, the sons of Israel went each to his inheritance to possess the land. The people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD which He had done for Israel. Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of one hundred and ten. And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why write of "all the days of Joshua", if Joshua never lived?
• Why reference "the elders who survived Joshua", if Joshua never lived?
• Why name Joshua as the "servant of the Lord", if he was an imaginary character who never actually served the Lord?
• Why specify the age of Joshua at his death if he never lived?
• Why specify the burial place of an imaginary man?
• I Kings 16:33-34, "Ahab also made the Asherah. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him. In his days Hiel the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the LORD, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why specify who rebuilt Jericho and who died, if the curse wasn't real?
• Why write of how the curse of a merely figurative man came to pass?
• How would the "word of the Lord" be given through an imaginary man?
• I Chron. 7:20-27, "The sons of Ephraim were Shuthelah and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to take their livestock. Their father Ephraim mourned many days, and his relatives came to comfort him. Then he went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Beriah, because misfortune had come upon his house. His daughter was Sheerah, who built lower and upper Beth-horon . . . Elishama his son, Non his son and Joshua his son. Their possessions and settlements were Bethel with its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer with its towns, and Shechem with its towns as far as Ayyah with its towns, and along the borders of the sons of Manasseh, Beth-shean with its towns, Taanach with its towns, Megiddo with its towns, Dor with its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why specify legacies of people in a genealogy attributed to the tribe of Ephraim, if these people never lived?
• Why include a merely figurative Joshua in the genealogy of the real tribe of Ephraim?

New Testament References to Joshua:

• Acts 7:44-47, "The high priest said, 'Are these things so?' And he [Stephen] said, 'Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran' . . . 'Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.'"
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why would Stephen defend himself before the antagonistic high priest by referencing a figurative character? How would this be a good defense for Stephen?
• Why would Stephen insert an imaginary character into a story including the historical Abraham and Moses?
• Why would Stephen bring a merely imaginary Joshua into the story of how their real "God drove out" the Canaanite nations before them? Wouldn't referencing an imaginary character in this story be considered blasphemous by the high priest?
• Hebrews 3:16-4:11, "For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief . . . For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: 'AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS'; and again in this passage, 'THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.' Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, 'Today,' saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,
              'TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
              DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS.'
  For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience."
• Joshua - Portrayed as a historical man, not simply a figurative one.
• Why would an imaginary Joshua be referenced in writing of the yet observed (at least by Jews) seventh day sabbath and the final Sabbath rest promised to believers?
• Why at all consider whether Joshua gave the sons of Israel true rest, if Joshua never led Israel into a land of their own?
• Why write of some "following the same example of disobedience", if the story of Joshua being exempted from Israel's punishment of forty years' wandering in the wilderness was merely figurative and not a real example from which to learn?

Covenant Testimony (Part II)

How do children learn about the lives of their parents or grandparents? Usually, this is passed down by word of mouth. Children generally do not have reason to doubt what their parents tell them about their lives or their grandparents' lives. Parents' stories become that of their children and are held trustworthy without need for secondary affirmation. This is oral tradition, and is one of the means by which the stories of the Old Testament were handed down for generations to come that they might know the works of the Lord:

Psalm 78:1-8, "A Maskil of Asaph. 

        Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
            Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

      I will open my mouth in a parable;
            I will utter dark sayings of old,

      Which we have heard and known,
            And our fathers have told us.

      We will not conceal them from their children,
            But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD,
            And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

      For He established a testimony in Jacob
            And appointed a law in Israel,
            Which He commanded our fathers
            That they should teach them to their children,

      That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
            That they may arise and tell them to their children,

      That they should put their confidence in God
            And not forget the works of God,
            But keep His commandments,

      And not be like their fathers,
            A stubborn and rebellious generation,
            A generation that did not prepare its heart
            And whose spirit was not faithful to God
            [continues on with the works of God toward early Israel]."

Facts, customs, and widespread beliefs regarding the Ark of the Covenant and thereby Israel's wilderness wandering:

• Wikipedia - general description of the ark of the covenant
• National Geographic - overview of history and theorized discoveries
• Jewish Encyclopedia - overview, biblical references, and non-biblical references

• Jordan River Crossing with Ark
• Joshua 4:1-9, "Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, "Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight."' So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, 'Cross again to the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel . . . Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day . . . Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. He said to the sons of Israel, 'When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, "What are these stones?" then you shall inform your children, saying, "Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground." For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the LORD your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever.'"
• Gilgal Education Center - References the above Joshua passage where God tells Joshua that He dried up the Jordan so that "all the peoples of the earth" might know the power of the Lord.
• Jewish Virtual Library - Notes various Scripture references to this Gilgal camp of Joshua and the twelve tribes.
• Science Daily - Five stone-ringed camp-sites in the Jordan river valley have been identified by Prof. Adam Zertal, which he identifies with various references to Gilgal in Scripture. According to Prof. Zertal, "Gilgal" was a type of foot-shaped (symbolic of possession of the land on which they treaded) campsite for the early Israelites.
• General Source - Description of the mosaic Madaba map and its proven accuracy.
• Madaba Map, and Galgala or the Twelve Stones - Shows the label and symbol for Galgala from the Madaba Map and ties in the Old Testament account of the tribes crossing the Jordan and camping at Gilgal for circumcision and Passover, as their first campsite across the Jordan and thereby where they would have placed the twelve stones. An image of the corresponding map Section 2 is linked here, showing Galgala.
• Science Daily - Notes that the Madaba Map portrays a site labeled Dodekaliton, meaning "twelve stones", lying adjacent to Galgala outside of Jericho in the Jordan River valley. This is significant. But the accompanying reinterpretation of Galgala/Gilgal with a quarry cave and the stones with excavated rock do not agree with the Scripture narrative of the Jordan River crossing.

• Philistine Capture of the Ark and its Return to Israel
• I Samuel 5:1-11, "So they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them and said, 'What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?' And they said, 'Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to Gath.' And they brought the ark of the God of Israel around. After they had brought it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city with very great confusion; and He smote the men of the city, both young and old, so that tumors broke out on them. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron the Ekronites cried out, saying, 'They have brought the ark of the God of Israel around to us, to kill us and our people.' They sent therefore and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, 'Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people.' For there was a deadly confusion throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy there." 
  
• I Samuel 6:13-19, "Now the people of Beth-shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they raised their eyes and saw the ark and were glad to see it . . . The Levites took down the ark of the LORD and the box that was with it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone; and the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices that day to the LORD. When the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned to Ekron that day.       These are the golden tumors which the Philistines returned for a guilt offering to the LORD: one for Ashdod, one for Gaza, one for Ashkelon, one for Gath, one for Ekron; and the golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of fortified cities and of country villages. The large stone on which they set the ark of the LORD is a witness to this day in the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite.
        He struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the LORD. He struck down of all the people, 50,070 men, and the people mourned because the LORD had struck the people with a great slaughter."
• Times of Israel - Jewish people yet remember Tel Beit Shemesh as the Biblical Beth-shemesh to which the Ark of the Covenant was returned by the Philistines. The site today has sculptured iron and rock memorials which tell the story. 
• Archaeological Institute of America - Tel Beth Shemesh is a site of current archaeological excavation and is considered a geological intersection point for the Israelite, Philistine, and Canaanite civilizations during the Late Bronze and Iron ages (1550-540 B.C.).
• Some archaeology - Tel Beth-Shemesh is a 7-acre mound that overlooks the Sorek Valley. The mound has been identified based on the preserved Arab name of a nearby town, Byzantine sources, and the Biblical text's description of the mound's geography. Archaeology dating to the period of the Judges reveals influence of Israelite presence, as pig bones are entirely absent among the animal remains unearthed.
• I Samuel 7:1-2, "And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took the ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD. From the day that the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, the time was long, for it was twenty years; and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD."
• Shmunis Family Excavations - Archeologists identify a mound 12 km west of Jerusalem, named Deir el-Azar in Arabic, with ancient Kiriath-jearim. The Arabic name appears to derive from the name of Eleazar, son of Abinadab, who kept watch over the ark when it rested at Kiriath-jearim (I Samuel 7:1). The monastery of the Ark of the Covenant is found at Kiriath-jearim, along with remains of a Byzantine-era church, uncovered in the early 20th century, which likely commemorates the ark tradition.
• Times of Israel - Modern Jewish news site also identifies Old Testament Kiriath-jearim with the hill of the monestary Deir el-Azar, named in English "Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant", resting atop a prior Byzantine structure located 7 miles west of Jerusalem. According to Jewish interpretation of Scripture, the Ark of the Covenant was portrayed to have been located at Kiriath Jearim for 20 years following its return from Philistine capture.
• Find a Dig - The site of Kiriath-jearim offers a expansive view of the Jerusalem skyline in the east and the Mediterranean in the west. The site houses the Monastery of the Ark of the Covenant, which is also known as Notre Dame de l’Ache d’Alliance.

• Modern Tradition on the Ark Outside of Israel
• II Chronicles 35:1-3, "Then Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover animals on the fourteenth day of the first month. He set the priests in their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD. He also said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, 'Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built; it will be a burden on your shoulders no longer. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.'"
• Jeremiah 3:14-18, "'Return, O faithless sons,' declares the LORD;
              'For I am a master to you,
              And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
              And I will bring you to Zion.'
'Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,' declares the LORD, 'they will no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD." And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. At that time they will call Jerusalem "The Throne of the LORD," and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.'"
• Josephus' War of the Jews, Book 5, Chap. 5, Par. 5, " . . . [description of the Temple at the time of Roman conquest of Jerusalem] Now the seven lamps signified the seven planets; for so many there were springing out of the candlestick. Now the twelve loaves that were upon the table signified the circle of the zodiac and the year; but the altar of incense, by its thirteen kinds of sweet-smelling spices with which the sea replenished it, signified that God is the possessor of all things that are both in the uninhabitable and habitable parts of the earth, and that they are all to be dedicated to his use. But the inmost part of the temple of all was of twenty cubits. This was also separated from the outer part by a veil. In this there was nothing at all. It was inaccessible and inviolable, and not to be seen by any; and was called the Holy of Holies. Now, about the sides of the lower part of the temple . . . "
• CNN - The Ethiopian Orthodox Christians yearly celebrate a festival called Timket, in which models of the Ark of the Covenant, called a Tabot, are brought out of the churches and carried through their towns. Ethiopia is considered to be the Old Testament kingdom of Sheba, and is held by some to hide the Ark of the Covenant.
• General Source - The Ethiopian tabots which are brought out from the churches on the day of the Feast of Timket, corresponding to Epiphany, are always hidden from public view by ornate coverings. The sides of the tabot are square, generally 6 in. x 6 in. During Timket, a priest carries the covered tabot on his head while the worshipers and procession accompany with cries of joy and liturgical dancing. This procession appears similar to the bringing of the Ark into Jerusalem during the time of King David (II Samuel 6:12-19).
• Ethiopian Tourist Site - Affirms the festival of Timket, and notes that the procession with the tabot replicas of the Ark ends with baptism by the priests sprinkling blessed water on the worshipers. This is done to remember Christ's baptism by John the Baptist. The festival of Timket with the carrying of the tabot dates back to the time of Ethiopian Emperor Gebre Meskel, who ruled in Ethiopian calandar years from 515 to 529 (or AD ~530)
• Sacred Sites - St. Mary of Zion Church in Ethiopia claims to house the Ark of the Covenant.Ethiopia, also named Abyssinia, is rooted in the kingdom of Axum which existed from ~150 B.C. to ~600 A.D. The Axumite rulers had commercial and diplomatic contact with Persians, Byzantines, Greeks, and Egyptians. The Axumite kingdom archeology boasts the worlds tallest obelisks or stelae, cut from single blocks of black granite. The tallest obelisk weighed 5 tons and was 33.3 m tall. Ethiopian legend says that the Queen of Sheba from Ethiopia [see II Chronicles 9:1-12 for reference to Solomon and the Queen of Sheba] bore a son to King Solomon of Israel. This son, named Menelik, later came to visit Israel and return after a time back to Ethiopia after facing jealousy from the Israelite elders. The legend says that Solomon commanded the elders first-born sons to journey back to Ethiopia with Menelik. One of these was the son of Zadok the High Priest, Azarius, who is said to have secretly taken the Ark with him [note that tradition of a removal of the Ark from Israel during the days of Solomon is not in agreement is the II Chronicles 35:1-3 passage above, but the story does affirm a physical Ark], revealing the theft to Menelik only once distant from Jerusalem. Since the theft had succeeded without harm befalling the departing group, Menelik judged they must have God's blessing.
• Ethiopian Jews - Known as Beta Israel, the Ethiopian Jews hold to traditions saying that their ancestors came to Ethiopia in company with Menelik, considered the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, when he returned to Ethiopia from Israel. Tens of thousands of Ethiopian Jews were brought to modern-day Israel during Operation Moses and Operation Solomon.

Ok . . . how important are Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph?

I got a little side-tracked from the broader Biblical story. My excuse is that the facts/customs/beliefs about Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph seemed rather closely related (in more ways than one). The textual study of how Abraham is placed in Scripture is back in the March 25th and April 9th posts. But Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are also more than just characters in Genesis. Their names do appear in other Old and New Testament books. So, what was Scripture saying about Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph before the onset of modern archaeology?

Map from Bible History Online of the Twelve Tribe Settlements

Old Testament:

• Exodus 3:3-6, "So Moses said, 'I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.' When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses, Moses!' And he said, 'Here I am.' Then He said, 'Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' He said also, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would you have a God of a historical Abraham who is at the very same time the God of an imaginary Isaac and Jacob?
• God speaking directly to Moses called Himself the God of Isaac and Jacob. Why would a real God identify Himself as the God of imaginary figures?
• Why would Moses be afraid of a God who identified Himself with mythology?
• Joshua 16:4-17:10, "The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim [direct sons--see Genesis 41:50-52--with Manassah being the firstborn], received their inheritance. Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan [River]. From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages . . . Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war . . . The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea. The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east."
• Joseph - portrayed as a historical man.
• How do you have real cities defining the borders of imaginary tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (see the Twelve Tribes Settlement map above, and the following Google Map)?
• Why would the real river Jordan and the real Mediterranean Sea define borders of imaginary tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh?
• How can you say real tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh) are descendents of imaginary people (Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph)?
• Why would firstborn status be important for the tribe of Manasseh, if the story of Manasseh being the firstborn son of Joseph was simply imaginative?

• Joshua 24:2-4, "Joshua said to all the people, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "From ancient times your fathers lived beyond the River, namely, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him through all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau, and to Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it; but Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt."'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would Joshua's parting speech to the Israelite people be about imaginary characters?
• How could the descendents of a real Abraham be multiplied through imaginary figures (Isaac and Jacob)?
• How could an imaginary Jacob travel to a real Egypt?
• I Kings 18:36-39, "At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, 'O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel [Jacob], today let it be known that You are God in Israel [nation] and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.' Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God; the LORD, He is God.'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed a historical men.
• Why would Elijah call for aid from the God of imaginary figures?
• Why would God respond Elijah's request for real action after Elijah said He was the God of imaginary men?
• How could the people worship the real God of imaginary characters?
• I Chronicles 2:1-2, "These are the sons of Israel [Jacob]: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher."
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would the twelve tribes (Many verses interchange Joseph with Ephraim and Manasseh. But Levi held no land, so the land-holding tribes still numbered twelve with Ephraim and Manasseh.) of Israel retain identical names to merely imaginary figures, such as Joseph? Wouldn't this grow old?
• Why would record be kept of the sons of an imaginary man Jacob?
• I Chronicles 29:10-19, "So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, 'Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel [Jacob] our father, forever and ever . . . But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• Why would David identify the real Israelite people as sojourners just like imaginary forefathers?
• Why would David acknowledge that "all things" come from God based in part on the sojourner status of imaginary forefathers?
• Why would David call an imaginary  Isaac and Jacob fathers of the real nation of Israel?
• How could the God of imaginary forefathers preserve the hearts of a real people and David's own son?
• Why build a temple for the God of imaginary forefathers?
• How did David and the nation of Israel know God's name was holy, if all they ever heard were tales regarding God's involvement in the lives of imaginary forefathers?
• Jeremiah 33:14-26, "'Behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David [Christ the Messiah] to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth' . . . The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven [stars] cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me."' And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, "The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them"? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. Thus says the LORD, "If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established, then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them."'"
• Isaac and Jacob - portrayed as historical men.
• How can the descendents of an imaginary man, Jacob, be as firmly established as nighttime and daytime?
• Why would the descendents of an imaginary Jacob be identified alongside those of a real King David, who is identified as the forefather of Christ (Branch of David)?
• Why would the name of an imaginary man, Isaac, be placed between those of two historical men, Abraham and Jacob?
• Amos 5:4-6, "For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,
              'Seek Me that you may live.
        But do not resort to Bethel [Judges 1:22]
              And do not come to Gilgal [I Samuel 11:14-15],
              Nor cross over to Beersheba [II Chronicles 19:4];
              For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity
              And Bethel will come to trouble.
        Seek the LORD that you may live,
              Or He will break forth like a fire, O house of Joseph,
              And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel . . .'"
• Jacob and Joseph - portrayed as a historical men.
• Why say "house of Israel" if Israel/Jacob was an imaginary man?
• Why say "house of Joseph" if Joseph was an imaginary man?
• How could the descendents of an imaginary man Joseph live in real cities and later be taken into captivity?

New Testament: (this is getting a little long, so I'll postpone the New Testament verses)