Richard S. Hess, «The Book of Joshua as a Land Grant», Vol. 83 (2002) 493-506
Despite a variety of attempted identifications of the book of Joshua, or portions of it, with other ancient Near Eastern legal documents, the form of the royal land grant remains the closest of those studied in terms of structure and content. In particular, the form of this type of document, as illustrated in the archive of the Middle Bronze Age site of Alalakh, provides an important and useful set of parallels with those found in the sixth book of the Bible. The essay considers the strengths and weaknesses of identifying the book of Joshua in this manner, as well as its implications for the interpretation of the book. In addition, the origin of these documents in the West Semitic world invites consideration of a specific genre or literary type that flourished in those cultures and perhaps provided a link for related documents in the Mesopotamian and Mediterranean worlds.
1. AT 456.1-30 and Joshua 1-12
Obverse 1. URU i-ma-arKI qa-du x na-waKI |
The city of Emar togther with its pasture land(?), |
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2. URU za-a[r-r]a-atKI 10 |
the towns of Za[rr]at, |
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3. URU [x - x - x]-naKI |
...na, |
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4. URU na-as$-tar-béKI |
Nashtarbe, |
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5. URU h~a-as$-na-apKI |
H~ashnap, |
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6. URU ka-az-zu-weKI |
Kazzuwe, |
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7. URU am-ma-ak-keKI |
Ammakke, |
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8. URU pa-ar-re-e |
(and) Parrê, |
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9. a-na [p]u-h~a -at URU ú-wi-ia-aKI |
in exchange for Uwiyê. |
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10. URU at-ra-teKI |
The town of Atrate |
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11. a-na pu-h~a-at e-pí-ri zu-na-a[d]-deKI |
in exchange for the land of the |
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12. i-ba-as$-s\u |
which is(?), |
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13. URU a-ma-me[KI] |
Amame, |
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14. [UR]U a-ú-s\u-unKI] |
Aushun, |
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15. URU h~a-al-li-we[KI] |
Halliwe, |
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16. URU zi-ki-ir[-li(?)KI] |
Zikirli(?), |
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17. URU mu-ra-ar[KI] |
Murar, |
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18 URU ir-ri-diKI URU ia-ri-im-l[i-im] |
and Irride - Yarimlim [ruled them(?)] |
Of the 75 lines that are more or less preserved, the first 18 constitute a list of towns. This town list represents places exchanged and ruled by Abbael and his brother Yarimlim. Given the history of conflict and conquest that follows in lines 19-30, it is reasonable to assume that lines 1-18 represent a situation that pertained before the events described in the following lines. Thus these lines form part of a historical record that may be compared with the first twelve chapters