Naked Bible Podcast 212 — Joshua’s Conquest of Jericho and the Ugaritic Keret Epic

The basic details of the Israelite conquest of Jericho are well known. The renewal of the covenant at Shechem, the miraculous crossing of the Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant, Joshua’s encounter with the supernatural commander of the Lord’s host, the sending of the spies to the city and their reception by Rahab, the weird battle instructions to march around the city and blow the ram’s horns, and the collapse of the walls have been retold in countless Sunday School classes and sermons. But virtually unknown is that many of these details have correspondences in a story from Ugarit, an ancient city state in Syria. That story is known as the Keret (or Kirta) Epic. In this episode we talk about the similarities and how an ancient reader might have processed such parallels.

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[thestraightroad]

I’m constantly backing up and re-listening. Even during simple chores—Trey is right! So each podcast is about twice as long as it says lol.

[momfaustel]

I do my housework while listening, but I have to listen to it twice or even more...

[tiffanygriffin]

Haha. Yes. I try and listen while I’m cooking and stuff but I have to hear it a few times. I love how much info is packed into it .

[-attemptingtherandom-]

Here to listen and learn. This content is so very important and easily missed. Bless God for keeping this material around us! God is so Good. I love Him.

[mishaanton]

Dr. Heiser... yes good to listen, I listen to lectures. When I want to digest all stops and Bible and note book in hand. Also at times I play as I go to sleep, barely audible. As scriptures will be heard by my quiet conscience.

[matthewjames]

This is my second time listening and looking forward to digesting a bit more info haha thanks guys for your hard work

[petemiller]

Lol I understand your feeling Trey lol it's deep stuff. Ear buds put the podcasts or books on repeat....on about the fifth go at it.... is when your head explodes and then you dive into the next episode or book... lol
What you think you know may not be so.. 👊✌

[GalenCurrah]

Besides suggesting ancient literary convention, there may also have been an ancient warfare convention: give your enemy seven days to comply or to suffer consequences, with a mid-way display of invoking gods against them. Enemies would have time to calculate their chances and to consult their religious memories. Even Samson gave his Philistine friends seven days to solve his riddle, and on the fourth day they entreated Delilah to divulge the secret.

[acarpentersson]

When Moses handed over authority to Joshua, it says he taught him all the words of the song. I imagine that history was preserved in oral record by condensing it into song/chant/poetry. Once they began to record it in writing it was no longer remembered in the same way.

[amyk]

Does this epic- the loss of KRT's wives, the absence of heirs and weeping- have any literary connection to Job?

[justice]

I like dr. Heiser's very dry sense of humor.

[Jamie-Russell-CME]

There are scribal updates commonly or seemingly, if true, changing place names, or updating the names of cities so they are recognized by the readers during the days in which the text is being copied.
Like when the Exodus story calls a city, Ramses. But Moses was living during the reign of Tutmoses III, several generations before the reign of Ramses. Who was also known to change things in Egypt to depict himself over the previous kings. But he should have seen his glory for what it was. Dust.

[philiplim]

How can salvation be "eternal" if it depends on our continual believing?
How would salvation be a gift if it's conditional upon our continual believing?

[alx]

I Wish Dr Heiser would make or Write a script, for a Joshua biblically accurate action Movie, of his destruction of the Hybrid Nephilim Demonic Giants, kingdoms and Strongholds. Start the movie with the 40 year's in the wilderness...Up until his death, in the promise land.
It's my dream to watch a awesome, ( can be a trilogy), story of the conquest of the hybrid tribes, on the way and in the promise land, and destruction of the majority of the hybrid bastard reprabates.
The movie, if done right, would be a masterpiece historical, block buster!!!
Please Dr ?
I pray you will get healed, we all need your guidance in these evil times
Please get well soon .
I have faith that
YESHUA The Christ
Will heal you of this demonic
Illness.
Your an amazing writer and a gentleman and a awesome scholar.
May
G O D
Bless you .

[AFJDP]

I think MH makes a lot of assumptions that are not valid. Why could the Keret Epic not have been written after the destruction of the city of Ugaritic? is there no presidents in history of stories being written about events of a city after they no longer existed? No explanation is given as to why it COULD NOT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN AFTER.

[annehettick]

This help me stay in my bible and not get hung up on so called modern prophets

[lemnisgate]

It doesn’t matter who wrote what when since the text are divinely inspired they have the same author throughout, it’s the Lord God it’s history (his story) for he is the author and finisher of the faith.

[Jamie-Russell-CME]

If God made man and the first story given to man was the stories from Genesis 1-6, can we not assume that the style or context of the way these first stories were told, written or not, would be copied and developed in their structure and context in the earlier surrounding cultures? Perhaps the stories were known as history and in a kind of prophetic layering by the context. Then similiar writings would be copying these styles? Not possible?

[kightsun]

I mean Deuteronomy also would make sense if it was written as they were going into the land. This type of textual criticism (Welhausen) is far from objective.

[MiriamMonroe]

And then we have the book of Jasher...