Dr. Baden and Dr. Collins shared that books like Joshua may have been written to explain why things came to pass, rather than capturing the events of history as they happened. What parts of these first six chapters might support that?
Did you notice any recurring themes that the stories in Joshua 1-6 have in common? If so, what were they? What do these recurring themes tell us about the author’s objective?
What, if anything, do you think the storyteller intended for the reader to learn? Imagine yourself as the intended audience, or the author, and think about why this text needed to be written.
Applying the Text:
Did this video discussion help clarify any of the questions that came up for you while reading? Does it affect how you understand this book in your practice of worship or scripture study?
Does the idea that stories in Joshua are not historically accurate impact your reading of these texts? If so, how? If not, why? What are some other stories that fall into this genre of “explanatory myth?”
What is one takeaway from this discussion that will stick with you moving forward and why? Would you approach reading Joshua differently in the future?