Silencing the Land: Joshua as a Military Ritualist
In: Biblical InterpretationSearch for other papers by Rebekah J. Haigh in
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Abstract
In Joshua’s opening military salvo at Jericho (6:8–21), he institutes a strange, oft-overlooked act of communal speechlessness. This absence of speech can be understood as itself a kind of ritual speech. As this paper will argue, Joshua can kill things with and without words. When seen against a backdrop of Near Eastern magic and divine warfare, Joshua emerges as a powerful ritualist, someone who weaponizes speech and speechlessness in service of military victory. As with Joshua’s adjuration in the Aijalon battle (10:12–14) and his curse over Jericho (6:26), his wordless march around the city can be understood as a ritual act with the performative force of cessation. The silencing of the land is both his ritual objective and the ultimate goal of conquest (11:23).
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Silencing the Land: Joshua as a Military Ritualist
In: Biblical InterpretationSearch for other papers by Rebekah J. Haigh in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In Joshua’s opening military salvo at Jericho (6:8–21), he institutes a strange, oft-overlooked act of communal speechlessness. This absence of speech can be understood as itself a kind of ritual speech. As this paper will argue, Joshua can kill things with and without words. When seen against a backdrop of Near Eastern magic and divine warfare, Joshua emerges as a powerful ritualist, someone who weaponizes speech and speechlessness in service of military victory. As with Joshua’s adjuration in the Aijalon battle (10:12–14) and his curse over Jericho (6:26), his wordless march around the city can be understood as a ritual act with the performative force of cessation. The silencing of the land is both his ritual objective and the ultimate goal of conquest (11:23).
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 734 | 194 | 17 |
| Full Text Views | 180 | 14 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 425 | 39 | 0 |
