Divine Presence Amid Violence: Contextualizing the Book of Joshua

"To pursue the matter of "revelation in context," I will address an exceedingly difficult text in the Old Testament, Joshua 11. The reason for taking up this text is to deal with the often asked and troublesome question: What shall we do with all the violence and bloody war that is done in the Old Testament in the name of Yahweh? The question reflects a sense that these texts of violence are at least an embarrassment, are morally repulsive, and are theologically problematic in the Bible, not because they are violent, but because this is violence either in the name of or at the hand of Yahweh." -from chapter 2 'Like Jacob wrestling with the man all night, Walter Brueggemann struggles with texts of divine violence and wrings from them a blessing. He draws together materialist and literary approaches to discover God's violence subtly and indirectly employed on behalf of the dominated against dominators. The book is a brilliant primer in persuasive, open-ended theological interpretation. It will help pastors, students and anyone who would like to join the hot debate about violence and the God of the Bible.' Kathleen M Connor, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary