It seems the biblical author of Joshua is very fond of repetition. There are a number of ways that repetition can be used as a literary device, different ways each having a different function. Today's reading contains two types of repetition. The first type is a building repetition (or "parallelism") in which a phrase gains new meaning and significance throughout the text to a climax. The second type is what I call pollination repetition, in which different characters pick up a repeated phrase and use it themselves, with the same meaning. The phrase is spread to others - sometimes through means that are not explicated by the author.
God's Commission to Joshua: Joshua 1.1-9
After Moses' death, the Lord speaks to Joshua, telling him to cross the Jordan and enter the promised land. The promised land extends from the wilderness and the Lebanon to the Euphrates, to the Great Sea in the west, all the land of the Hittites. God promises Joshua: "No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." Israel is safe from God's wrath for at least for one more generation. God then uses a series of three building repetitions urging Joshua to:
- "Be strong and courageous." There is nothing to fear because God will put the Israelites in possession of the land God promised their ancestors.
- "Only be strong and courageous." Joshua will be successful if he acts in accordance with the law. The book of the law should always be in Joshua's mind to guide his actions. This will make Joshua successful.
- " I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous." Joshua should not be afraid because the Lord is with him wherever he goes.
Preparations for the Invasion Joshua 1.10-18
Joshua commands the officers to pass through the camp, telling the people they will cross the Jordan in three days and enter the land the Lord has given them. He then reminds the Reubenite, Gadite, and Mahassite males of their promise to help conquer the promised land, though they will eventually reside on the other (east) side of the Jordan - which is where their wives, children, and livestock will remain. The men agree to uphold their pledge, curiously using the words of God himself:
All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you.Only may the Lord your God be with you, as he was with Moses! Whoever rebels against your orders and disobeys your words, whatever you command, shall be put to death. Only be strong and courageous."The emphasized portions denote echoes of God's commands to Joshua at the beginning of the chapter: Obedience is acknowledged (this time Israelite to Joshua, rather than Joshua to God), God's relationship with Joshua is likened to God's relationship with Moses, and the repeated climatic phrase "only be strong and courageous is echoed verbatim.
This echoing technique creates irony because the Israelites have no knowledge of God's conversation with Joshua. But at the same time it validates the ideas; now these ideas have two different sources that agree with each other. To the biblical author, this was an effective technique of backing up a key idea: just have someone else say it in addition to God.
The biblical author does not reveal how the Israelites picked up the phrase "Be strong and courageous." This is a phrase that was uttered to Joshua and not one that Joshua explicitly passed along to the Israelites. However, it makes sense within the story, because it supports the idea the author is trying to make: namely that the Israelites should remain strong and courageous. It would be considered something of a textual lapse by today's standards, but to the laconic biblical author, this might not have been a problem. This is why I call this method of repetition "pollination." We see the source of the idea and we see where it has spread, but how it has spread there (whether through animal or wind or what-have-you) is not revealed.
Tomorrow: Spies in Jericho.
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