Drafting Israel’s borders : reassessing the compositional history of Joshua 18—19 in light of later scribal activity.

Joshua 18—19 recounts the land inheritance distribution for seven minor tribes throughout Canaan. After a brief narrative depicting a land allotment ceremony at Shiloh (Josh 18:1—10), the passage describes the allotments for seven tribes and Joshua (Josh 18:11—19:50), then concludes with a summary (Josh 19:51) that brings closure to the Cisjordan land distribution texts in Joshua 14—19. Unique themes occur throughout the passage such as concepts of a land commission, the land distribution by lot-casting (גורל), and tribal inheritances for seven minor tribes (Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan). These themes show ties to post-exilic texts throughout the Hebrew Bible including Numbers 26—36, Judges 1, and 1 Chronicles 4. Recognizing these parallels with Numbers 26—36, Judges 1, and 1 Chronicles 4, recent literary-critical scholars have used Joshua 18—19 to reconstruct the development of the Torah, the seam between Joshua and Judges, and the broader land distribution unit in Joshua 14—19. These models often focus primarily on the witness of the Masoretic Text tradition (MT) for Joshua 18—19, despite the growing consensus among text-critical scholars that often attributes priority to the Old Greek (OG) in Joshua. Historical-geographical studies have also generally focused on the MT when studying Joshua 18—19, recognizing the value of the passage when attempting to reconstruct the historical-geography of various regions throughout ancient Israel. This study reexamines the compositional development of Joshua 18—19 and reevaluates contemporary literary-critical models through the use of text-critical data. By analyzing the later scribal changes throughout the passage, this study coheres with many text-critical studies in Joshua that suggest that the OG often preserves the earliest witness for Joshua 18—19. Though the earliest recoverable version of Joshua 18—19 may date to the late 5th century BCE, scribes continued to gradually and unevenly develop the passage throughout the Second Temple period and into the Later Roman period, even up to the 3rd century CE in some instances. This study contributes to a growing number of studies that seek to refine literary-critical models through the integration of empirical evidence.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Hunt, Michelle D., 1987-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Fulton, Deirdre N.

• Literary criticism.
• Textual criticism.
• Historical geography.
• Land distribution.
• Lot casting.
• Hebrew Bible.
• Tribes of Israel.
• Bible. Septuagint.
• Bible. Joshua.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14701

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14701