What historical evidence supports the events described in Joshua 2? Historical Setting and Chronological Placement Joshua 2 unfolds in the spring of 1406 BC, forty years after the Exodus, six days before the Passover observed in Canaan (Joshua 5:10). A conservative Usshur-style chronology places the fall of Jericho in that same year, year 2550 from creation. The Amarna tablets (EA 286, 287) describe turmoil in Canaan just decades later, confirming the broader Late Bronze Age context of walled city-states threatened by incoming peoples—precisely the geo-political climate Joshua reports. Geography and Topography of Jericho Tell es-Sultan sits at the western edge of the Jordan Valley, 670 ft below sea level. The mound is tiny (six acres), easily encircled by Israel’s forces “once each day” (Joshua 6:3). A spring inside the tell supplied water, explaining why the city could withstand siege yet fell quickly only by divine intervention, matching the brief narrative of chapters 2 – 6. Archaeological Corroboration of a Walled City • John Garstang (1930–36) uncovered a stone revetment 12–15 ft high with a mudbrick parapet whose collapsed bricks created a ramp—still visible in square A1—exactly what inhabitants could have “gone up” (Joshua 6:20). • Kathleen Kenyon (1952–58) confirmed the tumble of mudbrick but redated it. Later ceramic re-analysis (B. Wood, 1990, 1999) showed Late Bronze I imported Cypriot bichrome ware and local burnished pottery identical to 15th-century assemblages at Lachish and Deir ‘Alla, restoring Garstang’s 1400 BC date. • Both excavations documented an ash layer three feet thick, charred timbers, and storage jars brim-full of carbonized grain—city burned yet provisions intact (Joshua 6:24), proof of a very short siege in spring when barley was new (flax stalks on Rahab’s roof, Joshua 2:6). Architecture Supporting Rahab’s House “in the Wall” Garstang’s north quadrant exposed houses built directly against the outer wall, with domestic rooms accessible from the rampart. A unique portion of wall remained standing on the north—surface still visible—furnishing a physical locus where Rahab’s family could have survived as the rest of the circumference collapsed. The narrative that her window “faced the outside” (Joshua 2:15) fits the structural profile perfectly. Cultural Nuances Matching Late-Bronze Jericho • Prostitution doubled as tavern-keeping; Nuzi texts and Ugaritic tablets list innkeepers under the same Akkadian root as zanāh (“prostitute,” Joshua 2:1). A public lodging near the gate explains immediate detection of foreign visitors (2:2). • The flax stalks on the flat roof (2:6) agree with Jericho’s February-March flax harvest, still traditional in the Jordan Valley. • City gates closed at dusk (2:5). Egyptian execration texts (19th c. BC) mention night curfews in Canaanite towns, corroborating the haste of the spies’ escape. External Literary Parallels to Espionage The Amarna Letter EA 289 pleads for aid against “the Ḫapiru who spy out the land,” illustrating that reconnaissance by outsiders was common. Egyptian Papyrus Anastasi I (13th c. BC) gives a manual for military spying across Canaanite terrain—identical tactics Joshua’s two men employ. Archaeological Echoes of the Scarlet Cord Scarlet-dyed cord was produced from Mediterranean murex or cochineal scale insects; textile fragments dyed with kermes have been recovered at Timna copper mines (14th c. BC). The technology and color symbolism (“blood-mark” echoing Exodus 12:13) existed in Canaan at the right time. Psychological and Behavioral Plausibility of the Oath (Joshua 2:19) Ancient Near-Eastern suzerain treaties regularly assigned “bloodguilt” to the covenant-breaker (cf. Hittite Treaties §10). The spies' formula—“his blood will be on his own head” —mirrors legal idioms in 1 Kings 2:37 and Ezekiel 33:4, displaying authentic juridical language, not later literary invention. Miraculous Providence Integrated with Natural Data While archaeology shows how the walls could fall outward and leave an intact northern segment, Scripture attributes the timing and totality to Yahweh (Joshua 6:2, 20). Providence often employs natural means precisely when His purpose is ripe—observable science does not negate but rather highlights the divine choreography. Cumulative Evidential Force 1. A walled Late-Bronze city at Tell es-Sultan with collapse, burn, and grain jars. 2. Houses set within the wall, with a preserved northern stretch compatible with Rahab’s survival. 3. Ceramic, scarab, and carbon data pointing to 1400 BC. 4. Textual witnesses (Masoretic, Qumran, LXX, NT) unanimously transmitting the narrative. 5. Cultural customs (innkeeping, night curfews, flax harvest, treaty language) matching the period. 6. External documents (Amarna, Anastasi) proving identical espionage practices. Together these strands braid a historically credible, archaeologically attested, textually secure account that aligns with the inspired record. “Then the two men returned, came down from the hill country, crossed the river, and came to Joshua” (Joshua 2:23). Their report still stands: “Truly the LORD has delivered the entire land into our hands.” |
    |