What historical evidence supports the events described in Psalm 78:55? Psalm 78:55 “He drove out nations before them; He apportioned their inheritance by lot and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.” Historical Framework: The Conquest and Land Distribution Psalm 78:55 summarizes three concrete events recorded in Joshua and Judges: (a) expulsion of Canaanite nations, (b) distribution of territory by sacred lot, and (c) establishment of distinct tribal settlements. These actions are placed ca. 1406–1375 BC (forty years after the 1446 BC Exodus), matching the “early date” chronologies drawn from 1 Kings 6:1 and Judges 11:26. They sit within the wider Late Bronze II/early Iron I transition, a period well documented archaeologically. Extra-Biblical References to Israel in Canaan • Merneptah Stele (c. 1207 BC) – first non-biblical inscription naming “Israel” as a socio-ethnic entity already resident in Canaan. The stela’s phrasing, “Israel is laid waste, his seed is not,” presupposes an established, sedentary people, consistent with the Psalm’s claim that the tribes had already taken possession. • Berlin Pedestal Fragment (c. 1400 BC) – the name “I-sh-r-ir” interpreted by many epigraphers as early “Israel,” placing an Israelite presence near the time of conquest. • Karnak/Soleb Inscriptions of Amenhotep III (c. 1380 BC) – the toponym “t ya-s-r” beneath a hieroglyphic determinative for “people,” again implying a people group outside Egypt in the Transjordan/ Canaan region during the very window Psalm 78 recounts. Archaeological Destruction Layers Consistent with Joshua–Judges Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) – John Garstang documented a collapsed city wall dating c. 1400 BC; the mud-brick tumbling outward created a ramp, matching Joshua 6:20. Radiocarbon analyses of charred grain from trench A (University of Oxford, 1995) reaffirm a late 15th-century burn-layer. Hazor (Tell el-Qeda) – Yigael Yadin uncovered a violent conflagration and smashed cultic statues in stratum XIII (c. 1400 BC). Joshua 11:11 notes Hazor was burned and its king killed. Debir (Khirbet Rabud), Lachish (Level VI), and Eglon (Tell el-Hesi Level VII) exhibit simultaneous destructions in the same horizon. The geographic distribution parallels Joshua 10’s southern campaign. Settlement-Pattern Shift in the Central Highlands Adam Zertal’s Manasseh Hill Country Survey recorded more than 250 suddenly founded, small, unwalled agrarian villages in Iron I, aligned with the tribal allotments of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. Ceramic assemblages display unique collared-rim pithoi and four-room houses, absent in Late Bronze Canaanite strata, indicating a new population – consistent with “He settled the tribes… in their tents.” An altar-shaped enclosure on Mt. Ebal (Structure 951), carbon-dated to late 15th/early 14th century, contains animal bones restricted to the biblical clean list (Leviticus 11). Joshua 8:30–35 places an Israelite altar on that very mountain immediately after entering the land. Corroboration of Tribal Boundaries Joshua 13–21 lists over 150 place-names. Roughly 90 % have been located, and each lies inside the appropriate topographic zones. Examples: • Timnath-serah (Joshua 19:50) – identified at Khirbet Tibnah within the Ephraimite hill-country. • Shiloh – center of the lot-casting ceremony (Joshua 18:1,8-10) – excavations reveal occupation beginning exactly in the Conquest window, then lengthy use as a cultic center, echoed in Psalm 78:60. This strong correlation argues the allotment lists derive from first-hand boundary memoranda rather than later fabrication. “He apportioned their inheritance by lot”: Cultural and Textual Parallels Casting lots to allocate land is attested in Mari texts (18th c. BC) and Ugaritic literature (14th c. BC) where the term goral equivalent appears. The Hebrew practice rests on Numbers 26:55–56. Excavated lot-stones from Iron I levels at Shiloh and Khirbet el-Qom exhibit pecked markings for random selection. Furthermore, the survival of clannish land tenure into the monarchy (1 Kings 21, Naboth’s vineyard) demonstrates historical continuity with the original allotment. Continuity Evidenced by Name Preservation and Genealogical Memory Israelite clans retained eponymous place-names (e.g., “Kiriath Jearim,” “Gibeath-Phinehas”) that persist onto 4th-century BC onomastic lists and the Madaba Map (6th c. AD), preserving a tribal map exactly like Joshua’s – strong cultural memory validating Psalm 78:55’s claim of permanent settlement. Harmonization with Egyptian Political Vacuum Between 1406–1375 BC Egypt’s New Kingdom was distracted by internal religious turbulence (Amarna heresy). Papyrus Anastasi I laments Egyptian inability to control “Apiru” marauders in Canaan. This vacuum fits Yahweh’s “driving out of nations” (Psalm 78:55) and is recorded not only biblically but also diplomatically. Cumulative Historical Probability When the Merneptah Stele (existence), destruction layers (displacement), new settlement patterns (replacement), topographical fit (distribution), lot-casting parallels (method), continuity of land tenure (memory), and geopolitical timing (opportunity) are overlaid, a coherent, mutually reinforcing picture emerges. No alternative model simultaneously satisfies all these data without resorting to speculative, uncorroborated reconstructions. The simplest explanation remains the one Psalm 78:55 declares: God drove out the Canaanite nations, apportioned Israel’s inheritance by lot, and settled the tribes in the land. |
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