Rewriting Joshua Traditions in Late Second Temple Judaism: Judean-Samaritan Relations as a Catalyst for Textual Changes

In this article, I identify a socio-historical context where conquest traditions were rewritten: namely the increasing tensions between the Judeans and Samaritans during the latter part of the Second Temple period (ca. second century BCE – first century CE). I will explore whether one can reasonably explain textual changes documented in variant manuscripts with these tensions in mind. Such an endeavor entails combining text-critical data with other kinds of evidence, literary and material. I analyze two case examples that seem to offer clues about the historical context of textual variation. The two cases are the differing location of the covenant making in Josh 24 and the interpretation of the curse uttered by Joshua (Josh 6:26) in Apocryphon of Joshua^b (4Q379). I will argue that these cases illuminate two sides of the same polemics.