1406 a.C. Le trombe di Gerico

The chapter examines the biblical account of Jericho’s destruction and the conquest of Canaan in light of archaeological evidence, historical reconstruction, and subsequent reception. Although Joshua depicts a swift, divinely sanctioned military campaign, archaeological findings do not substantiate this narrative: Jericho and other purportedly conquered cities were largely uninhabited during the presumed period of conquest. The emergence of Israel is instead situated within the prolonged upheavals accompanying the Late Bronze Age collapse, involving social dislocation, population movements, and the gradual settlement of pastoral and marginal groups. Within the Deuteronomistic History, the conquest narrative interprets Israel’s possession of the land through covenantal theology. The chapter discusses the hypothesis that Joshua’s campaigns retrospectively legitimized King Josiah’s territorial ambitions in the late seventh century BCE, with Joshua functioning as an idealized projection of Josiah. The narrative thus constitutes an “invention of tradition,” potentially incorporating memories of earlier historical disruptions. Its later reception reveals contrasting ideological possibilities: Puritan colonists invoked biblical conquest to justify violence against Native American peoples, whereas African American spirituals reinterpreted Joshua as a liberating figure.