Sermon Tone Analysis

Who was Joshua?

Deut 32.44

g Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua

l ,

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), ..32:44

Deut 32:44

Joshua, Theology of.

Joshua the Faithful Warrior and Leader.

Moses gave Joshua his name, meaning, “the Lord has delivered.”

The change from his former name, Hoshea (“he has delivered,” ; ), reflects a confession of the God of Israel as Savior.

Joshua first appears in Israel’s war with the Amalekites ().

He fights on behalf of Moses and leads Israel to victory.

He thus personifies Israel at war.

When he reappears in , Joshua climbs Mount Sinai alongside Moses.

Later (32:17), Joshua warns Moses of the noise that comes from the camp below where Israel engages in idolatry.

He joins Moses in the covenant-making process and in watching over its preservation.

With Caleb, Joshua spies out the land and returns a positive evaluation of the possibilities of Israelite occupation ().

He appreciates and bears witness to the promised land as God’s gift to Israel.

Finally, Joshua is designated as Moses’ successor and is commissioned to succeed him.

Four theological themes appear in the descriptions of Joshua in the Pentateuch: Joshua’s divine commission as leader of Israel, his military leadership, his allocation of the land, and his role in Israel’s covenant with God.

In each case, God’s word and power lie behind Joshua.

These same four themes reappear in the Book of Joshua.

Walter Elwell Book of Evangelical Theology

Who is Hur in the Bible?

Ex 17:10

Hur in the Bible

Hur appears as a personal name 15 times in the Hebrew Bible.

The book of Joshua includes Hur among the five rulers of Midian, but instead of being named as “kings” they are described here as “leaders” of Midian and as “chiefs” or “princes” of Sihon (Josh 13:21).

In the Masoretic Text, “leaders” and “chiefs” act as synonyms in parallel construction, indicating that the five men were rulers in Midian, but that they also were in the domain of King Sihon.

Therefore, the references to “chiefs” or “princes” likely indicates that Hur ruled a vassal nation, owing allegiance to King Sihon.

The grandfather of Bezalel, from the tribe of Judah; it was Bezalel who designed and crafted the paraphernalia of the Israelite cult, according to the P source (Exod 31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 2 Chr 2:1).

According to 1 Chr 2:19–20, 50, this Hur was a Calebite, and grandfather of the town of Bethlehem; 1 Chr 4:1, 4 makes him a Judean, and father of Bethlehem.

In the original genealogies of the tribe of Judah (1 Chr 2:50; 4:1, 4), the father of Bezalel is not mentioned among Hur’s sons.

This observation gives rise to the suspicion that Hur #2 (see above) and the “grandfather of Bezalel” both personify a claim to fame and dignity by this Calebite (later Judahite) clan.

Who is Miriam?

:21

Miriam Moses Elder sister

MIRIAM (PERSON) [Heb miryām (מִרְיָם)]. 1.

A woman in Israel’s wilderness community who exercised religious leadership alongside Moses and Aaron ().

Introduced as prophetess and Aaron’s sister, Miriam led the women in the celebration at the Sea () and joined Aaron in a rebellion against Moses, for which she was punished with leprosy (; cf. ).

The Levitical genealogies of and 1 Chr 5:29—Eng 6:3 list her as sister of Aaron and Moses.

According to , she died and was buried at Kadesh.

The prophet Micah (6:4) regards her as a divinely commissioned leader alongside Moses and Aaron during the wilderness journey.

The seven texts which mention Miriam by name (cf. ) bear repeated testimony to her leadership role in the wilderness community.

is generally regarded as the earliest account of the Israelites’ celebration of the event at the sea.

It is striking that the earliest tradition portrays Miriam, not Moses, as the first to articulate, through ritual song and dance, the religious dimension of Israel’s foundational event.

In different layers of tradition present Miriam and Aaron raising controversies with Moses regarding his Cushite wife and his authority in rendering God’s word.

The latter controversy clearly reflects a crisis of religious leadership.

The account seeks to establish the primacy of Moses as God’s spokesperson, but in doing so it does not negate the authenticity of Miriam and Aaron as mediators of God’s word.

Although the background of the Cushite wife controversy is unknown, the use of the feminine singular Hebrew verb in 12:1 suggests that some level of tradition viewed Miriam alone as confronting Moses on the matter.

Comparison with other controversy stories in the wilderness narratives suggests that Moses’ leadership is at the heart of the Cushite issue and that in presenting the problem, Miriam voiced a matter of community concern (see Burns 1987: 68–71).

While several scholars cite the prophetess designation in as a basis for interpreting Miriam’s role in the dispute over oracular authority in as a prophetic one, Burns (1987: 48–67) has argued that the controversy of reflects struggles between priestly, not prophetic groups.

If that view is correct, does not contribute to the portrait of Miriam as prophetess.

Unlike Deborah and Huldah, no characteristic prophetic activity is attributed to Miriam in the biblical texts.

Thus, the prophetess designation in may well be an anachronism.

There is little doubt that the view of Miriam as sister of Moses and Aaron is the product of a long history of tradition.

The three leaders are presented together without kinship terminology in and .

The designation of Miriam as Aaron’s sister in may be an attempt by a late priestly writer/editor to relate this early cult leader to Aaron.

From there it was a small step to include her in the Levitical genealogies of and 1 Chr 5:29—Eng 6:3.

Contemporary scholarship suggests that biblical genealogies reflect much more about functional relationships than actual biological ties (see especially Wilson GHBW).

Thus, in linking Miriam with Moses and Aaron, late priestly genealogists offer much the same view of Miriam as do and , that is, as a religious leader alongside Aaron and Moses.

The record of Miriam’s death and burial at Kadesh has a similar function insofar as the deaths of the three wilderness leaders are artificially constructed in such a way as to coincide with the last three stops on the wilderness journey.

In presenting Miriam, biblical writers from earliest to latest periods of composition offer only glimpses of a woman in the wilderness community who exercised leadership in the cultic sphere and who claimed authority as a spokesperson for the Divinity.

Martin Noth (HPT, 182) was undoubtedly correct in saying that “at one time much more was told about her which is now completely lost.”

2. A Calebite relative of Ezrah ().

The writer of includes Miriam in an early list of Calebites.

The text of v 17, in which the name appears, is difficult.

In the MT the verse begins with a list of the four children of Ezrah and then continues, “and she conceived Miriam” and two others.

The RSV (following the LXX in part) transposes Mered and Bithiah, the pharaoh’s daughter, from v 18 of the MT to v 17, thus presenting them as Miriam’s parents.

Burns, R. J. 1987.

Has the Lord Indeed Spoken Only through Moses?

SBLDS 84.

Atlanta.

Görg, M. 1979.

Mirjam: ein weiter Versuch.

BZ 23: 285–89.

Trible, P. 1989.

Bringing Miriam Out of the Shadows.

BRev 5: 14–24, 34.

Hur

Rita J. Burns

1. (Sept.

Οὐρί or Οὐρίας.)

The father of Bezaleel, one of the architects of the tabernacle (Exod.

31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 1 Chron 2:20; 2 Chron.

1:5).

B.C. ante 1657.

He was of the tribe of Judah, and grandson of Caleb ben-Hezron, his father being Hur, who, according to tradition, was the husband of Miriam.

GHBW R. R. Wilson.

1977.

Genealogy and History in the Biblical World.

YNER 7. New Haven

HPT M. Noth.

1981.

A History of Pentateuchal Traditions.

Trans.

B. Anderson.

Chico, CA

MT Masoretic Text

RSV Revised Standard Version

Hur. 1.

First mention in the account of Israel’s battle with the Amalekites at Rephidim, he aided Aaron in supporting Moses’ hands until the Amalekites were defeated (Ex 17:8–13).

He is mentioned again as assisting Aaron in overseeing Israel while Moses was on Mt Sinai (24:14).

According to Josephus, Hur was the husband of Miriam, the sister of Moses (Josephus, Antiq.