Toponym Dropping

The article questions a widespread scholarly view regarding the authorship of Josh 10:28–39. It is usually assumed that this description of a route of conquest and massacre, which Joshua leads through six cities in the Shephelah and Mount Hebron, was composed by Judean authors, and it is most commonly dated to the seventh century bce. This paper examines the geographical reality underlying Josh 10:28–39, as well as the spatial knowledge displayed in it. While reinforcing the common view that this is an essentially pre-Deuteronomistic, independent account and one of the relatively early elements within Josh 10, these examinations also lead to the conclusion that its first draft was composed somewhat earlier than usually assumed – in the eighth century bce, and not in Judah. Most likely it was written in Northern Israel before 722 bce. This conclusion supports the recently renewed suggestion that the first edition of the Joshua Conquest Narrative was a pre-722 bce North-Israelite composition.