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THE BIBLE UNEARTHED: THE MAKING OF A RELIGION -- ILLUSTRATED SCREENPLAY & SCREENCAP GALLERY |
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THESE CONQUERED CITIES FORMED THE OUTLINES OF A COUNTRY.
[Thomas Romer] The Biblical version presents this conquest as a sort of BLITZKRIEG. In all, it took two weeks, and practically the WHOLE OF THE POPULATION WAS EXTERMINATED. NO MERCY WAS SHOWN for the people of Canaan. But WE'RE NOT TOLD WHY. We're not told that it was because they worshipped false gods, or because they were particularly evil. On the contrary, NO REASONS ARE GIVEN. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT THEY WERE ALL DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION according to the Biblical text. The word used is "Hem," which means that everything must be destroyed in order to be given back to Yahweh. The idea is that God grants them victory, so everything therefore belongs to God.
[Narrator] The conquest, followed by the dividing up of Canaan, are at THE HEART of the Biblical book of Joshua. According to Biblical chronology, this incident occurred in the 2nd half of the 13th century, B.C.
Hazor, Israel
Archaeologists have located and excavated most of the cities referred to in the STORY. It is therefore necessary to take a closer look at these excavations.
The most important site for this part of our investigation is Hazor in Galillee.
The Bible describes this as a high-ranking city, the head of all those kingdoms.
The archaeological site is being examined by Amnon Ben Tor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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