Strangers in the Land: Ger 36

Joshua 8:30-35

Now Joshua built an altar to the Lord God of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: “an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the children of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, the ger as well as he who was born among them ['ezrach]. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel [qahal Yisra'el], with the women, the little ones, and the ger who were living among them.

What Does It Say?

In terms of direct relation to our topic, this passage doesn't add much that wasn't established in the passages from Deuteronomy discussed recently. Joshua does the same thing that Moses did, reading the law in the hearing of all the people, native born and ger alike.

One interesting feature of this passage is the contrast between "he who was born among them" and "the assembly of Israel." Being used in this parallel nature indicates that the term "he who was born among them" ('ezrach) is identical with the "assembly of Israel" (qahal Yisra'el).

I think in one of the earlier post there was some discussion of whether the two terms were equivalant, ie., if "born among them" meant anyone born as part of the community (ie, including the descendants of ger raised in the Israelite religion) or only Israelites.

Now, qahal Yisra'el is not as explicitly a blood tie as, say, the term ben Yisra'el used in passages such as Numbers 35. But I think this might tip things towards 'ezarch referring to those who have Israeli descent.

So far as I can tell, those of mixed heritage would be considered natives, assuming they were born of legitimate unions (ie, not intermarriages with pagans).

One more thing to bear in mind about this passage is that it comes immediately after the debacle at Ai. For those rusty on their Bible history, after the great success at Jericho, one of the Judahites stole some items that were supposed to be destroyed. As a result, the Israelites were defeated at the comparatively powerless town of Ai. The culprit was found and stoned to death and burned along with his family and property, and then Ai was successfully overthrown.

The point is, it was a particularly opportune time to remind everyone that the Law was in full effect. The blessings and cursings were not theoretical; breaking the Law would bring a very, very literal death, not only for you, but for your family and community.

Next: Joshua 20