Joshua 1-12 by Thomas B. Dozeman

Author:Thomas B. Dozeman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2015-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

Passover, Unleavened Bread, and the Cessation of Manna

The crossing of the Jordan concludes with the cultic rituals in Josh 5:10–12, in which the focus is on the Israelites in general; Joshua does not assume a leadership role. Joshua 5:10 simply states that the “Israelites” observe the cultic rituals. The MT emphasizes that the rituals take place at Gilgal, in contrast to the LXX, which lacks the explicit reference to the setting. The emphasis on the setting of Gilgal in the MT returns in the war at Gibeon and the execution of the five kings at the cave of Makkedah (Josh 10), when the camp is mentioned twice in the MT (10:15, 43), even though it disrupts the setting. The celebration of Passover is explicit in v. 10: “They [Israel] kept the Passover.” The phrase presupposes the Priestly teaching in the Pentateuch (e.g., Num 9:2, 5). The late composition of the book of Joshua allows for the celebration of the festivals of Passover and Unleavened Bread to be part of the original book and not a later addition.

The interpretation of the ritual practice in v. 11 is difficult because the phrase “unleavened bread and roasted grain” (maôt wĕqālûy) is unique to this passage and the larger context of the verse is about the first fruits of the land: “And they [Israel] ate from the produce of the land on the day after Passover, unleavened bread and roasted grain.” The description of eating unleavened bread (maôt) and roasted grain (qālûy) in combination with Passover suggests the merging of the two festivals, Passover and Unleavened Bread, into a single festival as is evident in the Priestly account of the observance of Passover during the exodus (Exod 12:1–20) and in the Priestly calendar (Lev 23:4–8). The addition of “roasted grain” is likely intended to tie the celebration to the first fruits of the land. The Priestly cultic calendar in Lev 23 even uses the word “roasted grain” (qālûy) in the instruction on fruit fruits (23:14). Thus the reference is not simply “to the typical bread for a journey that … a wandering people would be accustomed [to]” (Butler, 1983: 60). Rather, it is a more precise description of the Priestly interpretation of Passover/Unleavened Bread. The author, moreover, is in conversation with the Priestly cultic calendar in Lev 23. Van der Meer (2004: 320) rightly concludes: “It can hardly be coincidental that these two terms (‘unleavened bread’ and ‘roasted grain’) occur together within the wider context of a Passover festival (Josh 5:10b; Lev 23:4–5), which is held at the entry of the promised land (Josh 3–5; Lev 23:10) and is connected with the (first) consumption of the products of the land (Josh 5:11–12; Lev 23:10–14).”

The more precise dating of the festivals to the arrival at Gilgal on Month 1, Day 10 (4:19); the celebration of Passover on Day 14 “at evening” (5:10); the eating of first fruits “on the day after Passover” (5:11); and the ceasing of manna “on the next day” anchor the passage

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