International Voices in Biblical Studies A FILIPINO RESISTANCE READING OF JOSHUA 1:1–9 OF JOSHUA READING A FILIPINO RESISTANCE Lily Fetalsana-Apura uses contextual hermeneutics to offer an alternative interpretation of Joshua 1:1–9 that counters and resists historical-critical and theological readings legitimizing A Filipino Western conquests and imperialism. After outlining exegetical and hermeneutical procedures for contextual interpretation, she reads the Former Prophets in the context of four hundred years of colonial Resistance Reading of victimization and a continuing struggle against neocolonialism by marginalized and exploited communities such as those in the Philippines. She argues that Joshua 1:1–9 exhorts strength and courage against exploitation and domination by empire. Her work Joshua 1:1–9 subvert imperial ideology and that can serve as a model for other work inidentifies contextual themes hermeneutics and concepts of biblical in the texts. Deuteronomistic History that is an assistant professor in the Silliman studiesLILY FETALSANA-APURA courses. University Divinity School in the Philippines. She teaches biblical FETALSANA-APURA Electronic open access edition (ISBN 978-0-88414-333-8) available at http://ivbs.sbl-site.org/home.aspx Lily Fetalsana-Apura A FILIPINO RESISTANCE READING OF JOSHUA 1:1–9 INTERNATIONAL VOICES IN BIBLICAL STUDIES Jione Havea Jin Young Choi Musa W. Dube David Joy Nasili Vaka’uta Gerald O. West Number 9 A FILIPINO RESISTANCE READING OF JOSHUA 1:1–9 by Lily Fetalsana-Apura Atlanta Copyright © 2019 by Lily Fetalsana-Apura All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, SBL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress Control Number: 2019932273 Printed on acid-free paper. To Cecilia Forio Fetalsana my mother an epitome of courage and strength ONTENTS C Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ ix Preface .......................................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ xv 1. Resistance Hermeneutics ................................................................................................. 1 The Bible and Power 1 The Bible and Resistance 3 The Case of Joshua 1:1–9 5 The Contextuality of Texts and Readers 12 The Context of This Study 16 2. The Colonial Ancient Near East .................................................................................. 23 Rulers and Control 26 Ancient Near Eastern Empires and Nations 29 The World(view)s of the Ancient Near East 37 3. The Impact of the Ancient Near Eastern World(view)s on Israel ................ 41 The Land and Life of Ancient Israel 42 The Impact of Imperialism on Israel and Its Literature 60 4. Resistance in the Early Prophets ................................................................................ 65 Purpose and Central Themes 71 Ideology and Historiography 86 5. Early Prophets as Resistance Literature ................................................................. 89 Power and Resistance 89 Interpreting the Early Prophets Today 100 6. Joshua 1:1–9: Literary and Rhetorical Observations ..................................... 109 The Book of Joshua 109 Textual Variants and Translation of Joshua 1:1–9 114 Redaction, Literary, and Rhetorical Criticisms 118 7. Joshua 1:1–9: Colonial Readings ............................................................................. 129 - vii - viii | A Filipino Resistance Reading 8. The Philippines Context .............................................................................................. 139 Spanish and American Colonization/Christianization 139 Resistant Movements 143 Independent yet Colonialist 150 Biblical Interpretation in the Philippines 154 9. Joshua 1:1–9: A Filipino Reading ............................................................................ 163 Reconstructing a People Shattered by Colonialism 163 The Filipinos Are Not Israel 167 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 177 Index of Biblical Citations ............................................................................................... 207 Index of Subjects ................................................................................................................. 211 Index of Modern Authors ................................................................................................ 219 BBREVIATIONS A BA Biblical Archeologist ABBAR Anchor BibleBiblical Archeology Review CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly DH Deuteronomistic History EP Early Prophets HSMIEJ Human Systems ManagementIsrael Exploration Journal HUCAJBL Hebrew Union College AnnualJournal of Biblical Literature JETS Journal of Evangelical Theological Society JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSOTS Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement SBLMS Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series RSR Religious Studies Review WBC Word Bible Commentary - ix - REFACE P I was raised in a pietistic home by tenant farmers. My protestant parents (converts by American missionaries) rejected all forms of folk beliefs and practices common in our rural neighborhood and instilled a modern out- look in us along with a love of reading and learning. Open, honest, and respectful discussions about differing views were encouraged in our family. Early in life I realized that no subject or topic, including one’s faithReader’s Di-, is ex- empt from scrutiny.gest Reading materials at home consisted of church literature, , and books from the public library coming from the United States. My parents regaled us with stories of missionary exploits all over the world. American hymnbooks and the English Bible were my early introduction to literature. How I loved hymns. I remember singing through the hymnbooks to the last hymns titled “America, America” which, young as I was, I substi- tuted “My Philippines, dear Philippines.” Even now we still sing “summer and winter and springtime and harvest.” But I only know two seasons: summer and rainy season. I have become proficient in English, as it is the language of learning, as well as in church.The Little Brown Brothers All is well; nothing seemed amiss, until as a nineteen-year-old Bible seminary student I read . It opened my eyes to the atrocities of American occupation of the Philippines and the fact that my faith, a very important aspect of my being, has molded me in the thought and ways of the colonizer. The poverty of my cultural heritage is evident in a home devoid of traditions shared with other Filipinos, though many al of l saintsthese traditions have roots in the Spanish times: kissing of hands, communi- ty fiesta celebrations, beliefs about departed family and relatives, and day practices, to name a few. I cannot even pray in my mother tongue! That summer, I was sent for “gospel team” field exposure to the central highland of Negros Island, Canlaon, a beautiful city with cool climate and abundant crops, owing to the perennial lava flow and spewing of fertile ash by the volcano, and watered by cool waters from verdant forest around. It was also a battleground between communist rebels and the Philippine gov- ernment forces. For the first time, I saw dead bodies of rebel fighters, and I understood the reason why. Few landowning families control land in Canla- on and in most parts of Negros Occidental. The local people rent even the - xi - xii | A Filipino Resistance Reading lots where their homes are built. The majority of them are sugarcane plan- tation workers with no land of their own, even for a small vegetable garden, and were dependent on their pittance daily wage in the plantation. When the sugar stalks are grown, they have no work until harvest, and hunger was their constant lot. But in busy days even children work. While there, news of a man arrested for trespassing a well-fenced land was the talk of the town: he only wanted to pick up a fallen coconut fruit. Being the youngest in a family with three elder brothers, I remember being aware of the oppressive stereotyped view of gender. “You are typical- ly an Asian woman, who cannot sit down and allow men to do housework” (as a European seminar coparticipant commented). That remark made me painfully aware that being raised in a patriarchal household, church, and community made me servile. Even people who love us can be enslaving when they know no better. As a brother had predicted, being a woman, even if I studied in the seminary, I will end being a teacher (though not a kindergarten teacher). All the reading that comes with teaching developed my interest in the Bible particularly the Hebrew Bible. In line with my interest in biblical in- terpretation and faith integration, I came to realize the disruption in Filipino psyche brought by Spanish and American colonization. Christianity facilitated that. Christianity in the Philippines carries the Western