Old Testament the Return of

Old Testament The return of the exiled Israelites to the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey must have been equal parts joy and pain. Joy for the returning exiles, pain for the current inhabitants of land that no longer belonged to them. The form of the actual return and repossession is a matter of some historical mystery.

Does it make the most sense to imagine the returning Israelites storming in full battle regalia and taking back their land by conquest? Is it more likely that they snuck into Canaan and gradually married and shopped their way into social power? Or is a combination of the two the most likely choice? I believe that the third option, basically a revolt-type situation, is the most likely scenario because it suggests the middle ground that is so often the real historical explanation.

It also explains why there is evidence of destruction of cities and why battles are depicted in the Old Testament. In the "revolt" scenario, returning Israelites may have fought minor battles outside the cities and then meshed with city residents over time. It would make sense that they would mesh with the Canaanites because not all Canaanites could have been entirely pleased with the despotic rulers and leadership they had endured.

The promise of a new group of people with whom to forge bonds of marriage and kinship and in whom they might find allies in order to overthrow their government may have been very appealing to the marginalized people living on the fringes of society. In any society, there are many such people just waiting for the opportunity to be swayed by a persuasive and captivating force.

Just as the Israelites returned with hope in their hearts, they may have been willing to share the promise of the promised land with allies who were already there. The scenario of outright conquest seems unlikely because of the vast organization in a relatively short period of time that it would have taken. A fully-armed and organized mass invasion of what was to become their homeland by a returning Israelite force seems, even by modern standards of warfare, to be an arduous and gargantuan task.

Would the returning Israelites have actually slaughtered anyone who got in their way? One would think God's chosen people would have shown more mercy than such a plan allows. The idea of quiet infiltration makes sense on a small scale, but it has limitations. Such a plan would take decades and generations to actually affect change.

Even after the passing of much time with infiltration, commerce, intermarrying, etc., what is the guarantee that the governing body would actually be impacted and would surrender and shift? Revolt: a combination of warfare and infiltration is the most likely scenario because it employs mercy for friends, involves the recruitment of.