Joshua 7, Achan and Eve

A few things stand out in Joshua 7, which tells of the failed fight against Ai and the sin of Achan.

1. One is the use of עבר, the verb for crossing over, passing over. It has that base meaning everywhere else in Joshua (50 odd times), but there are three cases, two of which are in Joshua 7, where it is used for sin; crossing over the covenant of Yhwh. Achan, in his sin, crosses over the covenant with Yhwh, rejecting God's way and choosing his own.

2. The second thing which stands out are three intertextual links. 

2a. One is Achan's actions are described in 7:15 as stupid - נבלה (nebalah)- which makes us remember the actions of the eponymous fool, Nabal - נבל - of 1 Samuel 25 infamy. There are of course other stupid (נבלה) acts in the Bible, prime among them being the instance with the Levite and his concubine in Judges 19-20. The stupidity in these cases (cf also Gen 34:7) is not just the action itself, but also the consequence. One also wonders whether the homophone of נבלה (albeit with different vowels) - carcass (eg Lev 5:2 et passim) - also plays into this. The stupid act (נבלה) means that this stupid man (נבל) will become a carcass (נבלה).

2b. The second link is the "babylonian garment", which I wonder whether is a retrojection from the babylonian exile, or prefigures it in some way. It could also be looking back to the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11, which is described as being built in the plain of Shinar - the same word used here translated "babylonian". The confusion that ensued there is seen in the one who has become confused about the great promises which would and could and should be his - if only he didn't choose folly and the beauty of Shinar and thus exclude himself from the promise.

2c.The third link is back to Genesis 3:6, where the woman saw that the fruit was good (טוב) and desirable (חמד), she took it (לקח) and sinned. So too for Achan (7:21): he saw the robe was good (טוב), he desired it (חמד), took it (לקח) and sinned. This brings us back to Ricoeur's statement that each of us both continue but also begin, Achan beginning it all over again with the borrowed vocabulary from Genesis 3.

3. The final thing is the way that Achan's death is on behalf of the whole community. Just as his sin poisons his whole family, meaning they and all their belongings are stoned and/or burned, so too does his death work for the cleansing of all Israel. We might compare Achan to the true Israelite, who did not covet, did not grasp, who was the embodiment of wisdom - though he was called foolish. And where Achan died for his sin - wrapping his family up in the horrid consequences - his death meant that all Israel was spared. Jesus of course did not die for his sin, but for the sin of all who trust in him, but in dying he died in our place, delivering us into the promise through his body.