When Is Then?

Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, . .  Joshua 8:30-31  NASB

Then – The Torah is not a chronological account of Israel’s exploits.  In fact, no ancient document should be held to the standards of event recording that we typically mean with the word “history.”  Ancient accounts offer stories according to their importance to the audience.  Sometimes this follows an event sequence.  Sometimes it doesn’t.  Sometimes events that chronologically came before or followed after are juxtaposed in order to make a point.  Maybe that’s happening here.

This verse tells us that Joshua built an alter according to the commandment given to Moses.  But the commandment given to Moses required that the altar be constructed when Israel entered the Land, not after a military victory, a defeat, and an act of revenge.  If Joshua built the altar following the destruction of Ai, then he didn’t follow the command given to Moses.

Or did he?

First, the verse (our word highlighted)

אָ֣ז יִבְנֶ֚ה יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ מִזְבֵּ֔חַ לַֽיהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל בְּהַ֖ר עֵיבָֽל

Now the commentary by the rabbis.

Three opinions are offered to explain the apparent contradiction in this sequence.  They are:

1^st opinion – “then” doesn’t mean now at this time after Ai, but refers back to the time they crossed the river at Gilgal.  Joshua returned to the crossing now and built the altar.  But as we learn in the next few verses, to go back to Gilgal and build the altar at this time doesn’t make sense as the location is far away.

2^nd opinion – the reference here is not really to Ebel and Gerizim, but rather to small hills that were nearby.  Of course, the text reads “mount Ebel,” so this explanation seems suspect.

3^rd opinion – Joshua does the act now, but disregards the command to Moses.  The text references Moses to provide the process, not the timing.  God didn’t mean “right away,” but rather “as soon as you can.”

Then there’s the Radak who points out that events in Torah are not always in chronological order.  Why this verse seems to be out of sequence is not explained.  Curiously, all the other actions that follow this verse seem to be done in accordance with the command given to Moses.  Why is this “then” so inappropriate?  Perhaps you’ll need to read the text a little differently.

Topical Index: then, ʾāz, history, sequence, Joshua 8:30