Koert van Bekkum receives Dr. Theol. cum laude with dissertation on Joshua 9-13

Koert van Bekkum (whose dissertation defense was announced earlier on this blog) received his Dr-title in Theology with the highest possible honour at the Theological University of the Reformed Churches (Kampen) with his book From Conquest to Coexistence. Ideology and Antiquarian Intent in the Historiography of Israel's Settlement in Canaan. He offers a synchronic and a diachronic analysis of Joshua 9:1-13:7 in light of ancient Near Eastern historiography, he discusses the historicity of the text in light of archaeological evidence and shows in his concluding chapter how the text combines (reliable) memories of history and ideology in dealing with the issue of who succeeded Pharaoh in ruling Canaan (the Egyptian promise in Asia) and YHWH’s promise of the land to the Israelites.

Nederlands Dagblad published an internet article and a newspaper article on his graduation. His book is available through the internet archive of Dutch dissertations.