A mosaic of the taking of Jericho, one of a number of Old Testament scenes in the Monreale Cathedral in Palermo, which dates back to 1174. The upper part shows the Israelites entering the city; on the walls stands the harlot Rahab, who aided two Israelite spies and was saved from the ensuing massacre. The lower part shows the Ark of the Covenant being carried around the city, the prelude to the collapse of the walls. St Bede tells of another victory achieved with no weapon other than a shout, when St Germanus of Auxerre, touring Britain to preach against the Pelagian heresy, saved a Welsh village from destruction. See The Alleluia Victory.
Introduction
In 1300-1250 BC or so, the people of Israel escaped a life of forced labour in Egypt, and fled east and north into the desert. Assured by Moses and his brother Aaron that a land ‘flowing with milk and honey’ awaited them, they endured forty years of wandering before reaching the borders of Canaan. As the brothers had now died, the task of making a home there fell to Joshua.
AFTER the death of Moses, the task of settling the Israelites in the land of Canaan fell to Joshua, son of Nun. Together they crossed the River Jordan into Canaan,* but only five miles in they came to the city of Jericho.
Now the King of Jericho, after hearing with great anxiety how the Israelites had walked dry-shod through the Red Sea, and how Pharaoh’s mighty army had drowned in pursuit,* tightened up security; so when Joshua sent two spies into the city, to test the mood, they were seen. The King’s soldiers burst into the house of Rahab, a prostitute, searching for them. Yes, said Rahab, two men had been there, but had slipped out through the city gate at dusk. When the soldiers had gone, Rahab went back to where she had hidden the two spies under stalks of flax, took them to a window and winched them down over the city walls. As they left they gave their word that Joshua would protect her and her family, telling her to hang some scarlet cord out of her window as a token.
* See Moses at the Red Sea.
* The place is identified today as Qasr el-Yahud. Much as at the Red Sea, the waters of the Jordan, then in flood, were driven back upstream until they ‘stood upon an heap’, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land. See Joshua 3:11-17 and Psalm 114. It was here that Jesus of Nazareth (whose name is an Aramaic form of Joshua, and means ‘God is [my] salvation’) was baptised some twelve centuries later, a gesture rich in symbolism.
Précis
As soon as the Israelites crossed the Jordan into Canaan, they met resistance in the shape of the city of Jericho. Joshua sent two spies into the city, who managed to report back only because a prostitute named Rahab hid them from the authorities. In gratitude, they promised her protection when the Israelites later besieged the city. (57 / 60 words)
As soon as the Israelites crossed the Jordan into Canaan, they met resistance in the shape of the city of Jericho. Joshua sent two spies into the city, who managed to report back only because a prostitute named Rahab hid them from the authorities. In gratitude, they promised her protection when the Israelites later besieged the city.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, if, just, may, must, or, since.
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