The BEMA Podcast 513: Women in Joshua & Judges — Introduction
Sep 10, 2026
A new series explores overlooked women and difficult stories in Joshua and Judges. The discussion reframes the conquest narrative through liberation, divine deliverance, and the troubling Hebrew term cherem. Jericho becomes a supernatural jubilee procession, while Achan’s theft exposes the danger of treating what belongs to God as personal property.
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Lean Into Difficult Conquest Stories
- Read conquest passages by combining a Christ-centered lens with ancient Near Eastern context rather than dismissing difficult material as mystery.
- Elle Grover Fricks urges readers to lean into troubling texts and search for clues about what God may have been doing.
Exodus Frames Conquest As Liberation
- Exodus frames conquest as God liberating people from confinement, not Israel destroying morally inferior enemies.
- God causes fear, confusion, flight, and displacement; the passage repeatedly assigns the action to God rather than prescribing violence by Israel.
Passover Reframes Israel’s Mission
- Israel enters the land through gradual divine action rather than a command to crush everyone in war.
- Celebrating Passover keeps their identity centered on liberation from slavery, not conquest and triumph.
