The Consensus

"…the external material evidence supports almost nothing of the biblical account of a large-scale, concerted Israelite military invasion of Canaan, either that of Numbers east of the Jordan, or of Joshua west of the Jordan."
"Following seventy years of intensive excavations in the Land of Israel, archeologists have found out: The patriarchs' acts are legendary, the Israelites did not sojourn in Egypt or make an exodus, they did not conquer the land. Neither is there any mention of the empire of David and Solomon, nor of the source of belief in the God of Israel. These facts have been known for years, but Israelis are a stubborn people, and no one wants to hear it."
"In the [Biblical] text, you have the story of the Israelites coming from outside, and then besieging the Canaanite cities, destroying them and then becoming a nation in the land of Canaan, whereas archaeology tells us something which is the opposite. According to archaeology, the rise of early Israel is an outcome of the collapse of Canaanite society, not the reason for that collapse."
"There is no reason to accept that Joshua's conquest ever happened in anything like the form described in the Bible."

The Bible's Story

The Book of Joshua describes a swift, brutal, and divinely-led military campaign by the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan after their exodus from Egypt. The narrative is characterized by miraculous victories and the complete annihilation of the Canaanite population.

"Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses."
Joshua 1:2-3

Key Conquests

The book details a series of decisive battles where major Canaanite cities were destroyed:

  • Jericho: The walls miraculously collapse, and the Israelites kill every living thing in the city, except for Rahab and her family.
  • Ai: After an initial defeat, the Israelites capture the city through an ambush, burn it, and kill all its inhabitants.
  • Southern Campaign: Joshua leads a campaign against a coalition of five Amorite kings, conquering their cities.
  • Northern Campaign: Another coalition led by the king of Hazor is defeated, and Hazor is burned.
"When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed... They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys."
Joshua 6:20-21

The Command for Annihilation ("Herem")

The conquest is framed as the fulfillment of a divine command to utterly destroy the inhabitants of the land to prevent idolatry.

"So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded."
Joshua 10:40

Archaeological Evidence

Despite the Bible's detailed account of a military conquest, archaeological findings at key sites mentioned in Joshua contradict the narrative. There is a widespread lack of evidence for the destruction layers and population changes that such a campaign would produce.

Jericho

The story of Jericho's collapsing walls is one of the most famous in the Bible, but archaeology tells a different story.

No Walls, No City: Unoccupied at the time of the supposed conquest

Excavations, most notably by Kathleen Kenyon in the 1950s, found that Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) was a heavily fortified city in the Early and Middle Bronze Ages. However, it was destroyed around 1550 BCE, long before the Israelites' supposed arrival. During the Late Bronze Age (c. 1400-1200 BCE), when the conquest would have occurred, the site was small and unwalled, if not entirely abandoned. There were no walls to fall.

Source: Kathleen Kenyon, Digging Up Jericho (1957).

Ai

The Bible describes the conquest and burning of Ai, but the site's history does not match.

A Ruin for 1,000 Years: Site was long abandoned

The site identified as Ai (Khirbet et-Tell) was a massive, fortified city during the Early Bronze Age but was destroyed around 2400 BCE. It lay in ruins for over a millennium. A small, unfortified village was established on the site around 1200 BCE, but there was no fortified city for Joshua to conquer. The name "Ai" itself means "the ruin."

Source: Joseph Callaway, The 1964-1966 Ai (et-Tell) Excavations (1976).

Hazor

Hazor is one of the few sites with a destruction layer that could potentially align with the biblical timeline, but the evidence is not conclusive.

Destruction, But By Whom?: Evidence is ambiguous

Hazor was a major Canaanite city that was violently destroyed in the 13th century BCE. While some scholars attribute this to the incoming Israelites, there is no direct evidence confirming their identity as the destroyers. Other groups, such as the Sea Peoples or internal Canaanite conflicts, are also possible culprits. Furthermore, the destruction date doesn't align well with a 15th-century conquest (the "early date").

Source: Amnon Ben-Tor, "Who Destroyed Canaanite Hazor?", Biblical Archaeology Review (2003).

Other Cities

Many other cities listed as conquered by Joshua show no evidence of destruction in the Late Bronze Age, including Heshbon, Arad, and Gibeon.

Historical Context

Egyptian Control of Canaan

During the entire Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 BCE), the period for both proposed conquest dates, Canaan was firmly under the control of the Egyptian Empire. Egyptian garrisons were stationed throughout the region, and local vassal kings reported to Pharaoh.

  • Amarna Letters (14th cent. BCE): This archive of diplomatic correspondence shows Canaanite kings pleading for Egyptian help against rival city-states and marauders, but makes no mention of a unified force like the Israelites invading the land.
  • An invasion on the scale described in Joshua would have been an attack on Egypt itself, yet Egyptian records are silent on any such conflict.

The Merneptah Stele

The earliest known extrabiblical reference to "Israel" contradicts the idea of a recent conquest.

  • Dated to 1208 BCE, this Egyptian victory monument lists "Israel" as one of the peoples in Canaan that Pharaoh Merneptah defeated.
  • It describes Israel as a people group ("their seed is not"), not a centralized state, and places them as already settled in the land, not as an invading force.
  • This suggests Israel emerged from within Canaan, rather than arriving via external conquest.

What Really Happened?

Gradual Settlement

Instead of a violent conquest, archaeology reveals a different story of Israel's origins:

  • Peaceful Infiltration: Around 1200 BCE, hundreds of small, unfortified villages began to appear in the previously sparsely populated central hill country of Canaan.
  • Canaanite Continuity: The material culture of these settlements (pottery, architecture) is a direct evolution of the preceding Canaanite culture, not something introduced by a foreign group.
  • Indigenous Origin: Most scholars now believe that the people who became "Israelites" were indigenous Canaanites—likely a mix of pastoralists, peasants, and social outcasts—who moved into the highlands and developed a distinct identity over time.

A National Foundation Myth

The story of the conquest, likely written centuries after the events it describes (around the 7th century BCE), served an important theological and political purpose for the later Kingdom of Judah. It wasn't intended as a literal history but as:

  • An origin story to create a shared identity for a diverse group of people.
  • A theological statement about God's power and his covenant with Israel.
  • A political charter to justify the kingdom's claim to the land.