In Joshua 1-12 the account is given first of the preparations for the attack on Canaan, and then the campaign itself. The campaign was fiercely fought and the impression given is that all of the country was seized, but chapter 13 refers to areas which had not been captured. The first chapter of the book of Judges, which refers to the time after Joshua had died, also indicates that the conquest was a slower and more difficult matter than the first part of the book of Joshua suggests. Archaeologists have examined the ancient sites of some of the cities which were attacked by Joshua and his men and there is evidence that Lachish, Bethel, Debir, Eglon and Hazor-all named in a list in Joshua 12-all suffered violent destruction during the thirteenth century B.C, The evidence at the site of Bethel is particularly clear; the walls and houses were burnt and the city reduced to a ruin. But very thorough excavations at Jericho and Ai, the capture of which is vividly described, have not produced evidence of destruction in the same period. The second half of the book of Joshua describes how the land was divided up between the Israelites and is a very complex account. If we turn to the book of Judges we find that the period of establishment in Canaan, during the twelfth and eleventh centuries, was troubled and insecure. Canaanites still remained in the land and other enemies also appeared from beyond the borders of Canaan.

The factual basis of events underlying the conquest and settlement of Canaan by the Israelites is not easy to unravel from the total picture given by the books of Joshua and Judges, but we come to the conclusion that after the initial attack which gave the Israelites occupation of part of the land, it took them a considerable period of time to establish them-selves. The strongest Canaanite city of all, Jerusalem, did not become the possession of Israel until the time of King David in the tenth century B.C. The Israelites became established in the hill country fairly quickly but were not successful in taking the coastal plain.