This essay proposes based on literary-compositional considerations how two authors working together could have composed Genesis–Joshua. After this, it suggests that Genesis–Joshua can be seen to reflect a sociopolitical transformation of ancient Canaanite societies into an Israelite one(s) through a process that can be labeled as ancient settler colonialism, and that the document could have been written concomitantly. Subsequently, relevant ancient Near Eastern and archaeological evidence will be considered, suggesting compatibility with the idea that Genesis–Joshua has reused and readapted existing traditions together with creative narrative retelling for its sociopolitical purposes, and that this could have already taken place from the late second millennium bce on. The essay concludes by drawing out some explicit contemporary implications of such a reading of Genesis–Joshua.
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