Understanding the Deific Presence in Joshua 5:13-15: A Critical Engagement with the Septuagint’s Erroneous Conclusion about the Identity of the Commander of the Lord’s Army

Abstract

Christians in both historical and contemporary contexts can have a tendency to deemphasize what they theologically do not understand and aggrandize what is theologically myopic to them. In Christian biblical and theological interpretation, the interpreter must choose to emphasize what the author, and in turn God, intended, rather than allowing a personal bias of ignorance or complacency to dictate any or all of their interpretative method. This paper looks at Joshua 5:13-15 in which this dynamic of under, over, and proper emphasis is exhibited through the three most dominant perspectives of thought on the central theological issue of the text. This central issue is the identity of the “Commander of the Lord’s Army.” The writers of the Septuagint erroneously believe and present the Commander as non-deific. They deemphasize the Commander’s deific nature based off a fear that the passage may encourage angelic worship. Some modern scholars advocate for the Commander’s deific status as they believe He is the pre incarnate Christ. This improvident perspective provides an overemphasis on Christocentric implications not intended by the text. Richard Hess aptly presents the Commander as the deific manifestation of the divine presence of God based off the appropriate contextual implications.