It is approximately 1406 b.c. on the arid steppes of Moab. Moses carves a permanent record of forty-two distinct campsites into a solid ledger. The wind off the Jordan River carries fine sand. This grit cracks the skin and blinds the eye. A weary mass of people stands on the border of a hostile frontier. A heavy dread settles over the camp as men pack up their goatskin tents for a brutal invasion. Consolation comes only in the harsh realization that the barren desert is finally behind them.
The God of Israel orders a complete military conquest of Canaan. Moses dictates the marching orders to a new generation of soldiers. They must drive out the current inhabitants and smash every carved stone idol. Keeping the land requires total destruction of the existing religious shrines. This mandate stems from a basic necessity of ancient survival. Leaving rival factions alive guarantees endless tribal warfare. The resulting territory will be distributed through a sacred lottery. Larger clans receive larger tracts of land to ensure agricultural output matches their economic obligations.
A written log of every dry riverbed and bitter oasis proves that memory is fragile. Humans forget the agonizing labor of walking through a wasteland the moment they reach water. Documenting each failed spring and rocky valley forces a man to remember the exact physical toll of the march. The staggering length of the list measures the grinding weight of human survival.
A builder cannot lay a single stone of a new foundation until he completely demolishes the old walls.
The strict command to divide the land set the borders for the twelve tribes for centuries. The cracked stone altars of Canaanite high places were rapidly reduced to gravel beneath the sandals of an invading army.