[VietVet]

What I think is 1) since the archeological evidence suggests that Jericho had been sacked and abandoned about 200 years before the probable date of the Exodus, the authors of Joshua were not describing a real event, but a symbolic one; 2) the writers of the Bible were quite capable of inserting divine commands into accounts of flawed human actions, in order to justify their ancestors behavior.

[ronnietherocket3]

200 years before the probable date of the Exodus

Or the probable date of Exodus is wrong. A significant problem in ancient archaeology is trying to find records. People were less literate and writing and copying a book was more expensive than it is today.

the writers of the Bible were quite capable of inserting divine commands into accounts of flawed human actions, in order to justify their ancestors behavior.

Or the events happened as described, but we cannot conceive of a loving God that would smite people in the manner presented in Tanakh. God is not bound by natural law.