The author examines the story of the taking of Jericho by Joshua and the Israelites. "…Modern readers may experience revulsion—even a crisis of faith—at the passage when the Lord commands Joshua and the Israelites to kill every last man, woman and child that lives in Jericho, as well as their animals," Batto writes. "Properly understood, however, the Books of Joshua and Judges present God as gracious and merciful."