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The Book of Joshua
There are two popular dates given for the time of Joshua. Some historians give the date as
1250 B.C. This based mainly on the exodus occurring during the reign of Ramses II (Exod.
1:11).
Archeologists refer to exodus occurring during the “Late Bronze Age” (1550-1200 B.C.).
This would be during the reign of Amenhotep II, (1490-1450 B.C.) (Judg. 11:26, I Kings 6:1).
Several hundred years previous, God had promised Abraham to give to his heirs the land
to which God had sent him. Abraham never owned the land that God sent him to. He had only
been given a promise. This promise was held on to by Israelites for hundreds of years even to
the point where Joseph, the son of Jacob, the grandson of Isaac and the great grandson of
Abraham, refused to have his body interred in Egypt, where he ruled, but asked for it to be
buried in the Land of Promise. Long after Joseph died, all of Israel remained in Egypt, and were
placed into slavery, with nothing but a promise of land from God. Joshua was destined to turn
that promise into reality. This is the Book of Joshua, a soldier of the Lord.
Joshua was the son of Nun and of the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8, 16).
Nothing is
known of his mother. But one usually finds a good and gracious woman in the background of a
man who reaches a position of influence and honor. Without doubt, Joshua’s parents worshiped
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the God of Israel, and he continued their godly influence.
Joshua was born during the years of slavery his nation suffered in Egypt under Pharoah.
Joshua had experienced the whip of the taskmaster. He was a master at the almost impossible
task of brick making. He was a brick mason by trade. And he had a deep yearning for liberty. He
was first mentioned at the battle of Amalek, where he led the forces of Israel (Ex. 17:9-16) by
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the direction of Moses. One of the amazing things about that battle was Moses himself. He stood
on a hill during the battle. Every time he raised his arms to God the Isralites were winning the
battle. If he lowered his arms the battle turned the other way. Joshua became the assistant to
Moses, (Num. 11:28; Josh. 1:1), accompanying him part way up Mt. Sinai when the Ten
Commandments were given, and also attending to him at the tent meeting, (Ex. 24:12, 13;
33:11).
He was one of the spies sent from Kadesh by Moses to view the land of Canaan, (Num.
13:8, 16).
Together with Caleb, he gave a good report of the land. This resulted in them being
allowed to enter the Promised Land, while the other adults of their generation perished in the
wilderness, (Num. 14:6-30; Josh. 2:1, 2).
So, when he came to the position of leadership, his
solemn commands were respected by early experience (Josh. 24:15).
Joshua was excellent as a military leader who knew how to plan campaigns, discipline
his forces, use spies, but above all, pray and trust in God. He never stooped to pilfering and
plunder. Joshua was first of all a good soldier of the Lord whom he encountered and obeyed.
Moses brought the people to the border of the land, but it took Joshua to take then into
the land. Moses gave him a solemn charge before all Israel, (Deut. 31:1-8).
After the death of
Moses, he is divinely installed as leader, given encouragement as to his task, and instructed
concerning the conditions of success by God, (Josh. 1:1-9).
The Book of Joshua is not an epic account of Israel’s heroic generation or the story of
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Archetypal Criticism Archetypal Criticism: Archetypal Criticism Essay, Research Paper Archetypal Criticism: Joshua In the many stories of the Bible, one of the most acclaimed heroes is Joshua. To most he is known for his heroic actions at the battle of Jericho. But in reality, Joshua displays many archetypes of a hero like many other in the Bible. Archetype is the idea that recurring patterns in ...
Israel’s conquest of Canaan. It tells how God commissioned his people to serve as his army
under the leadership of his servant Joshua, to take Canaan in his name out of the hands of the
idolatrous and dissolute Canaanites, whose measure of sin was now full; (Gen. 15:16).
It further
tells how he aided and gave them conditional tenancy in his land in fulfillment of the ancient
pledge he had made to Israel’s ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Thus the Lord’s triumph
over the Canaanites testified to the world that the God of Israel is the one true and living God,
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whose claim on the world is absolute. It was also a warning to the nations that the irresistible
advance of the kingdom of God would ultimately disinherit all those who opposed it, giving
advance of the kingdom of God would ultimately disinherit all those who opposed it, giving
place in the earth only to those who acknowledge and serve the Lord. At once an act of
redemption and judgment, it gave notice of the outcome of history and anticipated the final
destiny of humankind and the creation.
At the time of the Israelite migration into Canaan the superpowers of the ancient Near
East were relatively weak. The Hittites had faded from the scene. Neither Babylon nor Egypt
could maintain a standing military presence in Canaan, and the Assyrians would not send in their
armies until centuries later.
While the Israelites waited on the East side, Joshua sent men through the camp to tell
them that they would cross the Jordan in three days (Josh. 1:10-11).
Joshua then sent two spies
to Jericho to find its strengths and weaknesses. Because Jericho would be the first stronghold
they would encounter after crossing the river. The spies met a woman named Rahab who
protected them when they aroused suspicion. She hid them on the roof of her house and covered
them with thatching when the city people came looking for them. She told the officials that they
had gone away in a direction that would lead the officials away from her house. Then she asked
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for protection for her and her family from the Israelites. She then lowered the spies down to the
ground on a red cord. They promised that she and her household would be spared if she hung a
red cord out her window (Josh. 2:18).
The same cord that Rahab used to save the Israelites would
be used for her own safety. This also symbolizes the red blood on the door posts at the Passover
and is a foretelling of the blood of Christ.
Joshua was encouraged by the reports the spies had brought, so the Israelites moved their
Camp at Shittim to a spot nearer the Jordan River. At dawn the officers passed through the camp
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And ordered all to watch the Ark of the Covenant and follow at a distance of 2000 cubits (Josh.
3:4).
Joshua ordered the people to sanctify themselves because the Lord was to do wonders
among them (Josh. 3:5).
The children of Israel had followed blindly in the wilderness. Now they
would follow the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God. Joshua told the
priests to pick up the Ark and step into the Jordan. When the soles of their feet touched the
waters of the Jordan, they stood on dry ground. And all of Israel passed over on dry ground
(Josh. 3:10-17).
After arriving on the other side, the Israelites commemorate the miracle with an
alter of twelve stones from the river bed (representing the twelve tribes of Israel (Josh. 4:3).
They made camp at Gilgal, on the East border of Jericho. While there, God told Joshua to
circumcise all the young men (Josh. 5:2) because the older men who had left Egypt had died off
over the years of traveling in the desert. And the young men born in the wilderness had not been
circumcised during the travels (Josh. 5:5).
They remained in camp at Gilgal until they were
healed (Josh. 5:8).
The Israelites celebrated Passover on the fourteenth day (Josh. 5:10).
The
people began to eat the produce of the new land, thus halting the supply of manna (Josh. 5:11).
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(A) Introduction Pentateuch is considered to be the most important part in the Old Testament. It recorded the account of creation, the fall of man, the Law Code as well as the experience of the Ancient Israel. Among them Genesis is the first book recorded incidents happened from the creation of the world to Joseph's time. In chapter one to eleven, the origin of the world and human race are ...
While on the way to Jericho, Joshua met a mysterious man who says that he is the
commander of God’s army but that he is neither for or against Israel. Joshua pays respect to the
man and passes on (Josh. 5:13, 14).
Whether this man was God or an angel sent by God is still
unknown. And was he testing Joshua’s resolve, also onknown.
Following divine instructions, Joshua leads the Israelites in carrying the Ark around
Jericho for six days. On the seventh day, the Israelites march around the city seven times. Joshua
rallies them to conquer the city and kill everyone except for Rahab and her family. They are not
to take any of the city’s religious items. God had told the Israelites to give all valuable and
religious objects to him (Josh. 6-19).
At the sound of the Israelite war cry, the walls of Jericho
collapse, and the Israelites destroy the city and its inhabitants. They gave safe haven to Rahab
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and her family because believed in the “God of the Israelites” and accepted all the laws and
resided with the Israelites. Then Joshua burned the whole city and everything in it. They put the
gold, silver and other valuables into the “Lord’s store of valuable things”(Josh. 6-24).
At that
Time made a promise that “God will punish the man who builds this city again”. “When he starts
to build, his oldest son will die. His youngest son will die when he puts up its gates”. The
promise Joshua made came true about 500 years later. A man named Hiel started to build
Jericho. When he started, his oldest son died. When he completed it, his youngest son died (I
King 16:34).
Now comes the time to battle the city of Ai. So Joshua sent men to spy on the city of Ai.
They returned and told Joshua that there weren’t many men there. That 2000-3000 men should
be enough to take the city. But the men of Ai repelled the attack and killed 36 of the Israelites.
Now Joshua was distraught over this defeat. He and the leaders tore their clothes, put dirt on
their heads and laid down in front of the Ark and prayed to God for guidance (Josh. 7:6).
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Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt are both cradles of civilization. Both contributed greatly to human development through their achievements, failures, peoples, scientific accomplishments, philosophies, religions, and contributions. Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the ...
The
Lord told Joshua to stand up. That he should not be lying on the ground. God told him that the
real reason for the defeat at Ai was that someone had sinned. They had taken valuables from
Jericho (Josh. 7:10-12).
They discovered that Achen of the tribe of Judah had kept valuables from Jericho for
himself. The Israelites stoned Achen and his family to appease the God. They covered his body
with stones. Achen’s punishment was very severe as most punishments were in those times. It
was a warning that we must obey God. Now God had forgiven the Israelites told Joshua to
continue his attack on Ai. But this time he told Joshua that the Iraelites could keep the valuables
of the city for themselves (Josh. 8:2).
So Joshua sent 30,000 men out and told them to hide near the city. Then he would attack
the city with rest of the men. When the city came out to battle them, they would run away. As
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they were being chased the others would enter and take the city and start to burn it. His plan was
a success. They killed all the people of Ai, except the King. Joshua had him hung. He kept his
body hanging for all to see until sunset. Then they took him down and covered him with stones.
Earlier they had covered Achan’s body with stones. This reminded them of their defeat. They
covered the King’s body with stones. This reminded them of their victory.
Then Joshua built an altar on Ebal mountain. It was made of stones which no iron tools
had touched. The stones were exactly as God had made them. Israelites stood by the two sides of
the Ark with their faces toward the priests who carried it. The leaders, judges, officers and the
foreign people with them were there also. Half the people stood with their backs to Gerizim
mountain. The other half stood with their backs to Ebal mountain. This is how Moses had told
them to stand (Deut. 11:29).
Then Joshua read the law to all the people including the women,
children and the foreign people who lived with them (Josh. 8-35).
The kings who lived West of the Jordan River heard about the Israeli exploits. They were
the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They decided to
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band together against Joshua and the Israelites (Josh. 9:1-2).
The people from Gibeon were called Gibeonites. They were actually Hivites. They heard
about what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, so they had a clever idea. Some Gibeonites put
old bags of stale bread and mended winesacks on their donkeys. They wore old dirty clothes and
shoes Josh. 9:4-5).
Then they visited Joshua at Gilgal. When asked by Joshua where they were
from, they said that they were from very far away. They told Joshua that they wanted to serve
them because they had heard of the Israelites great God and all the things he had done in Egypt.
They had alsoheard of the defeats of Sihon, king of Hesbon (Deut. 2:33) and of Og, king of
Basham (Deut. 3:3).
So Joshua believed the Gibeonites and agreed not to kill them and vowed
that the leaders of Israel would keep his promise. But later Joshua found out the truth about the
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Gibeonites (Josh 9:16), and the Israelites kept their promise not to kill them (Josh 9:18).
Instead
they made the Gibeonites to haul their water and cut their wood (Josh. 9:23).
God had told the
Iraelites not to make peace with the Hivites. God wanted the Israelites to kill the Hivite because
they were evil. But God allowed the Israelites to make a peace agreement with the Gibeonites.
God knew that the Gibeonites really wanted to serve Him. They would do anything if God would
save them. God knew their true thoughts. The Gibeonites became servants of the Israelites and
stayed loyal to them (Josh. 9:25).
The king of Jerusalem, Adoni-Zedek, had heard of what Joshua had done to the people of
Jericho and Ai. He also heard that the Gibeonites were now allied with the Israelites (Josh. 10:1).
So Adoni-Zedek asked some other kings to join him to attack Gibeon. The kings were Hoham of
Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish and Debir of Eglon (Josh. 10:3-4).
The five kings
of the Amorites joined together and took their soldiers to attack Gibeon. The Gibeonites knew
they were in trouble and sent a message to Joshua at Gilgal to help them (Josh 10:6).
So Joshua
marched his whole army all night from Gilgal (Josh. 10:9).
The Lord made the enemies
confused (Josh. 10:10) when they saw the Israelites. The Israelites won a great battle at Gibeon.
They pursued their enemies all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. God caused large hail stones
to fall on them from the sky (Josh. 10:11).
On that day, Joshua spoke to God and said “Sun stand
still over Gibeon:, Moon stand still over the valley of Aijalon” (Josh. 10:12).
So the sun and the
moon stood still until the Israelites defeated their enemies (Josh. 10:13).
God had never listened
to a man like this before or has since (Josh. 10:14).
This is a wonderful statement about Joshua.
God listened to his prayer. Joshua had faith that God would answer his prayer. They woudl be
able to win the battle before the sun set.
This could have been the beginning of leap years. Leap years were first introduced by
Julius Caesar with the Julian calendar around 2000 years ago. It was incorrect because it made it
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so that every year that could be divided by four would be a leap year. This was corrected by the
Gregorian calendar about Fifteen Hundred later. Now if God made the sun and the moon stand
still for about six hours, that would work out. We lose about six hours each year because of the
earth’s rotation around the sun. Take the six hours for four years and on the fourth year we have
a leap year.
Now the five kings had run away. They had hidden in a cave at Makkadah. Joshua heard
that they were hiding there and sent his men to cover the front of the cave with large stones and
leave some men to guard them. That they should also continue to chase their enemies and attack
them. Do not let them reach their cities. So the Israelites killed them. Then the whole army
returned to the camp at Makkedah where Joshua was. All the people in the land were too afraid to say anything bad about the Israelite (Josh. 10:21).
Then Joshua told his men to remove the stones and bring the five kings to him. Then Joshua killed the kings and hung them from trees til evening. At sunset they took the kings down from the trees and put them in the cave they were hiding in and again put stones in front of the cave.
After this, Joshua and his army went and attacked and killed the kings and all the people of Libnah, Lachish, Horam, Eglon, Hebron and Debir. So Joshua took the whole land. He took the hill country, the hills of the east and west and the dry country south. He killed all the people
and their kings. He fought from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza. This included all of Goshen as far as Gibeon in the north. After this, Joshua and his army returned to Gilgal (Josh. 10:29-40).
Now while Joshua and the Israelites were camped at Gilgal, Jabin, the king of Hazor had heard of the Iraeites’ exploits. So he called on the kings of Shimron, Acshaph and to other kings in the northern mountains in Arabah, in the western hills of Napthoth Dor, to the Canaanites,
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Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites and the Hivites. All these kings brought their armies with horses and chariots. And they met and camped together by the river Merom (Josh. 11:1-5).
So Joshua and his army went to fight the kings by the river Merom. They had no fear
because God had told them not to be afraid. They needed to make the hoses lame and to burn the
chariots. Joshua did as the Lord had told them about the horses and chariots. They killed the
armies and chased the kings and any survivors as far Sidon, Misrephtoth Maim and Mizpah valley (Josh. 11:7-9).
Then Joshua went back and he took Hazor. He killed the king and everyone who lived there. Then they burned the city. Joshua took all these cities and killed all the kings as God and Moses had told him. But Israel did not burn all the cities that were built on small hills. They took all the animals and valuables from the cities (Josh. 11:10-13).
So Joshua took all these places. He took the hills, the dry country in the south, all Goshen and the hills in the west. He took the Arabah and the mountains between Halak mountain and Baal Gad. He took all their kings and killed and killed them. No cities made a peace agreement with the Israeites, except for the Hivites from Gibeon (Josh. 11:19).
Joshua went to fight the Anakites. They came from Hebron, Debir and Anab. Joshua killed them all and destroyed their towns (Josh. 11:21).
So
Joshua took the whole country and gave the land to the tribes of Israel. Each tribe received the land that the Lord had chosen. And the families in each tribe would always continue to own his own land (Josh. 11:23).
All told the battles took place over about a seven year period and thirty kings were defeated (Josh. 12:1-24).
The kings that were defeated were the kings of Jericho, Ai,
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Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Gezer, Debir, Geder, Hormath, Arad, Libnah, Adulam, Makkedah, Bethel, Tappuah, Hepher, Aphek, Lasharon, Madon, Hazor, Shimron Meron, Achshaph, Taanach. Megiddo, Kedesh, Jokneam, Dor, Gilgal, and Tirzah (Josh. 12:9-24).
Then the country was at peace. God’s law told the Israelites that they should not work
every day. They would rest each Saturday (Exod. 20:8).
Today, Christians rest on Sunday. And
they worship God on Sunday (Acts 20:7).
God also told the Israelites that they should not plant
crops every year. On the seventh year, the ground would rest (Lev. 25:4).
Joshua was very old and he had lived for many years, but there is still a lot of land to be taken (Josh. 13:1).
This looks like a contradiction between verses Josh. 11:23 and Josh. 13:1 but it can easily be explained. Joshua and his army did take control of the whole land by destroying key cities with their kings and people. Israel didn’t take every little city or kill every citizen or ruler, but they did enough to break the power of the enemy and establish control over the land. Once this was done, Joshua was able to assign each tribe its inheritance. But the tribes had to gain mastery over the remaining people that were still there. Even after the death of Joshua and his officers, there was still more land to be taken (Judg. 1-3).
Joshua had successfully completed the first half of orders from Moses and God. He had defeated the enemy and was in control of the land (Josh. 1:1-5).
Now he had to fulfill the second part of his orders, to divide the land among the tribes. But the Israelites would never own the land. They only rent it from God (Lev. 25:23).
But the only rent they had to pay was to obey
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God’s law. As long as the Israelites honored God with their worship and obedience, he would bless them, make their land productive, and keep their nation at peace with their neighbors. When Israel agreed to the blessings at Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal (Josh. 8:30-35), they accepted the conditions of what is called the “Palestinian Covenant”. There were four main stages in the distribution of the land.
Throughout the conquest of Canaan, Gilgal had been the center of operations for Israel.
Later Joshua moved the camp and the tabernacle to a more central location at Shiloh (Josh. 18:1).
The system for assigning the territories in Canaan was decided by Eleazar the high priest,
Joshua, and one representative from each of the tribes (Num. 34:13-29) cast lots before God and this way determined his will (Prov. 16:33).
But this system was changed when they relocated to Shiloh (Josh. 18:1-7).
Shiloh was centrally located and was more convenient for all the tribes.
The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh had already received their lands on the east side of the Jordan River (Map).
But they had agreed to help the Israelites to conquer the land before they returned to their own land (Num. 32:20-22).
They had asked for this land outside the boundaries of Canaan because it was better for raising cattle.
The next tribes to be settled were Judah in the south (Map), (Josh. 14:6-15:63), Ephraim across the middle of the land (Map), (Josh. 16:1-10), and the other half of Manasseh in the north (Map), (Josh. 17:1-18).
Since Caleb belonged to the tribe of Judah and had been one of the two faithful spies, he received his inheritance first (Num. 13:30).
Joshua, the other faithful spy, was the last to receive his inheritance (Josh. 19:49-51).
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Seven tribes still had to have their inheritance marked out for them, and they were slow to respond due to a lack of faith and spiritual zeal. These tribes had helped fight battles ans defeat the enemy, but now they hesitated to claim the land that God had given them. At this point, Joshua and the leaders started a new system for dividing up the land. After each of the
seven tribes appointed three men, all twenty-one men went through the remaining territories and listed the cities and landmarks, describing each part of the land. They brought this information
back to Joshua. He then assigned the parts of the land to the remaining seven tribesThe tribe of Benjamin was given the land adjacent to Ephraim and Manasseh (Map), (Josh. 18:11-28).
Simeon was given the land to the south of Judah (Josh. 19:1-9).
The area north of Manasseh was given to Zebulun (Map), (Josh. 19:10-16), Issacher (Map), (Josh. 19:17-23), Asher (Map), (Josh. 19:24-31), and Naphtali (Map), (Josh. 19:32-39).
The last tribe to receive its land was Dan (Map), (Josh. 19:40-48).
They didn’t waste any time forming an alliance with Benjamin and expanded their territory. They now controlled the land that connected the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.
When the Nation was still on the other side of the Jordan God had told Moses to have the people set aside special cities for the Levites (Num. 35:1-5), as well as six cities of refuge (Exod. 21:13; Num. 35:6-34; Deut. 19:1-13).
Now that the tribes had received their lands, Joshua could assign these cities. The six cities of refuge were needed because society in that day had no police force to investigate crimes. It was the responsibility of each family to see to it that murders were avenged, but how could they tell whether it was a case of premeditated murder or accidental manslaughter? The law was really simple. Anybody who killed someone could go to a city of
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refuge and be protected from the dead person’s family (Josh. 20:3) until the elders could investigate the circumstances (Josh.20:6).
If the elders found the person guilty of murder, they were put to death. If the crime was determined to be manslaughter, the person was allowed to live in the city and be protected from any family avenger.
Joshua set apart three cities of refuge on each side of the Jordan River. On the west side, Kedesh was in Naphthali; Shechem was in Manasseh; and Hebron was in Judah. On the east side
of the Jordan River, the cities were Golan in Manasseh, Ramoth in Gad, and Bezer in Reuben. Since the whole are is about the size of Maryland, no one was very far from a city of refuge.
As noted before, the tribe of Levi had no territory allotted to them. They were scattered throughout the land. This way they could minister to the people. Levi was the priestly tribe. Thus God assigned cities for them to live in along with pasture land (Num.35:1-5).
There were forty –eight Levitical cities, six of which were also cities of refuge. Numbers 26:62 states that there were twenty-three thousand Levites before Israel entered the land. That is a lot of people to divide among forty-eight cities. Each of the tribes contributed four cities, except Judah and
Simeon, who together contributed nine, and Naphtali, who contributed three. Since the common people didn’t own copies of the Scriptures, it was important that the Levites explain God’s law to the people. These Levitical cities were located so that nobody was too far away from someone who could help them understand God’s law. Joshua had lived a long full life. His life started as a slave in Egypt and ended in a worship service in the Promised Land. In between those events God had used him to lead Israel in defeating the enemy, conquering the land, and claiming the promised inheritance.
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Joshua was about to go “the way of all the earth” (Josh.23:14), the way you and I must go if the Lord doesn’t return first. But at the end of a long and full life, Joshua’s greatest concern wasn’t himself. His greatest concern was his people and their relationship with God. He didn’t
want to leave until he had challenged them once again to love God and keep his commandments. His life’s work would be in vain if they failed to keep the covenant and enjoy the blessings of the Promised Land. Finally, in his farewell to Israel, Joshua commands the people to throw away
their religious idols and to refrain from allying with the native peoples. At no point do the people agree to either stipulation. Instead, they merely affirm that they will serve God (24:18).
Joshua responds, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God” “ and a jealous God” (24:19).
The ambivalence of the people regarding obedience to God in light of Joshua’s persistence suggests that the future of Israel is uncertain at best. At the close of this speech, Joshua issued the famous statement, “choose you this day whom you will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (24:15).
The people departed from Joshua to return to their lands again promising to serve God and obey his laws (Josh. 24:24).
Joshua was one hundred ten years old when he died. The son of Nun was buried in Timnathserah in the land of the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 24:29-30).
The priest Eleazar, who had been constantly at Joshua’s side and supported him in all his efforts died. He was also buried in the land of the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 24:33).
