The Book of Joshua
Title
The Hebrew and English names for the book are the same. Joshua (Yehoshua) literally means "Yahweh saves" or "Yahweh is salvation. His original name was Hoshea, "salvation" (Num. 13:8), but Moses changed it to Yehoshua, "Yahweh is salvation" (Num. 13:16), which is the Hebrew equivalent for the Greek name Iesous, Jesus. This is a good title since Joshua appears as the main character and his mission as leader of Israel is to help the people understand that God, not he, saves them.
Authorship
Joshua wrote this book. Joshua was born a slave in Egypt into the "half-tribe" of Ephraim, was redeemed from slavery at 40 years old (Moses' "young aide"; cf. Exod. 33:11), began leading Israel at 80 years old, and led the nation for 30 years until his death at the age of 110 (24:29).
Date:
The Book of Joshua, apart from minor additions, was written after 1398 and perhaps as late as 1378 BC.
Recipients:
The first readers of Joshua were Israelites in Canaan with him after the land conquest.
Occasion:
Moses had just died after leading Israel in forty years of wilderness wanderings. Then Joshua took the helm to lead the nation to take possession of the land God had promised. In this book the nation experiences the partial fulfillment of the promise of the land that stems all the way back to Abraham nearly 600 years earlier (cf. Gen. 12:1, 7).
Characteristics
Many common themes connect Deuteronomy and Joshua:
Theme Deuteronomy Joshua
Holy War How to do it (instructed) How it was done (implemented)
Possessing Canaan Promised Possessed
Joshua's Role Appointed Operated
Law of Moses Stated Restated (Josh. 23–24)
Purpose
The Book of Joshua divides easily into two parts. Both show the partial occupation of the Promised Land by Israel in fulfillment of God's promise.
Theological Themes
Four theological themes appear in the descriptions of Joshua in the Pentateuch:
- Joshua's divine commission as leader of Israel,
- His military leadership
- His allocation of the land,
- His role in Israel's covenant with God.
In each case, God's word and power lie behind Joshua. These same four themes reappear in the Book of Joshua.
Key Word: Occupation
Key Verse:
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8)
Outlines:
Chapters 1-12: Conquered: The first part (Joshua 1–12) records how the nation conquers most of the land of the Canaanites through a careful preparation (Joshua 1–5) and exploits through Joshua's faith in God (Joshua 6–12).
Chapters 13-24: Settled: The second part (Joshua 13–24) describes how Israel settles the conquered land by partitioning it into allotted areas for the respective tribes (Joshua 13–21) and how this land stays settled by obedience to the covenant (Joshua 22–24). The purpose of each of these sections is to instruct the nation that obedient faith based upon God's promises brings blessing.
Applications:
Obedient faith based upon God's promises brings blessing. Partial obedience results in difficulty.