Joshua

"Yahweh is salvation." The son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, the successor of Moses as the leader of Israel. He is called Jehoshua in Num. 13:16, and Jesus in Acts 7:45 and Heb. 4:8.

He was born in Egypt, and was probably of the age of Caleb, with whom he is generally associated. He shared in all the events of the Exodus, and held the place of commander of the host of the Israelites at their great battle against the Amalekites in Rephidim.1 He became Moses' minister or servant, and accompanied him part of the way when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive the two tables.2 He was also one of the twelve who were sent on by Moses to explore the land of Canaan,3 and only he and Caleb gave an encouraging report. Under the direction of God, Moses, before his death, invested Joshua in a public and solemn manner with authority over the people as his successor.4 The people were encamped at Shittim when he assumed the command;5 and crossing the Jordan, they encamped at Gilgal, where, having circumcised the people, he kept the Passover, and was visited by the Captain of the Lord's host, who spoke to him encouraging words.6

Now began the wars of conquest which Joshua carried on for many years, the record of which is in the book which bears his name. Six nations and thirty-one kings were conquered by him.7 Having thus subdued the Canaanites, Joshua divided the land among the tribes, Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim being assigned to himself as his own inheritance.

His work being done, he died, at the age of one hundred and ten years, twenty-five years after having crossed the Jordan. He was buried in his own city of Timnath-serah.8

The Book of Joshua contains a history of the Israelites from the death of Moses to that of Joshua. It consists of three parts:

  1. The history of the conquest of the land.9
  2. The allotment of the land to the different tribes, with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites,10 and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes. This section has been compared to the Domesday Book of the Norman conquest.
  3. The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of his death.11

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References

Notes

  1. Ex. 17:8-16.
  2. Ex. 32:17.
  3. Num. 13:16, 17.
  4. Deut. 31:23.
  5. Josh. 1:1.
  6. 1:1-9.
  7. Josh. 11:18-23; 12:24.
  8. Josh. 24.
  9. 1-12.
  10. 13-22.
  11. 23, 24.

Source

  • Easton, M.G. (1897). Easton's Bible Dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.

This article incorporates text from Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) by M.G. Easton, which is in the public domain.