Old Testament · History · book 6 of 66 · 2 min read
The book of Joshua
The conquest account, and the book that raises the hardest moral question in the Old Testament without softening it.
“Haven't I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
At a glance
- Chapters
- 24
- Author
- Anonymous; part of the Deuteronomistic history
- Written
- Final form likely sixth century BC
- Written for
- Israel, arguing about how it came to be where it lives
- Themes
- land, conquest, covenant, allocation
What it is about
Joshua covers the entry into the land: the river crossing, Jericho, a string of campaigns, and then a long land-allocation section that reads like a deed register because that is what it is.
It is also the book modern readers find most difficult, and honestly so. The conquest narratives describe the destruction of populations under divine instruction, and no responsible reading can skip that. Christians have answered it in several ways — that the language is the standard hyperbole of ancient war reporting, that the judgement is on specific practices named earlier, that the archaeology suggests a slower and messier settlement than the text's summary. None of those answers is comfortable and the text does not offer one.
The final chapter turns it into a decision: a covenant renewal at Shechem, and a choice put to the people in front of witnesses.
Where to start
Chapter 1 for the commission, then jump to chapter 24 for the covenant renewal. The allocation chapters in between are reference material rather than reading.
The chapters worth knowing
- Joshua 1 — The commission — be strong and courageous, said to a man taking over from Moses.
- Joshua 6 — Jericho, the campaign everybody knows and the one that raises the book's hardest question.
- Joshua 24 — Covenant renewal at Shechem, where the choice is put to the people in front of witnesses.
What people get wrong about it
That Joshua 1:9 is a general encouragement. It is a military commission given to one man taking over from Moses with a campaign in front of him, and the courage asked for is specifically the courage to do the thing he has been told to do.
From this book
Questions
What is the book of Joshua about?
Israel entering and settling the land after the wilderness years — the crossing, the campaigns, the allocation of territory, and a closing covenant renewal.
How should Christians read the conquest in Joshua?
Carefully, and without pretending it is easy. The main responses point to ancient war rhetoric, to the specific practices named as the grounds of judgement, and to archaeological evidence of a slower settlement. None removes the difficulty.