What the Bible says about Joshua
Joshua Installed as Leader
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide:
2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.
4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people:
11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”
12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,
13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’
14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them
15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.
17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.
18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”
1:1–18 Joshua as Israel’s new leader. The Lord initiated the action by commanding Joshua, his chosen replacement for Moses (see Dt 31:1–8), to lead Israel across the Jordan and take possession of the promised land. He urged courage and promised success—but only if Israel obeyed the law of God that Moses had given them. Ch. 1 consists of speeches significant in their content and order: The Lord commanded Joshua as his appointed leader over his people (vv. 1–9); Joshua, as the Lord’s representative, addressed Israel (vv. 10–15); Israel responded to Joshua as the Lord’s representative and successor to Moses (vv. 16–18). Thus the events of the book are set in motion and the roles of the main actors indicated (Introduction: Title and Theological Theme).
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6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes
7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.
8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites.
Joshua and Caleb (14:6–10a)
Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes, a sign of mourning (cf. Gen. 37:29, 34; Lev. 10:6; Jos. 7:6; 2 Sam. 13:31), and sought to encourage the people. If the Lord is pleased with us (i.e. if we do not alienate Him by rebellion), he will lead us into that land (8). 9. Their protection is gone: ‘protection’ is the shadow that protects from the heat of the eastern sun (cf. Ps. 121:5, 6; Isa. 30:2, 3; 32:2; Jon. 4:6). Keil took it to refer to the protection of God, who was about to judge them (cf. Gen. 15:16; Exod. 34:24; Lev. 18:25; 20:23), but it could refer to the protection of their own deities (cf. Dt. 32:30, 31). So ICC, JB, GNB. 10. But the whole assembly talked about stoning them: it was probably not an order of the elders, but a spontaneous reaction of the people (cf. Exod. 17:4; 1 Sam. 30:6). In Israel stoning was the usual method of execution (cf. 15:35, 36; Lev.20:2, etc.).
(d) The Glory Appears (14:10b–12)
The cloud was continually over the tabernacle (cf. Exod. 40:38) but here it evidently flashed with light at the entrance to the sanctuary (cf. 16:19; 20:6 and Exod. 16:10; 33:9, 10). With v. 12 cf. Exod. 32:9, 10. God’s purpose would not be deflected by their failure.
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Crossing the Jordan
3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp,
3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.
4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.
7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.
8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.
10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.
11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.
12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.
15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,
16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Preparations East of the Jordan River: Israel, the Priests, and the Ark (3:1 – 17)
Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out (3:1). The crossing of the Jordan River, unlike the crossing of the Reed Sea of the previous generation (Ex. 14 – 15), was accomplished in an orderly fashion. Most of this chapter is taken up with the detailed procedure by which Israel was to cross the river. The ceremonial progression across the Jordan resembles the ancient West Semitic religious procession detailed at thirteenth-century Emar in northern Syria — in particular, the multiple processions of the image of Dagan Lord of the Firstborn, who proceeds from his temple to various gates and standing stones before returning. However, other than the connection with a deity and his movement, there is no real parallel with the biblical texts of Joshua.
The God of Israel moves in the midst of his people in a procession that leads them into enemy territory. This forms a military procession and resembles the military marches of Egypt and the other powers of the ancient Near East. Although few descriptions remain of the procedure of such marches, there is a detailed description found in the second-millennium b.c. Hittite Instruction for the Royal Bodyguard. This tablet describes the responsibilities of the palace guard for the protection of the king. Most of it concerns the movement of the king in a cart from his palace to the place where he gives judgment and the return at the end of the day. Although there are many differences, of special interest is the manner in which the location of the guard is specified. They surround the king and protect him on all sides. This reminds us of the Israelite camp’s order of march through the desert (Num. 10:14 – 28).
However, the Hittite instructions also require that the guards should keep a specific distance from the king when they march. As the guards are required to stay at a certain distance from the cart carrying the king, so the Israelites are commanded to keep “a thousand yards” of distance from the ark, representing God in its movement across the Jordan River (3:4). The specific directions and the whole ceremony of Joshua 3 – 4 suggest a movement comparable to that of a king surrounded by his army as they march to battle.
Jordan River
Revital Salomon, Israel
Standard of Ur war panel showing victory procession
Caryn Reeder, courtesy of the British Museum
Shittim (3:1). See 2:1.
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