Divine Promise of Assistance.1After Moses, the servant of the Lord, had died, the Lord said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun:2* Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites.3a Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses.4* All the land of the Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory.b5No one can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be with you:c I will not leave you nor forsake you.6Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them.7d Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.8Do not let this book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by night,e that you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then you will attain your goal; then you will succeed.9I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.
10f So Joshua commanded the officers of the people:11“Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and possess the land the Lord, your God, is giving as your possession.
The Book of Joshua (Hebrew: סֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Sefer Yəhōšūaʿ, Tiberian: Sēp̄er Yŏhōšūaʿ) is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.: 42 It tells of the campaigns of the Israelites in central, southern and northern Canaan, the destruction of their enemies, and the division of the land among the Twelve Tribes, framed by two set-piece speeches, the first by God commanding the conquest of the land, and, at the end, the second by Joshua warning of the need for faithful observance of the Law (torah) revealed to Moses.
The book of joshua holds little historical value for early israel and most likely reflects a much later period. the earliest parts of the book are possibly chapters 2–11, the story of the conquest; these chapters were later incorporated into an early form of joshua likely written late in the reign of king josiah (reigned 640–609 bce), but the book was not completed until after the fall of jerusalem to the neo-babylonian empire in 586 bce, and possibly not until after the return from the babylonian exile in 539 bce.
Structure
I. Transfer of leadership to Joshua (1:1–18)
A. God\’s commission to Joshua (1:1–9)
B. Joshua\’s instructions to the people (1:10–18)
II. Entrance into and conquest of Canaan (2:1–12:24)
A. Entry into Canaan
1.Reconnaissance of Jericho (2:1–24)
- Crossing the River Jordan (3:1–17)
- Establishing a foothold at Gilgal (4:1–5:1)
- Circumcision and Passover (5:2–15)
B. Victory over Canaan (6:1–12:24) - Destruction of Jericho (6)
- Failure and success at Ai (7:1–8:29)
- Renewal of the covenant at Mount Ebal (8:30–35)
- Other campaigns in central Canaan. The Gibeonite Deception (9:1–27)
- Campaigns in southern Canaan (10:1–43)
- Campaigns in northern Canaan (11:1–15)
- Summary of lands conquered (11:16–23)
- Summary list of defeated kings (12:1–24)
III. Division of the land among the tribes (13:1–22:34)
A. God\’s instructions to Joshua (13:1–7)
B. Tribal allotments (13:8–19:51) - Eastern tribes (13:8–33)
- Western tribes (14:1–19:51)
C. Cities of refuge and levitical cities (20:1–21:42)
D. Summary of conquest (21:43–45)
E. De-commissioning of the eastern tribes (22:1–34)
IV. Conclusion (23:1–24:33)
A. Joshua\’s farewell address (23:1–16)
B. Covenant at Shechem (24:1–28)
C. Deaths of Joshua and Eleazar; burial of Joseph\’s bones (24:29–33)