Introduction.

In the collection of Old Testament books, Joshua is the first of twelve historical books (the last is the book of Esther). This corresponds to the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), where the books are grouped as follows: Pentateuch (Genesis to Deuteronomy), historical (from Joshua to Esther), poetical (from Job to Song of Solomon), and prophetic (from Isaiah before the book of Malachi). In the Hebrew canon, the same books are grouped differently, namely the Law, the Prophets, and the Scriptures.

With this division, the book of Joshua is the first in the second section of the Old Testament - Prophets. This section was subdivided in turn into two parts: "The Elder Prophets" (from Joshua to the Fourth Book of Kings inclusive, excluding Ruth) and "End-Time Prophets" (from Isaiah to Malachi, not counting the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the Book of Daniel). The Scriptures (according to this canon) include Psalms, the book of Job, Proverbs, the Songs of Solomon, the book of Ruth, the book of Ecclesiastes, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, the book of Esther, the book of Daniel, the book of Ezra, the book of Nehemiah, the first and second books of Chronicles.

Theologians in different ways define the reason for classifying the book of Joshua as prophetic (in the Hebrew canon). Some see it in the fact that Nun was appointed to the "office of the prophet." Others are that history books, including the "senior prophets," reflect the principles that the prophets preached.

Author.

The Bible does not say who the author of this book was. Some parts of this book were written by Joshua himself (8:32; 24:26). 4) Other parts of it were clearly written after his death (24: 29-30, which contains a record of his death, and 15: 13-14, about the conquest of Hebron by Caleb.

Time of writing.

Since Joshua wrote a significant part of the book, the date of its creation, apparently, is close to the date of the events themselves. According to 1 Kings. 6: 1, the Israelites left Egypt 480 years before the 4th year of the reign of King Solomon, that is, 480 years before 966 BC By adding these numbers, we get the date of the exodus - 1446 BC ...

Forty years later (after wandering in the wilderness) began the conquest of the Promised Land, which means - in 1406 BC, which is confirmed by the testimony contained in the Court. 11:26. According to Jephthah, the period from the conquest of the earth to his days was 300 years (Judges 11:26). Adding to them (and to forty years) one hundred and forty years, which separated the days of Jephthah from the 4th year of the reign of Solomon, we get four hundred and eighty, which is consistent with what was said in 1 Kings. 6: 1 (forty years in the wilderness, plus three hundred years from the conquest of the earth to the days of Jephthah, plus one hundred and forty years from Jephthah to the 4th year of the reign of Solomon, is four hundred and eighty years.

Since most of the victories were won by the Israelites over a seven-year period (cf. commentary on Joshua 14:10), they probably took possession of the land sometime around 1399 B.C. Accordingly, the book of Joshua was completed, not counting minor additions to it shortly thereafter.

Purpose of writing.

The purpose of the book of Joshua is an official account of how the Lord's promise to the patriarchs to hand over the land of Canaan to the Jews was fulfilled in the history of Israel. This can be seen both from the command given to Nun at the beginning of the book (1: 2-6), and from the summing up of the events at its end (21:43).

The conquest of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua had its justification in the Abrahamic covenant. God, the ruler of the universe, placed Abraham at the center of the fulfillment of His plan, predestinating through the Abraham seed to "reach" our "lost world." The Lord made a treaty or covenant with Abraham, promising the patriarch and his descendants, without any preconditions, the earth, the continuation and multiplication of the clan and spiritual blessings (Gen. 12: 2-3). Soon after, God said that He would give this land to Israel forever (compare Gen. 13:15).

Abraham was made aware of the boundaries of this land (Gen. 15: 18-21). Later, God declared that Isaac and his descendants would become the legal heirs of the Promised Land (Gen. 17: 19-21). Thus, the book of Joshua records how the promise made to the patriarchs was fulfilled as Israel took possession of the land that God had promised him many centuries before.

The fact that the people later lost this land reflects the inconstancy of the people, who, having perceived God's blessings as something given to them once and for all, fell into paganism, began to worship the gods of neighboring peoples, for which they were subjected to the punishment that God warned them about (compare Deut. 28: 15-68). And yet, according to the promise he received, Israel should forever own the land given to him, but this is already connected with the return of the Messiah and Israel's repentance.

According to Isaiah's prophecy, the Messiah will appear as the "second Joshua", who will "restore the earth in order to return to the heirs" their inheritance (Isaiah 49: 8).

The Apostle Paul taught that the events of the Exodus and Conquest are filled with special significance for Christians, since these events are nothing more than types of the future (1 Cor. 10: 1-11). “Jesus” is the Greek word for JEHOSHUA, meaning “Jehovah saves” or “Jehovah is salvation”. How Joshua led Israel to victories over their enemies and to take possession of the Promised Land, and how he prayed and interceded for the people after they sinned and failed, so does Jesus Christ. He leads God's people to their promised rest (Heb. 4: 8-9); He continually intercedes for His own (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25) and empowers them to defeat their enemies (Rom. 8:37; Heb. 2: 14-15).

Book outline:

I. Invasion of Canaan (1: 1 - 5:12)

A. Joshua's appointment (chapter 1)

1. Navin listens to the Lord (1: 1-9)

2. Navin gives command to commanders ("overseers") - 1: 10-15.

3. Navin receives support from the people (1: 16-18)

B. Reconnaissance Operation in Jericho (Chapter 2)

1. Sending scouts to Jericho (2: 1)

2. "Spies" take refuge with Rava (2: 2-7)

3. Information received by the spies from Rahab (2: 8-11)

4. The Promise of the Rahab Spies (2: 12-21)

5. Return of the scouts to Joshua (2: 22-24)

C. Crossing the Jordan (chapter 3)

1. Preparation for the transition (3: 1-4)

2. Consecration on the occasion of the passage (3: 5-13)

H. Completion of the transition (3: 14-17)

D. Setting stones in memory of the Jordan crossing (chapter 4) E. Consecration of the Israelites (5: 1-12)

1. Renewal of circumcision (5: 1-9)

2. Celebrating Easter (5:10)

3. Using the fruits of the land (5: 11-12)

II. Conquest of Canaan (5:13 - 12:24)

A. Introduction: Leader of the Host of the Lord (5: 13-15)

B. Major War Campaign (5:16 - Chapter 8)

1. Taking Jericho (chapter 6)

2. Defeat at Guy (chapter 7)

3. Victory at Guy (chapter 8)

B. Southern Campaign (chapters 9-10)

1. Union with the Gibeonites (chapter 9)

2. Navin protects the Gibeonites (chap. 10)

D. Northern Campaign (11: 1-15)

1. Coalition of Kings (11: 1-5)

2. Battle (11: 6-15)

E. Overview of victories (11:16 - 12:24)

1. Conquered lands (11: 16-23)

2. Defeated kings (chapter 12)

C. Section of Canaan (chapters 13-21)

A. Allotments of two and a half tribes (chap. 13)

1. Command from above to divide the earth (13: 1-7)

2. Special award of lands to the eastern tribes (13: 8-33)

B. Nadel Haleva (chapter 14)

1. Introduction (14: 1-5)

2. Caleb at Kadesh Barnea (14: 6-9)

3. Caleb during the wandering in the wilderness and during the conquest of the land (14: 10-11)

4. Caleb in Hebron (14: 12-15)

C. Allotments for Nine and a Half Tribes (15: 1 - 19:48)

1. Put on for the tribe of Judah (chapter 15)

2. Allotments for the tribe of Joseph (chapters 16-17)

3. Allotments for the rest of the tribes (18: 1 - 19:48)

D. Plot for Joshua, for Manslaughter, and for the Levites (19:49 - 21:45)

1. A special lot for Joshua (19: 49-51)

2. Designation of cities of refuge (chapter 20)

3. Designation of cities for the Levites (21: 1-42)

4. Summing up the conquest and distribution of lands (21: 43-45)

IV. Conclusion (chapters 22-24)

A. Clearing up a misunderstanding at the border (chapter 22)

1. Warning from the mouth of Nun (22: 1-8)

2. A Symbolic Act Performed by Eastern Tribes (22: 9-11)

3. The threat of war (22: 12-28)

4. Eastern tribes speak in their defense (22: 21-29)

5. Tribal Reconciliation (22: 30-34)

B. Last days Joshua (23: 1 - 24:28)

1. The last call of Nun to the leaders of the tribes (chapter 23)

2. The last admonitions of Joshua (24: 1-28)

B. Appendix to the text (24: 29-33)

IN orthodox tradition Joshua is revered as righteous, commemoration is performed on September 1 julian calendar.

Biography

Descended from the tribe of Ephraim and originally bore the name Hosea (Hosea), but was renamed by Moses to Jesus (Yehoshua) when he was sent as a scout with representatives of the other eleven tribes. Commentators explain the reason for the change in the name by the prayer of Moses, so that Jesus would remain in his opinion and not follow the rest of the scouts. In the Latin (and then in the Catholic and Protestant) tradition, the name of Joshua is rendered differently than the name of Jesus Christ - Josua instead of Jesus, while in the Greek Orthodox tradition, both are called Jesus (therefore, Joshua or the son of Nun is usually added to the name of the first while in the western tradition it is superfluous). Joshua is nicknamed Navin after his father, Nav or Non. The obsolete suffix -in is added to the name Nav, which, like -ov, indicates belonging.

Immediately after the death of Moses, God appeared to Jesus and said to him:

The first thing the Jews, led by Jesus, attack Jericho. For seven days, their troops march around the city walls, led by priests carrying the ark of the covenant. On the seventh day, the army circled the city seven times, accompanied by priests playing trumpets. At a certain moment, Jesus orders all the people to shout at the same time, and immediately the walls of the city fall by themselves.

After that, Jesus orders to exterminate the entire population of Jericho, including women, old people, children and livestock. Only the harlot Rahab and her relatives were spared for the fact that Rahab had previously sheltered the Jewish scouts who had entered the city. Jericho himself was completely burned (Joshua, chapter 6).

Further, having entered the Promised Land, he defeated several Canaanite tribes in a number of battles, despite the fact that they sometimes opposed him in whole coalitions. Jesus conquered the city of Ai, and completely destroyed its population, as in Jericho. Five kings - Jerusalem, Hebron, Hieramuf, Lachish, and Yeglon united against the Israelites. However, Jesus managed to defeat them. God took part in the battle on his side, throwing stones from heaven at the enemy's army:

Five kings, having suffered defeat, hid in one of the caves. But they were found and Naveen ordered to kill them and hang them in the trees. Then the Jewish army captured the cities of Maked, Livna and Lachis. All residents of these cities were massacred without exception. The king of Gazer came to the aid of the king of Lachish, but the Israelites prevailed and destroyed his people completely. The same fate befell all the inhabitants of the cities of Eglon and Hebron:

• The image of Joshua is embroidered on one of the banners of Ermak, kept in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin.
• The phenomenon on Mercury, when the Sun stops in the sky and moves in the opposite direction, is called the Joshua effect.
• The image of Joshua takes place in film adaptations in the 1956 film "The Ten Commandments", as well as in the second half of the film

Joshua

During the first battle with the Amalekites, the Israelites had a new military leader.

Ex. 17: 9. Moses said to Jesus: choose husbands for us, and go, fight the Amalekites ...

The fact that Joshua appears here without explaining who he is suggests that this passage concerning the Amalekites is out of place and the event described in it took place at the end of the Exodus rather than at the beginning.

Hereafter, Jesus is referred to as Hosea (in the Revised Standard Translation - as Hosiah) and is presented as the son of Nun and a member of the tribe of Ephraim. Apparently Hosea ("salvation") was his real name, and Moses changed it to more closely match Yahviz:

Num. 13:16. ... And Moses named Hosea the son of Nun, Jehoshua.

Yehoshua (short for Jesus) means "Yahweh is salvation."

Throughout the Exodus, Joshua remains Moses' military assistant and eventually becomes his successor as the leader of the Israelites. This is the first evidence of the military superiority of the tribe of Ephraim, which it held throughout the entire period of the tribes of Israel.

In later Old Testament times, the abbreviated form of Yeshua, Yeshua, became more common. In Greek, the sound "sh" (which does not exist in the Greek alphabet) was replaced by the sound "s" and the usual for greek ending of the name with "-s". Thus, Yeshua became Jesus.

Indeed, in the New Testament (originally written in Greek), Yeshua, the military leader of Moses, is referred to as Jesus on two occasions - at least in the King James Bible. Thus, in the Book of Acts of the Holy Apostles, when Stephen summarizes the history of the Old Testament before the Sanhedrin, he speaks of the tabernacle built in the wilderness under the leadership of Moses, which

Acts 7:45. Our fathers with Jesus took it and brought it into the domain of the nations [to Canaan] ...

In the Amended Standard Translation this name at Acts 7:45 is given as Yeshua. Of course, it is completely impossible to replace the name of Jesus Christ with his Jewish version of Yeshua. This name was fixed in the human mind in its Greek form.