At a glance
| Aspect | Detail |
|---|---|
| Authorship | Joshua likely (with later editorial); critical view: Deuteronomistic Historian |
| Date | ~1406-1380 BC (conquest period) |
| Audience | Israelites entering and settling Canaan |
| Genre | Historical narrative |
| Purpose | Conquest and settlement of promised land |
| Chapters | 24 |
Outline
| Section | Chapters | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Crossing Jordan and entry | 1-5 | Joshua commissioned; Jordan crossing; circumcision; Passover |
| Central campaign | 6-8 | Jericho; Achan; Ai |
| Southern and northern campaigns | 9-12 | Gibeonite deception; key battles |
| Land allocation | 13-22 | Tribal inheritances |
| Final addresses | 23-24 | Joshua's farewell and covenant renewal |
Main themes
| Theme | Description |
|---|---|
| God's faithfulness | Promises fulfilled, land given (Joshua 21:43-45) |
| Conquest | Holy war as God's judgment on Canaanite sin (cf. Genesis 15:16) |
| Faith and obedience | Active reliance on God's promises |
| Covenant fulfillment | Patriarchal land-promise actualized |
| Joshua as Christ-type | Name "Yeshua" (same as Jesus); leads people into rest |
Key passages
- Joshua 1:5-9, God's commission to Joshua
- Joshua 3-4, Jordan crossing
- Joshua 6, Jericho's fall
- Joshua 21:43-45, promise fulfilled
- Joshua 24:14-15, the call to choose this day whom you will serve
NT connections
- Hebrews 4, Joshua's rest as type of Christ's greater rest
- Acts 7:45, Stephen's review
- Hebrews 11:30-31, Jericho and Rahab as faith examples
Contested topics
The conquest's ethical questions, God's command to "devote to destruction" raises difficult issues:
- Holy war as judgment on specific sinful nations (Genesis 15:16; Deuteronomy 7:1-5)
- Not a universal pattern; specific covenant context
- Multi-view modern responses to the ethical difficulty