Joshua
History · Old Testament · Book 6 of 66- Author
- Joshua, with the closing verses added later
- Written
- c. 1400–1370 BC
- Time covered
- c. 1406–1375 BC, the conquest and division of Canaan
- Where
- Canaan, from the Jordan crossing to Shechem
- Written to
- Israel in the land God had promised their fathers
- Genre
- Narrative history
- Chapters
- 24
“Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”Joshua 1:9 KJV
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Overview
Joshua is the book of the promise kept. Forty years after the spies came back afraid, a new generation crosses the Jordan on dry ground, and the land God swore to Abraham finally becomes theirs.
It divides in two. The first half is the taking: Jericho, Ai, the southern and northern campaigns. The second is the dividing, tribe by tribe and town by town, ending with an old man asking the nation to choose whom it will serve.
Background
Moses is dead, buried by God in a valley of Moab. Joshua had been his assistant for forty years and was one of only two men alive who had seen Egypt and believed the land could be taken.
The conquest is not presented as land-grabbing but as judgment long delayed — God had told Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full, and four hundred years later it was. Rahab shows the other side: anyone who feared this God could be spared.
Key themes
- God keeps every word He promises; not one good thing failed.
- Courage comes from God’s presence, not from strength or numbers.
- Obedience in the details matters — Jericho, Achan and the Gibeonites all prove it.
- The land is a gift, given and then possessed, tribe by tribe.
- A people must choose, in each generation, whom they will serve.
Outline
- Crossing overChapters 1–5
Be strong and of a good courage, Rahab and the spies, the Jordan parted, stones set up, and Gilgal.
- Jericho and AiChapters 6–8
Walls that fall at a shout, then a defeat traced to one man’s hidden theft.
- The campaignsChapters 9–12
Gibeon’s trick, the long day at Beth-horon, and thirty-one kings defeated.
- Dividing the landChapters 13–21
Each tribe’s portion, Caleb’s mountain, the cities of refuge and the Levites’ towns.
- Last wordsChapters 22–24
The eastern tribes sent home, and Joshua’s charge at Shechem: choose you this day.
Key passages
- Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth.
- Joshua 2:8-13 Rahab hides the spies and asks for mercy.
- Joshua 3:15-17 The waters of Jordan stand up, and the nation crosses over.
- Joshua 6:20 The wall fell down flat.
- Joshua 7:20-21 Achan confesses the wedge of gold hidden in his tent.
- Joshua 10:12-14 Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon.
- Joshua 21:45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken.
- Joshua 24:15 As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Christ in Joshua
Joshua bears the Hebrew form of the name Jesus, and does what Moses could not: he brings the people in. Hebrews takes that up — if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day. The scarlet cord in Rahab’s window and the cities of refuge both picture the safety God provides for those who run to Him.
Reading it
- Read chapter 1 and chapter 24 together first; they frame the whole book.
- Do not skip the land lists entirely — they are the receipts for the promise.
- Notice how often the text says the LORD fought for Israel.