Joshua

Reading time: One-and-three-quarter hours
Short of time? Just read 1—2, 6—7, 9—10, 23—24

Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1.9)

Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24.15)

Well, the whole book really. The book of Joshua contains what appears to the modern eye to be the command to kill everyone who lives in the land already. While scholars might say this reflects a complex reality on the ground, you could call this genocide. The challenge is to work out what you think is going on here. 

There is nothing in the book itself about who wrote Joshua. In style and theology it is very similar to Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. It  is often thought to form with them a collection of writings named by scholars the ‘Deuteronomistic histories’.  

What do we know about the author/s?

Next to nothing.

The name implies a theological connection with the book of Deuteronomy, since the outlook of all these books seems very similar. It is suggested that the author or, more likely, authors of these histories were influenced by Deuteronomy and told Israel’s history from that perspective. The key feature here is that Deuteronomy stresses that God’s people will only stay in the land if they remain faithful. Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings tell the story of how God’s people failed to be faithful and so, eventually, went into exile from the land. 

No one really knows when these books were written. It is thought that they reached their final form in the sixth century BC – in other words, shortly after the Judeans went into exile – and were finalised then in order to explain why the exile had happened at all. It is clear, however, that these final documents were drawn together from already existing sources, many of which would have been written during or shortly after the event described.

What were people feeling?

If it is right that these histories are written to explain why the exile happened, it's clear that the people would have been feeling hurt, despairing and lost. For a sense of what people were feeling then, have a look at the book of Lamentations, which provides an accurate insight into their emotions.

Other books set around this time

Judges, Ruth

This is a history book but it falls into the category of what you might call theological history – history with a purpose. It is not telling the events just so you can know what happened, but so that you can understand why it happened. Many of the historical books of the Bible are like this.

1.1–18 The commissioning of Joshua as leader
2.1—12.24 Entry into and conquest of the land
13.1—22.34 The division of the land among the tribes
23.1—24.33 Joshua’s farewell and the renewal of the covenant

There will be lots of names you will not know; don’t worry if you can’t place them all. The key ones are given below.

Place names

Euphrates, Shittim, Ai, Bethel, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Bashan, Beer-sheba, Bethel, Canaan, Carmel, Dan, Dead Sea, Edom, Ekron, En-gedi, Ephraim, Euphrates, Galilee, Gath, Gaza, Gezer, Gibeon, Gilgal, Hebron, Hermon, Israel, Jerusalem, Jezreel, Judah, Lachish, Lebanon, Midian, Mizpah, Moab, Mount Carmel, Mount Gerizim, Mount Hermon, Mount Seir, Mount Tabor, Negeb, Ramah, Sheba, Shechem, Shiloh, Shunem, Sidon, Tirzah, Tyre, Ziklag

The names of people and peoples

Anakim, Amorites, Gibeonites, Rephaim, Hittites, Ammonites, Amorites, Asher, Balaam, Balak, Benjamin, Canaanites, Gibeonites, Hivites, Isaac, Issachar, Jebusites, Joshua, Levites, Manasseh, Moses, Philistines, Sidonians

Other words

Altar, Ark of the Covenant, burnt offering, High Priest, Passover, priest, Tabernacle, wadi  

In all the books of the Deuteronomistic histories, God’s promises are very important. The idea you find time and time again is that God always does what he says he will. Look out for this theme as you read.

Another important theme in this book is identity – the questions of what made God’s people who they were. As you read, ask yourself what you can tell about who God’s people were meant to be and what they were meant to do.

Right at the heart of this book lies the covenant, made through Moses with the people and reiterated at the end of the book by Joshua. Look out for the covenant and what it means to God, to Joshua and to the people.

A theme that bubbles away throughout Joshua is faithfulness – God’s faithfulness to his people and their unfaithfulness to him. What does faithfulness mean to you and can you learn anything about it from this book?

• Were there any parts of the book that you particularly liked or that inspired you?
• Were there any parts of the book that you disliked or that troubled you?
• What did you think the book was about?
• The theme of covenant faithfulness is very important in this book. What did you make of it and what can we learn from this today?
• What did you think about the command to kill all the inhabitants of the land? Does it trouble you or have you found a way that makes sense of it for you? Give yourselves lots of time to wrestle with this question!
• The Israelites won their battles when God was with them and fought for them. Today there are many people who claim that their God fights with them. Having read Joshua, what would you want to say to someone who claims that God fights with them?
• Did you read anything in the book that touched you, expanded your faith or made you think more deeply about your life and how you live it?