Book: Joshua

After Moses’ death

The Israelites began to settle in the Promised Land, and the book of Joshua is a historical narrative that recounts the history of those early events. Joshua, who was chosen by the Lord Himself to guide the Israelites through the Jordan River and into the Promised Land, is probably the book’s author. When Joshua served as the Israelites’ leader, between 1405 and 1383 B.C., the book was written. Theological topics in this book include leadership, which is exemplified chiefly by Joshua’s successful guidance of the Israelites to the Promised Land. Other themes include obedience to God, community life, warfare, the capture of the Canaanite cities, and the Lord’s promise to His people among others.

The book gives a record of the culmination of the history of the Israelites into the Promised Land

The book was written to remind the Israelites that God rewards obedience. The Key personalities are Joshua, Phinehas, Eleazar, Rahab, and Achan. The major events of the book include the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land in the first four chapters. The entry is marked with the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River. The Israelites conquer the inhabitants of Canaan before taking it. The last event is the division of the land among the twelve tribes.

Person:

Joshua is the greatest of the characters in the book. He is the one who leads the Israelites into the Promised Land after wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Joshua was born in Egypt when the Israelites served as slaves to Pharaoh. He was among the leaders of Israelites under Moses. He was chosen by Moses to select men to fight against the Amalek. He is said to have been among the spies who went into Canaan to spy on it before they would match into the land as a whole. Joshua was very fundamental in the battle of Jericho where the Israelites conquered to Canaanites and took the land that God had promised them.

Joshua did not only lead the Israelites into the promised land

But was also responsible for leading the people in following God’s commandments and leading them towards the righteous way which God wanted them to follow because of the great faith that he had as a leader (Joshua 7: 6-26). He organized the settlement of the Israelites in Canaan after defeating the previous occupants of the land. Joshua served as a servant under Moses (Exodus 24: 13, 33:11). He was a prophet of God who led people in taking back their promised land as well as towards holiness. The other works of biblical writings that are related to the book of Joshua are Exodus, Numbers, Judges, and 1 Kings.

Setting/Place

The book of Joshua was written between 1405 and 1383 B.C. The book is entirely based in Canaan. Canaan was the Promised Land that God had promised to Abraham to his descendants. Cannan is the same land that Abraham lived on before his descendants moved to Egypt because of famine. The exodus out of Egypt was a return journey to their ancestral land. The books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy give the narration of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt towards the Promised Land. It is after the death of Moses that Joshua took over the leadership to lead the people into Canaan. The book narrates the history of entry and settlement of the Israelites into Canaan. Pastoralism and farming were the main economic activities in Canaan. The key figures in Canaan were Joshua himself as the leader, Phinehas, Eleazar, Rahab and Achan. The story is a continuation of the story of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt as recorded in the books of Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and their entry into their ancestral land.

Works Cited

“Book Of Joshua Setting”. Shmoop.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

“Joshua Summary”. Biblehub.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.

Swindoll, Charles. R. “Book Of Joshua Overview - Insight For Living Ministries”. Insight.org. N.p., 2017. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.