Covers the period between the death of Moses and that of Joshua

Osee, the son of Nun, Numbers 13:9. He is first mentioned as a warrior, Exodus 17:9; later as a writer, 17:14; as the minister of Moses, 24:13, 33:11, 33:17, Numbers 11:28; as one of the Spies, Numbers 13:9; his name is changed from Hosea, "deliverance," to Jehosea, "the Lord will deliver," Numbers 13:17; because of their fidelity he and Caleb alone shall enter the Promised Land, Numbers 14:6, 14:30, 14:38; he is the destined successor of Moses, Numbers 27:17-23; he acts as the latter's vicegerent, and Moses at the divine command institutes him as his successor, Numbers 32:28, 34:17, Deuteronomy 3:21-28, 31:3-24, etc.

The Book of Joshua covers the period between the death of Moses and that of Josue, i.e., according to the ordinary chronology, from about 1450-1425 B.C.

Contents and Divisions of Joshua

A. Chapters 1-12.

The Conquest of the Land of Promise

(a) Chapters 1-5. The miraculous entry of the Israelites.

Chapter 1. Introductory,
Chapter 2. The two spies enter,
Chapter2 3-4. The crossing of the Jordan.
Chapter 5. The Manna ceases; the Passover is kept; the Covenant of circumcision is renewed; Josue's divine commission is ratified.

(b) vi-xii. Josue's two campaigns, in the South and the North.

Chapter 6. Jericho is taken,
Chapters 7-8. They are repulsed at Hai owing to the sin of Achan, who is stoned; Hai is taken.
Chapter 9. The Gabaonites deceive Josue; they are made slaves.
Chapter 10. The Confederacy of the kings of the south is defeated in the battle of Bethoron, the sun stands still at Josue's command,
Chapter 11. The Confederacy of the kings of the north is broken up.
Chapter 12. A list of the kings whom Josue slew.

B. Chapters 13-22.

The Division and settlement of the land,

Chapter 13. The assignment of the land to the east of Jordan to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasses.
Chapters 14-19. The division of the land to the west of Jordan.
Chapters 20-21. The Levitical cities and the cities of Refuge are appointed,
Chapter 22. A misunderstanding between the tribes to the east and west is settled.

C. Chapters 23-24.

Josue's last words; he makes a covenant with the people; his death.

The moral theme of the Book may be summed up in the words of the commission originally given to Josue in Numbers 27:15-21; cf. Joshua 21:41, "God is faithful."

Authenticity of the Book of Joshua

The existing title does not prove that Josue himself was the author. Pseudo-Athanasius speaks of it as the "Book concerning the deeds of Josue"; opinions are divided between Samuel, Esdras, and Josue himself as the author. That it was compiled at a very early date seems evident from two passages: in 16:10, we read of the Canaanites as resident in Gezer, "until this day"; but in 3 Kings 9:16 (1 Kings 9:16), we are told that Pharaoh drove them out. In 15:63, the Jebusites are said to dwell with the children of Judah "until this present day," but this could not have been said after the reign of David who expelled the Jebusites, 2 Samuel 5:5. It is also noteworthy that in chapter 15 the boundaries of Judah and Benjamin are minutely given, whereas this is not the case with Ephraim and the other tribes, of whom it is said that they did not succeed in ousting the quondam inhabitants during the lifetime of Josue, chapters 16-18. In estimating the lists of towns etc. it should not be forgotten that Josue himself, as one of the spies, had an intimate acquaintance with the land. In the existing Hebrew text, the first person is used, 5:1, 5:6, and 4:23.

Hexateuch

This term has been invented by that criticism which would see in the book of Josue the natural complement to the Pentateuch. This criticism would regard the six books as a whole, and would bring down their composition to a very late date. It may suffice to remark here that such is the interdependence of the books of the Bible that a similar train of reasoning would justify us in assigning all the Books to a single author, as is really the case when we remember that God is the author of them all. Further, the repetition in Josue of facts already given in the Pentateuch seems fatal to such a view. Compare:

Joshua 1:12 with Numbers 32:20;
Joshua 13:15 with Numbers 33:33;
Joshua 20:8 with Deuteronomy 4:41.

by
Very Rev. Hugh Pope, O.P., S.T.M.
Doctor in Sacred Scripture,
Member of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, and
late Professor of New Testament Exegesis at the Collegio Angelico, Rome.