Joshua Overview*
1. Following the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses), the book of Joshua in many ways completes its story. By the end of the Pentateuch, Israel has been brought into the blessing of a covenant relationship with the LORD and has become a great people. But they remain outside the Land of Promise, on the plains of Moab. Forty years before, the LORD had raised up Moses to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt and to bring them to the land he had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exo 3:6-8; 6:2-8). Now, after so many years of wandering, Joshua, the “new Moses” (Joshua 1:1-9), is to lead God’s people into the land, take it, and divide it among them as their inheritance from the LORD.
2. Joshua begins the second large section of the Hebrew Bible known as the “Former Prophets” (Joshua~2 Kings, apart from Ruth).The “Former Prophets” are intended to be “prophetic,” in the sense that it record Israel’s history with the purpose of instructing and explaining from the divine perspective—how and why things went the way they did. Joshua tells the story of how a second generation of former slaves succeeded in invading and possessing Canaan, thus inheriting the land the God had promised to Abraham and his seeds hundreds of years earlier (See Genesis 12 and 15). The LORD had promised Abraham and his descendants that they would be blessed and become a blessing, that they would grow to be a great nation, and that they would be given a land of their own. In addition, these blessings would be enjoyed in the context of a close covenant relationship with God.
3. The story of the conquest in Joshua is told in four parts: Part 1 (1:1-5:12) focus on Israel’s entrance into the land (with several echoes of the accounts of Israel’s exit from the land of Egypt). Part 2 (5:13-12:24) tell the story of the (partial) conquest of the land. Featured here are the divine overthrow of Jericho (chapter 6) and the defeat of Ai (chapter 7), which are told in detail and serves as the paradigm for what follows—that this is God’s holy war, not theirs, and everything is predicated on obedience and loyalty to the covenant with the LORD. Part 3 (13—21) narrates the distribution of the land, setting out the administrative organization of the LORD’s earthly kingdom. Part 4 (22—24) are concerned primarily with Israel’s continued loyalty to the LORD and thus conclude with the renewing the covenant at Shechem (cf. 8:30-35).
4. From the evidence of the book itself, the general purpose of the book of Joshua was to recount from a theological perspective, the events surrounding Israel’s capture and settlement of the land of Canaan—with particular emphasis on God’s faithfulness in fulfilling his promise to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). In addition, there are three major concerns in Joshua: 1) Engagement in the holy war. Notice how the emphasis is always on God’s initiative and participation (“I will be with you,” 1:5). Thus the opening battle (Jericho) is God’s alone; after that, the Israelites are themselves militarily involved, but always with God fighting for them (8:1; 10:14; 23:10). This is God’s holy war, not just giving Israel the land, but especially to rid the land of idolatry—all of this so that the LORD will dwell as King among a people who are to reflect his likeness and follow his ways. 2) Even though chapters 13—21 (land distribution chapters) can be seen rather “boring,” they are profoundly important to the story, because here at last is the fulfilling of God’s promise to Abraham and to his seed that they would one day inherit this very land. 3) Everything has to do with the Israelites’ covenant loyalty to the one God. This is the key element in the opening address to Joshua (“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it,” 1:8).
* Adapted from How to Read the Bible Book by Book & ESV Study Bible.
visit the Bible Project for their in-depth overview on Joshua
