the son of Nun. He was of the tribe of Ephraim, and born A. M.
2460. He devoted himself to the service of Moses, and in Scripture he is
commonly called the servant of Moses, Exodus xxiv, 13; xxxiii, 11;
Deuteronomy i, 38, &c. His first name was Hosea, or Oshea; Hoseah
signifying _saviour_; Jehoshua, _the salvation of God_, or _he will
save_. The first opportunity which Joshua had to signalize his valour
was in the war made by the divine command against the Amalekites, Exodus
xvii, 9, 10. He defeated and routed their whole army. When Moses
ascended Mount Sinai to receive the law of the Lord, and remained there
forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking, Joshua remained
with him, though, in all probability, not in the same place, nor with
the same abstinence, Exod. xxiv, 13; xxxii, 17. Joshua was “filled with
the spirit of wisdom,” qualifying him for the arduous and important
station of governing Israel, to which he was called by the special
command of God, Num. xxvii, 18–20; Deut. xxxi, 7, 14; xxxiv, 9; Joshua
i, 5. His piety, courage, and disinterested integrity are conspicuous
throughout his whole history; and, exclusive of the inspiration which
enlightened his mind and writings, he derived divine information,
sometimes by immediate revelation from God, Joshua iii, 7; v, 13–15; at
others from the sanctuary, through the medium of Eleazar, the high
priest, the son of Aaron, who, having on the breast plate, presented
himself before the mercy seat on which the Shechinah, or visible symbol
of the divine presence, rested, and there consulted Jehovah by the Urim
and Thummim, to which an answer was returned by an audible voice.
Joshua succeeded Moses in the government of Israel about the year of the
world 2553, and died at Timnath-serah in the hundred and tenth year of
his age, A. M. 2578. He was about the age of eighty-four when he
received the divine command to pass over Jordan, and take possession of
the promised land, Joshua i, 1, 2. Having accomplished that arduous
enterprise, and settled the chosen tribes in the peaceable possession of
their inheritance, he retired to Shechem, or, according to some Greek
copies, to Shiloh; where he assembled the elders of Israel, the heads of
families, the judges and other officers; and, presenting themselves
before God, he recapitulated the conduct of Divine Providence toward
them, from the days of Abraham to that moment; recounted the miraculous
and gracious dispensations of God toward their fathers and themselves;
reminded them of their present enviable lot, and concluded his solemn
address with an exhortation in these emphatic words: “Now, therefore,
fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth; and put away the
gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in
Egypt; and serve ye the Lord,” Joshua xxiv.
The book of Joshua continues the sacred history from the period of the
death of Moses to that of the death of Joshua and of Eleazar; a space of
about thirty years. It contains an account of the conquest and division
of the land of Canaan, the renewal of the covenant with the Israelites,
and the death of Joshua. There are two passages in this book which show
that it was written by a person contemporary with the events it records.
In the first verse of the fifth chapter, the author speaks of himself as
being one of those who had passed into Canaan: “And it came to pass when
all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan
westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea,
heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the
children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted.”
And from the twenty-fifth verse of the following chapter, it appears
that the book was written before the death of Rahab: “And Joshua saved
Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she
had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the
messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” Though there is not a
perfect agreement among the learned concerning the author of this book,
yet by far the most general opinion is, that it was written by Joshua
himself; and, indeed, in the last chapter it is said that “Joshua wrote
these words in the book of the law of God;” which expression seems to
imply that he subjoined this history to that written by Moses. The last
five verses, giving an account of the death of Joshua, were added by one
of his successors; probably by Eleazar, Phinehas, or Samuel.
2460. He devoted himself to the service of Moses, and in Scripture he is
commonly called the servant of Moses, Exodus xxiv, 13; xxxiii, 11;
Deuteronomy i, 38, &c. His first name was Hosea, or Oshea; Hoseah
signifying _saviour_; Jehoshua, _the salvation of God_, or _he will
save_. The first opportunity which Joshua had to signalize his valour
was in the war made by the divine command against the Amalekites, Exodus
xvii, 9, 10. He defeated and routed their whole army. When Moses
ascended Mount Sinai to receive the law of the Lord, and remained there
forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking, Joshua remained
with him, though, in all probability, not in the same place, nor with
the same abstinence, Exod. xxiv, 13; xxxii, 17. Joshua was “filled with
the spirit of wisdom,” qualifying him for the arduous and important
station of governing Israel, to which he was called by the special
command of God, Num. xxvii, 18–20; Deut. xxxi, 7, 14; xxxiv, 9; Joshua
i, 5. His piety, courage, and disinterested integrity are conspicuous
throughout his whole history; and, exclusive of the inspiration which
enlightened his mind and writings, he derived divine information,
sometimes by immediate revelation from God, Joshua iii, 7; v, 13–15; at
others from the sanctuary, through the medium of Eleazar, the high
priest, the son of Aaron, who, having on the breast plate, presented
himself before the mercy seat on which the Shechinah, or visible symbol
of the divine presence, rested, and there consulted Jehovah by the Urim
and Thummim, to which an answer was returned by an audible voice.
Joshua succeeded Moses in the government of Israel about the year of the
world 2553, and died at Timnath-serah in the hundred and tenth year of
his age, A. M. 2578. He was about the age of eighty-four when he
received the divine command to pass over Jordan, and take possession of
the promised land, Joshua i, 1, 2. Having accomplished that arduous
enterprise, and settled the chosen tribes in the peaceable possession of
their inheritance, he retired to Shechem, or, according to some Greek
copies, to Shiloh; where he assembled the elders of Israel, the heads of
families, the judges and other officers; and, presenting themselves
before God, he recapitulated the conduct of Divine Providence toward
them, from the days of Abraham to that moment; recounted the miraculous
and gracious dispensations of God toward their fathers and themselves;
reminded them of their present enviable lot, and concluded his solemn
address with an exhortation in these emphatic words: “Now, therefore,
fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and truth; and put away the
gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in
Egypt; and serve ye the Lord,” Joshua xxiv.
The book of Joshua continues the sacred history from the period of the
death of Moses to that of the death of Joshua and of Eleazar; a space of
about thirty years. It contains an account of the conquest and division
of the land of Canaan, the renewal of the covenant with the Israelites,
and the death of Joshua. There are two passages in this book which show
that it was written by a person contemporary with the events it records.
In the first verse of the fifth chapter, the author speaks of himself as
being one of those who had passed into Canaan: “And it came to pass when
all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan
westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea,
heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the
children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted.”
And from the twenty-fifth verse of the following chapter, it appears
that the book was written before the death of Rahab: “And Joshua saved
Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she
had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the
messengers which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” Though there is not a
perfect agreement among the learned concerning the author of this book,
yet by far the most general opinion is, that it was written by Joshua
himself; and, indeed, in the last chapter it is said that “Joshua wrote
these words in the book of the law of God;” which expression seems to
imply that he subjoined this history to that written by Moses. The last
five verses, giving an account of the death of Joshua, were added by one
of his successors; probably by Eleazar, Phinehas, or Samuel.