Joshua

An Introduction and Commentary

Richard S. Hess

• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780830842063
• eBook ISBN: 9780830894703
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

The book of Joshua memorializes a transitional episode in Israel's national history. The heroic figure Joshua, imbued with strength, courage and faith, leads the new generation of Israel across the Jordan and into the land of promise, conquering Canaanites and overseeing the allotment of the inheritance among the tribes.But the book of Joshua is foremost a story of God, who works powerfully on behalf of Israel and Joshua, fulfilling his covenant promises. It is God who leads Israel across the Jordan, God who defeats Israel's enemies and God who presides over the apportionment of the land. And so in the final chapter it is God who receives Israel's worshipful recommitment at Shechem.In this Tyndale Old Testament Commentary, Richard S. Hess explores these historical, theological and literary dimensions of the book of Joshua. An exceptional feature of his commentary is his careful consideration of the allocation of the Promised Land and the boundary lists the book of Joshua so prominently displays. And in a day when grave doubts have been raised over the historicity of the "conquest" story, Hess presents historical and archaeological evidence for placing the events of Joshua in the late second millennium B.C.The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.

Commentary

1. The conquest (1:1 – 12:24)

a. The book’s goal and procedure (1:1‒18)

i. Past connections (1:1). This statement joins the book of Joshua with the event narrated at the end of Deuteronomy. It is a time of transition in which Moses, who was the chief human character of the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, will no longer feature. The term servant of the LORD appeared in Deuteronomy 34:5, describing Moses at his death. This expression will occur another thirteen times in the book of Joshua as an epithet of Moses. The expression ‘servant of X’, where X is a deity, appears frequently outside the Bible.1 However, until the death of Joshua (when it is also applied to him), only Moses is called servant of the LORD. Besides expressing the relationship of servanthood which Moses would have towards the LORD, it also stresses the personal relationship which the LORD had towards Moses, as described in the final verses of Deuteronomy.

Joshua, the book’s main human character, is introduced as son of Nun. This identifies him with the Joshua of Deuteronomy who will succeed Moses. The designation of Joshua as Moses’ assistant (Heb. mĕšārēt) serves two purposes. Firstly, it links this Joshua with the figure in Exodus 24:13; 33:11 and in Numbers 11:28. This term does not appear again in Deuteronomy. This Joshua is the same person who ascended the mountain of God with Moses and who served as Moses’ assistant in the wilderness wanderings. Secondly, this term is different from the more common word for servant (Heb. ‘ebed), which is used of Moses. Although the two terms overlap in their meaning and usage, the concern here is to preserve the distinctive relationship of Moses and the LORD and to affirm that the relationship between Joshua and Moses was different from this. However, it was a special relationship and one that further qualified Joshua for the task he received. In this verse, the LORD speaks directly to Joshua, just as he did with Moses. It further confirms the special role of Joshua as a successor of Moses.2 Although the servant of the LORD was an honoured position in the Old Testament, Jesus introduces a whole new category of relationship. In John 15:15, he explicitly rejects the term servants for his disciples and replaces it with friends. For all those who follow Christ, this describes a new and fuller relationship with him. At the same time, the response of the apostle Paul is to continue to recognize that he is a ‘slave’ of Christ (Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 7:22; Eph. 6:6). Thus the Christian, elevated by Jesus to a new relationship, willingly submits to the discipleship to which God calls believers.

ii. Promises: the book in outline (1:2‒5). This text summarizes the book. Verse 2 describes the crossing of the Jordan as found in 1:1 – 5:12. Verse 3 outlines the ‘conquest’ of 5:13 – 12:24. Verse 4 implies the distribution of the land in 13:1 – 22:34. The emphasis on all the days of Joshua’s life in verse 5 is found at the end of Joshua’s life in the final two chapters of the book. These verses also introduce the character of the LORD God of Israel. He is one of the main actors in the book. Here he reveals himself through his promises on behalf of Joshua and Israel.

2‒3. A note of Moses’ death is repeated to confirm that Joshua’s leadership can now begin. The land is presented as a gift which the LORD is about to give to his people. However, the two occurrences of this verb alternate with verbs describing how Joshua and the Israelites are to cross (Heb. ‘ābar) the Jordan River and how they will possess wherever they set their feet (tidrōk). There is a twofold aspect to this. God promises the land but the people must take it for themselves. They must fight in accordance with God’s explicit direction and their allotment of the land must follow his guidance. The parallel passage of Deuteronomy 11:24–25 is also set within the context of commands of loyalty to God and his commandments. Joshua adds the command to ‘cross over’, something that the people are prepared to do.

A second twofold aspect of the book’s message is implied in the two occurrences of the adjective all (Heb. kol)...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Short Title Page
• Contents
• General preface
• Author’s preface
• Chief abbreviations
• Introduction
• Analysis
• Commentary
• Maps
• Notes
• Praise for Tyndale Commentaries
• About the Author
• Tyndale Commentary Volumes
• More Titles from InterVarsity Press
• Copyright Page