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Book 6 of 66 · History

Joshua

Israel crosses the Jordan and takes the land. A foreign woman is saved for her faith, a treaty is kept even though it was won by a trick, and the book ends with a choice.

The big idea

In short: keep your word, even to outsiders who tricked you (9:19), and remember the land is a gift you did not earn (24:13).

Deuteronomy says remember. Joshua ends with the people standing in the gift and being asked to choose.

The rule underneath: Law 6 · Keep your word

Promises and covenants bind, even at a cost.

Keep it: People can build a life on you.
Break it: Families, friendships, and deals fall apart.

Shows up in: Numbers, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Matthew, James

Other rules in this book: God first, Enough, and give, Protect the weakest

Live it: Playbook 04 · How to speak and keep your word

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.Joshua 24:15 · KJV

At a glance

What it is
The first of the history books. 24 chapters: entering the land (1–5), the conquest (6–12), dividing the land among the tribes (13–21), and farewell speeches with a covenant (a binding agreement) renewal (22–24).
Who wrote it
No author is named. Jewish tradition credits Joshua. Many scholars see it as part of a longer history (Deuteronomy through Kings) shaped around the time of King Josiah and the exile (when Babylon carried the people away), using older material. debated
History
The book describes a fast conquest (11:23) and also land still unconquered (13:1; 15:63). Archaeology of this period is argued: some sites fit a destruction, others don’t. Many scholars think Israel emerged more slowly inside Canaan. debated
Why it matters
“Be strong and of a good courage” (1:9) and “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (24:15) come from here. So does Rahab, who is later named in Jesus’ family line (Matthew 1:5).
In which Bibles
The same book in Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Bibles.
Read it in
About 2 hours.

What it says

1–5 · Crossing. Moses is dead. God tells Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage” (1:9). Two spies are hidden in Jericho by Rahab, a prostitute, who says Israel’s God “is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath” (2:11). The people cross the Jordan on dry ground and set up twelve stones as a memorial (4).

5:13–15 · Whose side? Joshua meets an armed man and asks, “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?” The answer is “Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come” (5:13–14).

6–12 · The conquest. Jericho’s walls fall after seven days of marching (6), and Rahab’s family is spared (6:25). Achan steals from the plunder and Israel loses at Ai (7). The Gibeonites trick Israel into a treaty; Israel keeps it anyway because they swore by the LORD (9:19). The sun stands still at Gibeon (10:12–13). A list of defeated kings (12).

13–21 · Dividing the land. Each tribe gets a share. Caleb, now 85, asks for the hill country (14:10–12). The daughters of Zelophehad receive the land Moses promised them (17:3–6). Six cities of refuge are set apart (20).

And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.Joshua 24:13 · KJV

22–24 · Choose. Joshua gathers the people at Shechem, retells their story from Abraham on, and tells them to choose whom they will serve. They choose the LORD, and the covenant is written down (24:25–26).

Go deeper
  • Original words. Ḥerem, “devoted,” means removed from human use and given to God. The name Joshua means “the LORD saves”; in Greek it is Iēsous.
  • Structure. Enter (1–5), take (6–12), divide (13–21), and choose (22–24).
  • How the laws interlock. Law 6 is kept even with enemies (9:19), and Law 1 is the final choice (24:15). Law 8 is in 24:13: the land is received, not earned.

Hard parts

The conquest and the ban

What it says At Jericho, “they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old” (6:21). Later chapters say Joshua left none remaining (10:40). The book also says much land and many peoples remained (13:1; 15:63).

The rule underneath Never use a person as a tool; every human bears God’s image (Genesis 9:6). The same book saves a Canaanite woman and her family for her faith (6:25) and honors a treaty with Canaanites (9:19).

What people added Readers take the killing as a one-time judgment on Canaanite practices; as ancient war language that exaggerates (the book itself says the peoples remained); as something Christians must read through Jesus’ command to love enemies; or as a moral scandal kept in Scripture. Scholars differ too. Churches have split; this page does not settle it. No major church today reads it as permission to kill anyone.

Achan’s family (7:24–25)

What it says Achan steals silver, gold, and a robe from Jericho. He and his sons and daughters and animals are taken to a valley, “and all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire” (7:25).

The rule underneath Deuteronomy says children are not to die for their parents’ sin (Deuteronomy 24:16).

What people added Some readers think the family shared in hiding the goods (7:21 says they were hidden in his tent). Others see collective punishment the later law forbids. The text does not settle it.

Jericho and the archaeology

What it says The walls of Jericho fall flat (6:20).

The rule underneath No core law depends on the dig.

What people added Excavations in the 1950s concluded the city was mostly empty at the likely time of Joshua; a later scholar argued for a destruction that fits. Dates for the conquest itself vary by two centuries. debated

The sun stands still (10:12–14)

What it says Joshua asks the sun to stand still, “and the sun stood still, and the moon stayed” (10:13). The text cites an older source, “the book of Jasher.”

The rule underneath God fights for those who keep faith, in this case to defend the Gibeonites Israel had sworn to protect (10:6).

What people added Readers take it as a literal miracle, as poetic language from an old war song, or as a description of an eclipse or storm. In the 1600s the verse was used against Galileo. debated

Translation notes that change meaning

  • “Utterly destroyed.” The Hebrew ḥerem means something devoted to God and removed from human use, either destroyed or given to the sanctuary (6:19).
  • 2:1 “harlot.” Some ancient Jewish writers softened it to “innkeeper.” The Hebrew means prostitute, and the New Testament keeps that (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25).
  • “Joshua.” The name means “the LORD saves.” In Greek it is Iēsous, the same name as Jesus.

Where it leads

One thing to do

This week

Set up twelve stones

Israel stacked stones so their children would ask, “What mean ye by these stones?” (4:6). Pick one thing in your life you did not earn: a home, a skill, a rescue. Put a physical reminder where you’ll see it, and tell one person the story behind it. Write it in your journal.

How to read it. Read 1–11 as one story, skimming the lists. Read chapter 2 and 6:22–25 together as Rahab’s story. Then read 24 slowly as the book’s point.