A guide to Joshua

Who wrote Joshua, and when?

Unnamed; tradition connects it with Joshua and later editors. Events about 1400 BC (or 1200s BC); written in the following centuries.

The book of Joshua does not name its author. Jewish tradition connects it with Joshua himself, who is said in chapter 24 to have written some words in the book of the law of God, with later hands adding the account of his death and other material. The traditional view dates the events to about 1400 BC, following the earlier date for the exodus. Others date them to the 1200s BC. Most scholars think the book was written or completed some time after the events, in the centuries that followed, since it occasionally notes that a situation has continued to the writer's own day. Christians differ on the details but agree that the book gives Israel's memory of how God brought them into the land.

Who was Joshua written to?

Israel settled in the land, needing to remember how they received it and on what terms they keep it.

Joshua was written for Israel living in the land. Whether they read it soon after the conquest or generations later under the kings, they were people who had received something they had not earned. The book reminded them how the land came to them: by God's promise, by his power at the Jordan and at Jericho, and by the courage of a people willing to trust him. It also reminded them of the terms. The land was an inheritance, not a possession to do with as they pleased. Joshua's final speeches in chapters 23 and 24 put the choice to them again: serve the LORD alone, or lose what he gave. Later Israelites who were tempted by the gods of Canaan needed that reminder as much as the first generation did.

What was happening at the time?

After forty years in the wilderness Israel crosses the Jordan under Joshua. The book records the conquest of Canaan, the division of the land among the tribes and Joshua’s final call to serve the LORD alone. It is the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham that his descendants would possess the land.

Why was Joshua written?

To show God keeping his promise of the land and to call Israel to courageous, faithful obedience.

Joshua was written to show that God keeps his promises. The promise of land made to Abraham in Genesis 12 is fulfilled here, and the book says plainly that not one of God's good promises failed (see chapter 21). It wants its readers to respond with courage and obedience, following the pattern set in chapter 1, where Joshua is told to be strong and to keep the law. It also records the judgment of the Canaanites, which the Bible presents as God's justice on nations whose wickedness had run its course (see Genesis 15:16), and it shows outsiders like Rahab being welcomed when they trust the LORD. In the wider story, Joshua's name is the Hebrew form of the name Jesus, and the New Testament sees the rest he gave Israel as a picture of the greater rest still to come (see Hebrews 4).

How to read Joshua today

Read chapters 1 to 6 first: the commissioning of Joshua, Rahab and the spies, the crossing of the Jordan and the fall of Jericho. Then read chapter 7, where sin in the camp brings defeat, and chapters 23 and 24 for Joshua's farewell. The middle chapters describe the division of the land in detail and can be skimmed on a first read. Watch for how often God, not Israel's army, is said to win the battles. The violence of the conquest is hard for many readers, and it should be. Do not force a quick answer; Christians have thought carefully about it for centuries and continue to. Notice that the book itself limits the war to a specific time and place. As you read, pray for courage to do what God has already told you, and for trust that he finishes what he starts.

The key verse in Joshua

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Passages worth knowing in Joshua

• Joshua 1

  Be strong and courageous

  God’s commission to Joshua, tied to meditating on his word.

• Joshua 2

  Rahab

  A Canaanite woman’s faith puts her in the line of the Messiah.

• Joshua 3–4

  Crossing the Jordan

  Memorial stones so children would ask what they mean.

• Joshua 6

  The fall of Jericho

  Victory by obedience, not by military strength.

• Joshua 7

  Achan’s sin

  Hidden sin in the camp brings defeat on everyone.

• Joshua 24

  Choose this day

  As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

The main themes of Joshua

• God keeps his promises
• Courage and obedience
• Holy war and judgment
• Inheritance
• Covenant renewal

An outline of Joshua