Where it fits

Joshua is the sixth book of the Bible and the first of the history books, with 24 chapters. It follows Deuteronomy and is set about 1400 to 1200 BC, depending on the date of the exodus. The author isn't named. Jewish tradition credits Joshua with much of it, and the account of his death (24:29–33) must have been added by someone else. Read straight through, it takes about an hour and a half.

The big story

Joshua, son of Nun, had been Moses' assistant for decades and was one of the two spies who trusted God. After Moses' death, God tells him three times to “be strong and courageous” (1:6, 7, 9) and promises to be with him. Joshua sends two spies to Jericho, where a woman named Rahab hides them, convinced that Israel's God is real, and her family is spared (2). Israel then crosses the flooded Jordan on dry ground (3–4), a deliberate echo of the sea crossing in Exodus. Jericho's walls fall after a seven-day march and a shout (6).

Not everything goes well. Achan takes goods set apart for God, and Israel is defeated at Ai until the sin is dealt with (7). The Gibeonites trick Joshua into a treaty (9). Campaigns across southern and northern Canaan follow (10–12), and chapters 13 to 21 divide the land among the tribes and set apart cities of refuge and towns for the Levites. In his farewell speeches (23–24), Joshua reminds Israel of all that God has done and calls them to choose whom they will serve, declaring that he and his household will serve the LORD (24:15). The people promise to serve God, and Joshua records it and sets up a stone as a witness.

Three ideas to hold on to

1. God keeps his promises. The book says that not one of God's good promises failed (21:43–45; 23:14).
2. Courage comes from God's presence. God tells Joshua not to be afraid because God is with him wherever he goes (1:9).
3. Faith is a choice you keep making. Joshua tells the people to put away their other gods and decide whom they will serve (24:14–15).

Passages people ask about

• Joshua 1:1–9. Joshua's commissioning and charge.
• Joshua 2 and 6:22–25. Rahab, a Canaanite woman who is rescued and appears later in the family line of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
• Joshua 6 and 10:28–40. Jericho and the language of total destruction, the hardest part of the book. Christians approach it in different ways: ancient war writing used sweeping language, and the book itself says Canaanites remained (15:63; 16:10). It is described as judgment on a particular people at a particular time (Genesis 15:16; Deuteronomy 9:4–5). And nothing in the New Testament treats it as a model for the church.
• Joshua 7. Achan's sin and Israel's defeat, a story about how one person's choices affect a community.
• Joshua 10:12–14. The sun standing still. Readers differ on whether it describes a miracle of the sun, a long day, or poetic language.
• Joshua 24:14–28. The covenant renewal at Shechem.

How it points to Jesus

Joshua's name is the Hebrew form of the name Jesus, meaning “the LORD saves.” Joshua led God's people into the land of promise, and Jesus leads his people into the rest God promised. Hebrews notes that if Joshua had given Israel final rest, God would not have spoken of another day (Hebrews 4:8–9). Before Jericho, Joshua also meets “the commander of Yahweh's army” (5:13–15), a figure who accepts worship, which some Christians see as an appearance of Christ before his birth and others as a heavenly commander who represents God's presence.

A common misunderstanding

Joshua is sometimes read as a straightforward victory story. The book is more honest. Israel fails at Ai, is fooled by the Gibeonites, and doesn't finish the job: the book itself says much land remained (13:1; 15:63; 17:12–13). Its real focus is faithfulness, not conquest. God's promise is secure, but the people have to keep trusting and obeying, and the book ends not with triumph but with a decision.