The Book of Joshua describes the Israelites conquering Canaan under Joshua's leadership after Moses' death. Key events include crossing the Jordan River, marching around Jericho which causes its walls to fall, defeating the Amorite kings who attacked Gibeon, and dividing the land among the tribes. The book emphasizes obeying God and avoiding assimilation into Canaanite culture. Joshua prepares the people to continue without him before he dies at age 110.

1. *
Taking possession of Canaan

2. * Joshua, son of Nun, is the aide of Moses who is
appointed leader before Moses dies.
* Joshua continues the leadership of Moses;
events in Joshua will echo Exodus.
*

3. * Deuteronomistic History
* Part of/continuation of Deuteronomy
* Major theme: Fidelity to the Lord brings success;
infidelity to the Lord brings failure and rejection.
* Took approximately six centuries to compose these
books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings)
* Strong influence of the reforms of King Josiah (620-609
BC) is evident
* Books are written long after the historical events occur
*

4. * The Book of Joshua brings the fulfillment of
the Abrahamic covenant: many descendants
and a great nation.
* Joshua deals primarily with the occupation of
Canaan.
* Covenant fidelity is highly stressed: Canaan was
filled with foreign and pagan people and nations.
Any sort of assimilation with their culture and
gods was seen as a betrayal of the covenant.
*

5. * Occupying the land
* Dividing the land among the tribes of Israel
* Chapters 1-12 deal with the Conquest of Canaan
* Chapters 13-21 deal with the division of the land
* Chapters 22-24 deal with Joshua‘s Farewell and
the return of the ―trans-Jordan‖ tribes.
*

6. * Practiced in ancient near East – this involved
total destruction of everyone and everything in
a conquered city. The idea is that the pagans
and their cultures must be wiped out in order
to prevent any apostasy* from the Lord.
*the renunciation of a religious or political belief or
allegiance
*

7. *This is a religious history, told from
the point of view of the conquerors,
and told with a fervor and idealism
based on the covenant with the
Lord.
*There are historical discrepancies,
particularly in regard to timing.
*

8. * Joshua himself is recorded as larger than life
and as the one who presided over all the
events of the conquest.
* More likely, most of the activity is related to the
tribe of Benjamin (from whom Saul will come.)
*

9. * After Moses, the servant of the LORD, had died, the LORD said to
Moses‘ aide Joshua, son of Nun:2* Moses my servant is dead. So now,
you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to
the land that I will give the Israelites.3a Every place where you set
foot I have given you, as I promised Moses.4* All the land of the
Hittites, from the wilderness and the Lebanon east to the great river
Euphrates and west to the Great Sea, will be your territory.b5No one
can withstand you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, I will be
with you:c I will not leave you nor forsake you.6Be strong and
steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I
swore to their ancestors that I would give them.7d Only be strong and
steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my
servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or
to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.8Do not let this
book of the law depart from your lips. Recite it by day and by
night,ethat you may carefully observe all that is written in it; then
you will attain your goal; then you will succeed.9I command you:
be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD,
your God, is with you wherever you go.

10. * Reuben, Gad and Manasseh remained on the east
side of the Jordan, but provided military duty
during the conquest and are legitimately part of
Israel.
* They reply to Joshua in covenant terms: As
completely as we obeyed Moses, we will obey you.
Only, may the LORD, your God, be with you as God
was with Moses.18Anyone who rebels against your
orders and does not obey all your commands shall
be put to death. Only be strong and steadfast.”
*

11. So the king of Jericho sent Rahab the order, ―Bring out
the men who have come to you and entered your house,
for they have come to spy out the entire land.‖4The
womanb had taken the two men and hidden them, so she
said, ―True, the men you speak of came to me, but I did
not know where they came from.5At dark, when it was
time to close the gate, they left, and I do not know
where they went. You will have to pursue them quickly
to overtake them.‖6Now, she had led them to the roof,
and hidden them among her stalks of flax spread
out* there.7
*

12. * Rahab did several things:
* Recognizes the God of the Hebrews as the true God
* Requests the safety of her family which is granted
with the conditions of the red cord and sequestration.
* Because she aided the spies, she and her family
were spared under the ban.
* She is recognized for her heroic behavior in Hebrews
11:31 and James 2:25, and is listed in the Matthew‘s
genealogy of Jesus.
* Hiding the spies among drying flax gives us a clue that
it is Passover time.
*

13. * The preparation of the tribes for crossing and the
actual crossing is in many ways a liturgical
procession. (Chapter 3 and 4)
* Timed around Passover
* Fasting, abstinence from sexual intercourse
* Preparation of the ark and its place in the procession
(God in their midst.)
* Water recedes so that the people can cross
* 12 stones (one from each tribe) are set to
memorialize the Crossing
* Circumcision of the children of those who crossed the
Red Sea
*

14. * While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes
and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in
hand.h Joshua went up to him and asked, ―Are you
one of us or one of our enemies?‖14He replied,
―Neither. I am the commander* of the army of the
LORD: now I have come.‖ Then Joshua fell down to
the ground in worship, and said to him, ―What has
my lord to say to his servant?‖15The commander of
the army of the LORD replied to Joshua, “Remove
your sandals from your feet, for the place on
which you are standing is holy.”i And Joshua did
so.
*

15. *Again, we have a liturgical procession:
*
Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once
around it. Do this for six days,4with seven priests
carrying ram‘s horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh
day march around the city seven times, and have the
priests blow the horns.5When they give a long blast on
the ram‘s horns and you hear the sound of the horn,
all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city
will collapse, and the people shall attack straight
ahead.
* 6Summoning the priests, Joshua, son of Nun, said to
them, ―Take up the ark of the covenant with seven of
the priests carrying ram‘s horns in front of the ark of
the LORD.‖7And he ordered the people, ―Proceed and
surround the city, with the picked troops marching
ahead of the ark of the LORD.‖
*

16. * Most famous biblical battle – but there is no
battle- walls come down.
* Archeologists think Jericho was destroyed
centuries before Joshua arrived.
* The battle is won because the Hebrews are
loyal to the Lord. That is what is important.
This land is a GIFT, not something they have
earned through their own efforts.
* Only precious metals are preserved.
*

17. * Rahab and her family explains the later custom
of allowing non-Israelites to live within the
community.
* Jericho is not to be rebuilt, but King Ahab will
do so later (1Kings 16) with dire consequences.
* The sin of Achan (taking goods under the ban)
shows the inevitable punishment that follows
disobedience of the Lord.
*

18. * On hearing what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
the inhabitants of Gibeonb4formed their own scheme.
They chose provisions for a journey, making use of old
sacks for their donkeys, and old wineskins, torn and
mended.5They wore old, patched sandals and shabby
garments; and all the bread they took was dry and
crumbly.6Thus they journeyed to Joshua in the camp
at Gilgal, where they said to him and to the
Israelites, ―We have come from a far-off land; now,
make a covenant with us.‖
*

19. * 22Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them,
―Why did you deceive us and say, ‗We live far off from
you‘?—You live among us!23Now are you accursed:
every one of you shall always be a slave, hewers of
wood and drawers of water, for the house of my
God.‖24They answered Joshua, ―Your servants were
fully informed of how the LORD, your God,
commanded Moses his servant that you be given the
entire land and that all its inhabitants be destroyed
before you. Since, therefore, at your advance, we
were in great fear for our lives, we acted as we
did.j25And now that we are in your power, do with us
what is good and right in your eyes.‖
*

20. *Amorite kings rise up against
Gibeonites, but because of the
covenant, Joshua defends
them…successfully, with the help of
the Lord.
*The five kings (Jerusalem, Hebron,
Jarmith, Lachish and Eglon) are slain
by Joshua.
*

21. *There is basically a listing of
the cities Joshua defeats,
ultimately destroying all of the
southern cultures and peoples.
*

22. *Kings of the North form a confederacy.
*Joshua defeats their army, then goes into
the cities where the entire population is
destroyed.
*The ban is the strongest here, understood
as a conquest over evil.
*

23. *
Chapters 13 - 21

24. *There are lingering tribes and
clans to deal with as the
Israelites settle the land.
*

27. *
*
Boundaries of Judah. 1The lot for the tribe of Judah by their clans fell toward the
boundary of Edom, the wilderness of Zin in the Negeb, in the extreme south.a 2b Their
southern boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea,* from the tongue of land that
faces the Negeb, 3and went southward below the pass of Akrabbim, across through
Zin, up to a point south of Kadesh-barnea, across to Hezron, and up to Addar; from
there, looping around Karka, 4it crossed to Azmon and then joined the Wadi of Egypt*
before coming out at the sea. (This is your southern boundary.) 5The eastern
boundary was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern boundary climbed northward from the tongue of the sea, toward the
mouth of the Jordan, 6c up to Beth-hoglah, and ran north of Beth-arabah, up to EbenBohan-ben-Reuben. 7Thence the boundary climbed to Debir, north of the Valley of
Achor,d in the direction of the Gilgal that faces the pass of Adummim, on the south
side of the wadi; from there it crossed to the waters of En-shemesh and emerged at
En-rogel. 8Climbing again to the Valley of Ben-hinnom* on the southern flank of the
Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem), the boundary rose to the top of the mountain at the
northern end of the Valley of Rephaim,e which bounds the Valley of Hinnom on the
west. 9From the top of the mountain it ran to the fountain of waters of Nephtoah,f
extended to the cities of Mount Ephron, and continued to Baalah, or Kiriath-jearim.
10From Baalah the boundary curved westward to Mount Seir and passed north of the
ridge of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon); it descended to Beth-shemesh, and ran
across to Timnah. 11It then extended along the northern flank of Ekron, continued
through Shikkeron, and across to Mount Baalah, from there to include Jabneel, before
it came out at the sea. 12The western boundary was the Great Sea* and its coast. This
was the complete boundary of the Judahites by their clans.
*

28. *The Levites did not have an
allotment of land because ―the Lord
is their heritage.‖
*In fact, they lived throughout
Canaan where they could minister to
the people.
*

29. * I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the LORD, sent
me from Kadesh-barnea to reconnoiter the land; and I brought
back to him a frank report.8g My fellow scouts who went up with
me made the people‘s confidence melt away, but I was
completely loyal to the LORD, my God.9On that occasion Moses
swore this oath, ‗The land where you have set foot shall become
your heritage and that of your descendants forever, because you
have been completely loyal to the LORD, my God.‘10Now, as he
promised, the LORD has preserved me these forty-five years
since the LORD spoke thus to Moses while Israel journeyed in the
wilderness; and now I am eighty-five years old,h11but I am still
as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me forth, with no
less vigor whether it be for war or for any other tasks.* i12Now
give me this mountain region which the LORD promised me that
day, as you yourself heard. True, the Anakim are there, with
large fortified cities, but if the LORDis with me I shall be able to
dispossess them, as the LORD promised.‖j13Joshua blessed
Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his heritage.
*

30. *Caleb promises his daughter to
the man who captures Kiriathsepher. Othneil does so, wins
the daughter in marriage, along
with land in the Negeb and
pools of water.
*

31. *Joshua is assigned the city of
Timnah-serah in the mountain
region of Ephraim.
*

32. *Places for people who
committed accidental killing to
preserve them from the revenge
ordinarily accompanying
murder.
*

33. *Places where the Levites and their
families and flocks could reside
while tending to the people of Israel.
*

34. *Tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manassah
return to their territories now that
the work of conquest is complete.
*Question of building an altar is
resolved.
*

35. * Joshua calls the tribes together for a
recounting and renewal of the covenant (much
like Moses did in Deuteronomy.)
* ―set in stone:‖ And Joshua said to all the
people, ―This stone shall be our witness,r for it
has heard all the words which the LORD spoke
to us. It shall be a witness against you, should
you wish to deny your God.‖28Then Joshua
dismissed the people, each to their own
heritage.
*

36. *After these events, Joshua, son of Nun,
servant of the LORD, died at the age of a
hundred and ten,30and they buried him
within the borders of his heritage at
Timnath-serahu in the mountain region of
Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.*31
*

37. * Sunday, Year B
* Decide today who you will serve…as for me and my
household, we will serve the Lord.
* Sunday, Year C
*
the first year of no manna – eating of the produce of the
land
* Weekdays I:
* Crossing of the Jordan; recalling great events of Moses time;
We will serve the Lord
* Special Masses:
* Christian Initiation: Choose who you will serve.
* Dedication of an Altar: Joshua built an altar on Mt. Ebal
*

38. * God‘s gift of land was a sign of His presence in the
everyday life of the Israelites. How is God‘s presence
evident in our lives?
* What are the most important rituals in Catholic life?
* Who would you say is a significant religious leader in
our time?
* Rahab followed the courage of her convictions.
What
decisions have you made that required that type of
courage?
* What evidence in your life shows that you serve the
Lord?
*

39. *
From the death of Joshua until the
monarchy of Saul – c. 150-200 years

40. 1. The Situation in Canaan
Following the Israelite Conquest
(1:1–3:6)
2. Stories of the Judges (3:7–16:31)
3. Further Stories of the Tribes of
Dan and Benjamin (17:1–21:25)
*