After taking on the mantle of the leader of people of Israel, Joshua is commanded three times by God to be courageous and strong, and to meditate on Moses' law. At 1:11, Joshua tells the Israelites to "prepare your victuals" (food and provisions) before forging ahead to win possession of the promised land. Joshua sends out two spies to gather reconnaissance on Jericho, and in chapter 2 we read that it's the "harlot" Rahab who gives them shelter and asks to be rewarded for her kind act. She's told to tie a "scarlet thread" to hang in the window as a sign to the coming Israelite army that she and her extended family should escape death. Thinking back to Exodus, there's a similar story that involves splashing blood on the door frame to indicate that particular house should be given a mercy, so this sort of thing must have been common practice when the Old Testament was written.
In another echo of Exodus, at 3:13 we're told that the waters of Jordan are "cut off from above", in other words they part like the Red Sea to allow the people of Israel to cross into Jordan. We're also told (at 3:16) that the waters "rose up" at a distant village called Adam, which gives us an echo of Adam & Eve in Genesis. In chapter 4, we read that a man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel is to pick up a stone to help build a symbolic monument at Gilgal in Jordan, which mark the historic moment when the waters parted for the nation of Israel, and there's a direct reference to the Red Sea miracle at 4:23. Once they've crossed to dry land, God tells Joshua: "Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time" (5:2), which I found an oddly timed request given that the people of Israel are now on a war footing. Chapter 5 closes with Joshua beholding the site of an angel (presumably Jesus Christ) who has a sword drawn in his hand.
We then get to one of the Bible's most memorable stories (well, I remember it from Sunday school!), which starts (6:1-5) with the Israelites compassing Jericho thirteen times, as part of a military parade that involves the ark of covenant, before the blows of the priests' ram horns make the walls of the city come tumbling down. I only made the connection while writing this blog that this well-known biblical episode was also the inspiration for the famous Style Council song, Walls Come Tumbling Down!, which mentions Jericho in the lyrics.
Despite the success of the mission so far, there's always a rogue element among the Israelites, and this time (at 7:1) it's a character called Achan who raises the anger of God. We find out later in chapter 7 what "accursed thing" he's done – stolen booty from the overthrow of Jericho – but not before Joshua pleads with God, with his head in the dust, for forgiveness. Achan is later stoned to death for his looting and the military operation proceeds. There's an image reminiscent of Homer's Iliad, when we're told (at 8:18) that Joshua proceeds to "stretch out the spear" in his hand towards their next city of conquest, Ai. The successful ambush means that the 12,000 men and women of Ai are slaughtered in battle and, like Jericho, Ai is razed to "an heap" (8:28). Chapter 8 closes with the image of the king of Ai hanging from a tree, following which an altar is built and Joshua then writes the law of Moses upon the stones.
In chapter 9, we're told that all the tribal kings decide to fall into line behind Joshua, after hearing about his army's deeds in Ai and Jericho. In fact, we discover (at 9:8) that the news of the Israelites' exploits have spread far and wide. Joshua's next encounter, at Gibeon, sees more of the enemy die from hailstones than the sword of the Israelites (10:11), and then we're told (at 10:13) about a strange occurrence (first related in the apocryphal Book of Jasher) when the "sun stood still" and the "moon stopped"; in effect, time stood still to allow the people of Israel to win victory in battle. At 10:26, we read that Joshua decided to hang all five of the vanquished kings (this was obviously his party trick) and the end of chapter 10 (especially verse 40) relates the total genocide of the Israelites' enemies.
In a sinister historical turn, this passage in the Bible was reportedly used as justification by Oliver Cromwell in the mid-1600s when his army set about slaughtering the people of Irish cities like Wexford. Returning to the text, we're told at 11:22 that the operation has been successful and that only three strongholds remain out of Israelite control, one of which is Gaza. We're then given the long list of 31 kings that have been "smited" (12:9-24) and told at the start of chapter 13 that Joshua has now grown old after all his military successes. As ever with the Bible, it's hard to get a real sense of time's passing, but we end this section of the Bible with the news that the promised land has been divided up among the tribes of Israel (13:7).
In another echo of Exodus, at 3:13 we're told that the waters of Jordan are "cut off from above", in other words they part like the Red Sea to allow the people of Israel to cross into Jordan. We're also told (at 3:16) that the waters "rose up" at a distant village called Adam, which gives us an echo of Adam & Eve in Genesis. In chapter 4, we read that a man from each of the 12 tribes of Israel is to pick up a stone to help build a symbolic monument at Gilgal in Jordan, which mark the historic moment when the waters parted for the nation of Israel, and there's a direct reference to the Red Sea miracle at 4:23. Once they've crossed to dry land, God tells Joshua: "Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time" (5:2), which I found an oddly timed request given that the people of Israel are now on a war footing. Chapter 5 closes with Joshua beholding the site of an angel (presumably Jesus Christ) who has a sword drawn in his hand.
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| Joseph Tissot, Seven Trumpets of Jericho |
Despite the success of the mission so far, there's always a rogue element among the Israelites, and this time (at 7:1) it's a character called Achan who raises the anger of God. We find out later in chapter 7 what "accursed thing" he's done – stolen booty from the overthrow of Jericho – but not before Joshua pleads with God, with his head in the dust, for forgiveness. Achan is later stoned to death for his looting and the military operation proceeds. There's an image reminiscent of Homer's Iliad, when we're told (at 8:18) that Joshua proceeds to "stretch out the spear" in his hand towards their next city of conquest, Ai. The successful ambush means that the 12,000 men and women of Ai are slaughtered in battle and, like Jericho, Ai is razed to "an heap" (8:28). Chapter 8 closes with the image of the king of Ai hanging from a tree, following which an altar is built and Joshua then writes the law of Moses upon the stones.
In chapter 9, we're told that all the tribal kings decide to fall into line behind Joshua, after hearing about his army's deeds in Ai and Jericho. In fact, we discover (at 9:8) that the news of the Israelites' exploits have spread far and wide. Joshua's next encounter, at Gibeon, sees more of the enemy die from hailstones than the sword of the Israelites (10:11), and then we're told (at 10:13) about a strange occurrence (first related in the apocryphal Book of Jasher) when the "sun stood still" and the "moon stopped"; in effect, time stood still to allow the people of Israel to win victory in battle. At 10:26, we read that Joshua decided to hang all five of the vanquished kings (this was obviously his party trick) and the end of chapter 10 (especially verse 40) relates the total genocide of the Israelites' enemies.
In a sinister historical turn, this passage in the Bible was reportedly used as justification by Oliver Cromwell in the mid-1600s when his army set about slaughtering the people of Irish cities like Wexford. Returning to the text, we're told at 11:22 that the operation has been successful and that only three strongholds remain out of Israelite control, one of which is Gaza. We're then given the long list of 31 kings that have been "smited" (12:9-24) and told at the start of chapter 13 that Joshua has now grown old after all his military successes. As ever with the Bible, it's hard to get a real sense of time's passing, but we end this section of the Bible with the news that the promised land has been divided up among the tribes of Israel (13:7).
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