Background of Joshua
Revised by Monica Melanchthon (07/23)
The Book of JoshuaThe successor of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. describes Israel’s conquest of the land of Canaan, following the departure from Egypt and immediately after the 40-year period of wandering in the wilderness. The author of the book is not contemporary with the events he describes. The author draws on older materials – sources and traditions – in the process of writing this part of Israel’s history. However, at many points, the phrase “to this day” is used to describe places or practices in the author’s own time, implying that the events the author describes are of some antiquity (4:9; 5:9; 7:26; 8:28-29; 9:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10). Several complex theories have been proposed to explain the origin and the writing of this history. Most biblical scholars date the first “edition” of the book to the late monarchical period, perhaps during the reign of King Josiah (late seventh century BCE). The book reached its final form in the Babylonian exile of the sixth century BCE. It is a book that was redacted and put together to promote national unity and ensure cohesion among the people distinguished from each other by households, clans and tribal affiliations, therefore recreating a unified Israel. This story of Israel’s entry into the Promised Land after many years of longing and waiting would have been a powerful theological affirmation of God’s faithfulness, bolstering hope and confidence among the people in exile from that same land.