Book of Joshua: Analysis

In Chapter 2 of Encountering the New Testament the author talks about a few of the different practices that unified the Jews as well the different religious groups that had different beliefs. Judaism was unified in the beliefs that they had been chosen by God, they were waiting for the messiah to come, they respect the synagogues, they shared the same laws and traditions of elder. Although these beliefs were unifying there were seperate religious groups and leaders that held different beliefs. Probably the most well known group of religious leaders were the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a small group of religious leaders that believed in God, and the coming messiah. Although many of the Pharisees did live good lives many of them were

Chapter three of Engaging the Christian Scriptures goes into detail over selective parts of the sections of history, writings, and prophets. Chapter three gives the reader information over several books in the Bible such as Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah, etc. The chapter dives into the text of Joshua and gives the reader useful insight over Joshua and him leading the Israel across the Jordan river to conquer the land of milk and honey, Jericho. The book of Judges purpose was to teach Israel that God is faithful and certain to punish sin therefore each person must remain loyal and devoted to the Lord. The purpose of Jeremiah was to warn of the destruction that they were about to face and to urge Judah to return and submit to God. Towards the end

At first glance Joshua seems to just be a story of the Israelites and the settling of the Promised Land, however, there may also be a prophetic vision of God’s plan for Salvation of His people. The book of Joshua shows the difference between living a life, like Moses, under the Law of the Old Testament and under the freedom, which came from Jesus Christ, as Joshua did. One could certainly make a strong case that Joshua 1-6 can be looked at as a metaphor of Jesus Christ and man’s salvation through Him. The evidence ranges from Joshua’s name to the meaning of the Jordan River. The implications would mean that God was discretely showing the Israelites His plan for future salvation well over a thousand years before Christ.Joshua chapters

The passage is a song of praise; the passage is one of thanksgiving for God’s mercy in the form of answering her longing for a child. Yet it is a passage not merely of thankfulness of one blessing, rather, Hannah establishes her recognition and appreciation for the person of God. Thus, her prayer bears no requests or needs to be met, it is simply a reflection on the might of God. As the Matthew Henry's Commentary aptly notes “she overlooks the gift, and praises the giver” Therefore, she begins her prayer focusing on her gratitude for her faith in a mighty God. Likewise, she talks about the might of God, using a metaphor of the horn in verse 1. In the ancient world, a horn was considered one’s source of strength and security, which is why many

In the Hebrew Bible, due to its anthological nature, there are a wide variety of viewpoints that are expressed from different periods of time. While some books have mainly a negative view on foreign nations and peoples, there are a few that are somewhat positive. The books of Joshua, Jonah, and Esther all illustrate distinct perspectives and approaches that the Israelites had to people of foreign nations, which help to create an overall picture of the different beliefs that the various authors of the Hebrew Bible carried.

Once such example is Rahab, the prostitute. We find her story in the book of Joshua. Rahab was an immoral woman practicing immorality in an immoral city. Talk about “unworthy”! She was man’s trash, but she became God’s treasure. God chose her to play a crucial role in the defeat of Jericho when she protected two Israelite spies from the king’s men. Word had spread into her city about the God of the Israelites who had parted the sea and drowned the Pharaoh’s army. The city of Jericho was terrified of the Israelites for this reason. Rahab, however, was intrigued. There had to be something to this God. The stories she had heard had a ring of truth to them. When the spies showed up at her door, God had already begun to prepare her heart

I submit to you my brothers and sisters that little is much when God is in it. He will take the foolish things of this world and confuse those that say they are wise. Think about it! God used the sound of wind blowing in trees to scare an army of trained soldiers! They were so panic-stricken and confused that David and his men were able to overtake and kill them all. God used the tress to distract them, and then He sent his angels in to fight for David before David even lifted a finger. All David had to do was obey the Lord instructions and God gave him and unconventional victory!

Joshua answered,“You heard the instructions that I commanded the people to do. You must obey it just as everyone else and you will be a part of God's never ending victorious army.”

With the investigation hat on, the texted revealed who was talking (LORD) and whom the listener was (Joshua). The main point of the text was three-fold; one was to acknowledge that the previous leader Moses was dead and new leadership had to take his place. Next was the assurance of the previous promises that were made would indeed be kept and fulfilled as long at his directives and mandates were followed as laid out. Finally, the much-needed encouragement to the newly appointed leader, to take his rightful place knowing that he was chosen and will be victorious in all that he does as long as he continued in the commandments of the LORD. The meaning of the text was laid out in the story format so that the reader knew for the beginning that this was a conversation between the LORD and Joshua, the conversation consisted of the specific details of what was to be done, how it was to be done and who was going to do it. The reader can take this story and literal and true because in the end, the promises in Chapter one was fulfilled by the end of Chapter

In his article Reversal of Fortune: Rahab the Israelite and Achan the Canaanite Frank Anthony Spina discusses what it means to be an Israelite or a Canaanite, and he highlights an instance in Joshua where roles are reversed: a Canaanite becomes an Israelite and an Israelite becomes like a Canaanite. Spina astutely recognizes that the stories of Rahab and Achan not only bookend the story of the fall of Jericho, but

The book of James has created disputations amongst its readers for years. Like almost all of the New Testament writings, contemporary readers have questions about it origin, composition, and content. Also like most New Testament writings, there are multiple hypotheses that have been presented to answer each of these enquiries. For example, many scholars have suggested that it is the least Christian amongst all of the New Testament writings due to the fact that it only references the name of Jesus twice. This a particular point that I feel needs to be addressed when trying to understand James, and it is a point I will answer further while also trying to present information regarding other possible questions an individual may have while reading

While reading the section of “The Story of Israel in (and out of) the Land”, I find it interesting how the passage pointed out the historical title is reserved exclusively for Joshua through Esther. Although after reading further, I learned that Scripture goes beyond history and that since it testifies to divine activity, biblical narratives can be consider more as transhistorical. Another fact that intrigued me is how the book of Joshua is not limited to a simple description of how Israel entered and acquired the land, but is more viewed as how it sets up a command-obedience sequence. This involves how God commands Joshua, and Joshua commands the people. God’s people are to obey God’s law so that they do not fall through disobedience and idolatry.

Being able to interpret the Old Testament yields valuable lessons in life today. Understanding the author’s original intent at the time of the passage, using grammatical and theological tools will allow for clarity as to how one should apply it to their own life. It is important to know what the scripture intended to say to its original

Before introducing these war texts, I would first present some background frame of reference. I would first explain some scholarly thought about the time (622 BCE) in which Joshua was written and how Josiah’s reign might have influenced the lens from which the authors created and edited the final form known today. Given that most of my congregation believes heavily in the inerrancy and infallibility of the bible in combination with a small amount of human error, this information

To speak of the Hebrew Scripture is to speak of story, a story stretching from the very beginning of time to only a few centuries before the beginning of the Common Era. It is to speak of richness of content, of purpose and of reality and to engross oneself in an overarching narrative that, depending on your personal convictions, continues to the present day. Within this richness is found a wide variety of different events and experience, told through a series of genre ranging from foundational myth to apocalypse, law giving to poetry, genealogy to wisdom and many more. Within this diversity however, three broad sections can be discerned that speak to a shared purpose and content, these are the sections of Law, Prophecy and Writings. It