References (30)
The Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to a friend []. Then Moses returned to the camp, but his servant (assistant) Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, did not leave the tent.
[Moses was now over 80 years old, see . Joshua, who is Moses' right-hand man and successor, is now probably in his 40s, see ; ; ; .]
And Joshua, the son of Nun, who was Moses' servant from his youth, answered and said, "My lord Moses, silence them."
From the tribe of Ephraim, Hosea [Joshua], son of Nun. [Moses gives him a new name, see .]
These were the names of the men Moses sent to explore (investigate) the land. Moses gave Hosea, the son of Nun, the name Joshua.
[Hosea (Hebr. Hoshea) means "salvation, rescue," and Joshua means "the Lord is salvation and rescue." This emphasizes that it is not they themselves but God who would save and rescue them. The name change from Hosea to Joshua is in Hebrew only an addition of the letter Yod at the beginning. This makes the beginning of the name Joshua Yah, which is the short form of God's name. Many rabbis interpret this as Moses realizing that Joshua needed courage, and that the source of courage and boldness is God. When Joshua, in accordance with his new name, chooses to trust in God, he also becomes bold with God's help.]
And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored (investigated – Hebr. tor) the land, tore their clothes.
you shall certainly not enter the land, for which I raised my hand that I would let you dwell there, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.
But Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun, remained alive of these men who had gone and explored the land.
For the Lord (Yahweh) had said of them, "They shall surely die in the wilderness." [] And not one man was left of them except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.
And the Lord (Yahweh) said to Moses, "Take Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hands on him
except Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua, son of Nun, because they followed the Lord (Yahweh) wholeheartedly.
Moses gave clear orders about them to the priest Eleazar and to Joshua, the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers' houses among the tribes of the sons of Israel.
These are the names of the men who shall take possession of the land for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.
Joshua, the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go to that place; encourage him (make him strong and bold), for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
He gave Joshua, the son of Nun, a mission and said, "Be strong (firm, confident, brave) and courageous (steadfast, alert, bold) [], for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land that I have sworn to them, and I will be with you." [See ].
And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hosea [Joshua], the son of Nun. [It was Moses who gave Hosea the name Joshua, see , .]
And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him, and the house of Israel listened to him and did as the Lord (Yahweh) had commanded Moses.
And after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh) [around 1406 BC, according to Jewish tradition 7 Adar (often in March) – after a 30-day mourning period, see ], the Lord (Yahweh) spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' servant [east of the Jordan River in the plains of Moab, see ].
["And it came to pass after" is the literal beginning of the Book of Joshua, and it is a transition from the last chapter of the previous book, which describes Moses' death in particular, see . The first time Joshua is mentioned is when Moses appoints him to lead the battle against the Amalekites, see . Joshua was also one of the twelve explorers, and Moses gave him a new name, see , , . He had been Moses' servant since his youth, see ; ; and was also appointed Moses' successor, see .
Thirty-eight years had passed since Joshua and Caleb had spied out the land from Kadesh-Barnea, see . At that time, Caleb was 40 years old, see . Joshua was probably the same age or younger (but over 20 years old, see ), which means that he is now 60-78 years old. Joshua will live another 40 years and die at the age of 110, see .]
He [the Lord] said [to Joshua]:
Joshua, the son of Nun, secretly sent two spies from Shittim [a city east of the Jordan River just north of the Dead Sea where the Israelites had been camped for a long time] and said: "Go into the land [west of the Jordan] and explore it, especially [the city] Jericho."
They set out and stopped at the house of a prostitute [built on top of the wall, probably near the gate of Jericho]. The woman's name was Rahab (Rachav), and they spent the night there.
[This was a strategically good place to hide. The larger cities of Canaan were small kingdoms, each ruled by a local king. Despite the spies' caution, the guards at the city gate must have seen them.]
Then the two men returned and went down from the mountain and crossed [the Jordan River] and came to Joshua, the son of Nun, and they told him everything that had happened to them.
And Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets (Hebr. shofar jóvel) before the ark of the Lord (Yahweh)."
And this is the inheritance which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, gave unto them.
And they came near before the priest Eleazar and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the leaders, and said, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." Therefore, according to the command of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers.
When they had finished dividing the land as an inheritance with its borders, the sons of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua, the son of Nun, in their midst.
These are the inheritance portions that Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders of the tribes of the sons of Israel, the heads of their fathers' houses, distributed as inheritance in Shiloh before the Lord (Yahweh), at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Thus they finished dividing the land.
The leaders of the fathers' houses of the tribe of Levi came near the priest Eleazar and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders of the fathers' houses of the sons of Israel,
And it came to pass after this, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh), died. He was 110 years old.
And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord (Yahweh), died at the age of 110. [Joshua was in his 60s when he entered the land of Canaan, see ; ; . The phrase "servant of the Lord" was first used of Moses, see .]
In his days, the Bethelite Hiel built Jericho, with Abiram, his firstborn, laying its foundation, and with his youngest son Segub setting up its gates, according to the word of the Lord (Yahweh) [] which he had spoken through the hand of Joshua, the son of Nun.
whose son was Non, whose son was Joshua.
The whole assembly of those who had returned from captivity made booths and lived in them. From the days of Joshua, son of Nun, until that day, the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great joy.
