Conqueror / Judge · OT
Joshua
Successor of Moses who led Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land.
Joshua, son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, served as Moses' personal aide from the wilderness years. He was one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan and one of only two — with Caleb — who urged Israel to trust the Lord and go up. Forty years later, after Moses' death on Nebo, the Lord commanded him to lead Israel across the Jordan: 'Be strong and of a good courage' (Joshua 1:9).
The Jordan parted; Jericho's walls fell; the southern and northern coalitions were defeated; and the land was apportioned to the twelve tribes. At Shechem he gathered all Israel and gave the great covenant call: 'Choose you this day whom ye will serve ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord' (Joshua 24:15). He died at one hundred and ten years old.
Key moments
Crossing the Jordan
Waters part as the priests step into the river (Joshua 3).
The fall of Jericho
Walls collapse on the seventh day (Joshua 6).
Covenant at Shechem
'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord' (Joshua 24:15).
Key verses
"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
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"And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over the Jordan."
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"So the people shouted, and the priests blew the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, that the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."
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"And if it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah."
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Frequently asked
What does the name 'Joshua' mean?
Joshua (Hebrew Yehoshua) means 'the Lord is salvation.' Its Greek form is Iesous — the very name later given to Jesus, who fulfills the deeper conquest Joshua only foreshadowed.
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