Book of Joshua

Isaiah	Yeshayahu
Jeremiah	Yirmeyahu
Ezekiel	Yekhezqel

Joshua	Yehoshua
Judges	Shofetim
Samuel	Shemuel
Kings	Melakhim

Genesis	Bereshit
Exodus	Shemot
Leviticus	Wayiqra
Numbers	Bemidbar
Deuteronomy	Devarim

The Book of Joshua (Hebrew: סֵפֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Sefer Yəhōšūaʿ, Tiberian: Sēp̄er Yŏhōšūaʿ‍;^[1] Greek: Ιησούς του Ναυή; Latin: Liber Iosue) is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.^[2]^: 42 It tells of the campaigns of the Israelites in central, southern and northern Canaan, the destruction of their enemies, and the division of the land among the Twelve Tribes, framed by two set-piece speeches, the first by God commanding the conquest of the land, and, at the end, the second by Joshua warning of the need for faithful observance of the Law (torah) revealed to Moses.^[3]

The strong consensus among scholars is that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel and most likely reflects a much later period.^[4] The earliest parts of the book are possibly chapters 2–11, the story of the conquest; these chapters were later incorporated into an early form of Joshua likely written late in the reign of king Josiah (reigned 640–609 BCE), but the book was not completed until after the fall of Jerusalem to the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE, and possibly not until after the return from the Babylonian exile in 539 BCE.^[5]^: 10–11

Many scholars interpret the book of Joshua as referring to what would now be considered genocide.^[6]^[7]

^ Khan, Geoffrey (2020). The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78374-676-7.
^ McNutt, Paula (1999). Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22265-9.
^ Achtemeier, Paul J; Boraas, Roger S (1996). The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary. Harper San Francisco. ISBN 978-0-06-060037-2.
^ Killebrew 2005, p. 152: "Almost without exception, scholars agree that the account in Joshua holds little historical value vis-à-vis early Israel and most likely reflects much later historical times.¹⁵"
^ Creach, Jerome F.D. (2003). Joshua. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-23738-7.
^ Lemos 2016, pp. 27–28.
^ Lemos, T. M. (2016). "Dispossessing Nations: Population Growth, Scarcity, and Genocide in Ancient Israel and Twentieth-Century Rwanda". Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible. Oxford University Press. pp. 27–66. ISBN 978-0-19-024958-8.

[1] Khan, Geoffrey (2020). The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78374-676-7.

[McNutt1999-2] McNutt, Paula (1999). Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22265-9.

[achb-3] Achtemeier, Paul J; Boraas, Roger S (1996). The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary. Harper San Francisco. ISBN 978-0-06-060037-2.

[FOOTNOTEKillebrew2005152-4] Killebrew 2005, p. 152: "Almost without exception, scholars agree that the account in Joshua holds little historical value vis-à-vis early Israel and most likely reflects much later historical times.¹⁵"

[Creach-5] Creach, Jerome F.D. (2003). Joshua. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-23738-7.

[FOOTNOTELemos201627–28-6] Lemos 2016, pp. 27–28.

[7] Lemos, T. M. (2016). "Dispossessing Nations: Population Growth, Scarcity, and Genocide in Ancient Israel and Twentieth-Century Rwanda". Ritual Violence in the Hebrew Bible. Oxford University Press. pp. 27–66. ISBN 978-0-19-024958-8.

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