The Old Testament Prophets

The Old Testament Prophets

Joshua

Joshua was the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim. Joshua was Moses' successor and served as leader of the Israelites during their conquest of Canaan. His original name was Hosea which means “saves”, changed by Moses to Joshua which means “God saves”. In the early stages of the Israelites' wanderings in the desert, he led the people in their war against Amalek and is described as Moses' assistant. Joshua was one of the 12 spies sent by Moses to Canaan, and later only he and Caleb were privileged to enter the Land because they did not bring back an unfavorable report. He succeeded Moses after his death which was within sight of the Promised Land and led Israel in the conquest of Canaan and its division among the tribes. As depicted in the Bible, Joshua was a combination of prophet, judge, and military leader. He made use of various military devices, such as spies in the conquest of Jericho, and captured cities without bloodshed by ambush, as in the conquest of Ai. Joshua is also depicted as continuing in Moses' path, crossing the Jordan just as Moses did the Red Sea. He set up an altar on Mount Ebal, where he pronounced blessings and curses as commanded by Moses. During the conquest of Canaan, Joshua vanquished 31 kings (Josh. 12), including the allied kings of the north led by the king of Hazor. Joshua died at the age of 110.

In the Book of Joshua, Joshua engages in the same actions as Moses but of notably lesser magnitude and with lesser effect. Moses leads the Israelites out of their oppression in Egypt; Joshua leads them into their domination of Canaan. Furthermore, Joshua causes the Jordan River to run dry in the same way that Moses parts the Red Sea. Finally, both Joshua and Moses perform similar administrative actions, sending out spies and allotting land to tribes. However, the differences between Moses’ and Joshua’s stories almost always indicate that Moses was a grander leader and prophet. While Moses communes...