Joshua is one of the central figures in the Old Testament and the Book of Joshua. According to the books of Exodus, Numbers and Joshua, he was Moses' assistant and became the leader of the Israelite tribes after Moses' death. His name was Hoshea son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim. Moses gave him the name Jesus. According to the Bible, Joshua was born in Egypt before the Exodus.
According to the Old Testament, Joshua was one of the twelve spies of Israel sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan. The book of Numbers says that after the death of Moses, Joshua, the son of Nun, led the Israelite tribes to Canaan. According to biblical chronology, Jesus lived at the end of the Bronze Age and died at the age of 110.
Brief biography of the righteous Joshua
Joshua is revered as a righteous man in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. By this name he is known in the Orthodox Church. To distinguish him from Jesus Christ, a paternal name was added to his name: Nav - father, the suffix - “in” means son of Joshua. In the Catholic and Protestant traditions, the name Jesus is rendered as Iosue, in Islam - Yusha (Yusha).
Origin
Joshua was the son of Ephraim (Ephraim) and at birth bore the name Hosea (in ancient Hebrew transcription - Hoshea). Joshua's grandfather was Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Jacob, whom his envious brothers sold into slavery to the Egyptians.
Joseph managed to rise to the rank of vizier of the pharaoh. At his request, the ruler gave a land plot to Joseph's brothers and father during the great famine. Ephraim and Hosea were born in Egypt.
After Joseph's death, the situation of the Jews gradually changed for the worse: they found themselves at the lowest rung of the social ladder and were reduced to the level of slaves. God Yahweh appeared to Moses and commanded him to free the people of Israel from Egyptian captivity.
Conquests
Hosea was the right hand of the prophet Moses, who renamed him Yehoshua (Jesus), appointed him as a military leader and his successor after death. The choice of the prophet was not accidental. Before leading the people to Canaan, he sent 12 spies there. Hosea alone, upon returning, expressed to the prophet the firm opinion that with God's help these lands could be conquered. For this, he, the only one from the generation of Jews who left Egypt, was allowed by Yahweh to set foot on the Promised Land.
Before his death, Moses received instructions from the Lord to name Jesus as his successor, because he had the “spirit of wisdom” and would be able to lead the people in the conquest and division of the land.
The road to the Promised Land (Canaan), promised by God to the chosen people, lasted 40 years and ran through the desert. It is known from biblical sources that when leaving Egypt, the refugees were blocked by warlike Arab nomads who wanted to take possession of the property and livestock of the Jews. Moses said to Joshua: “Go and fight the Amalkites...” Having led the army, Navin defeated the armed nomads, and the Israelites continued their exodus from Egypt.
During the entire journey, Joshua was next to Moses: he was present during communication with God at Sinai, and guarded the Ark of the Covenants. For his disbelief in the power of Yahweh, Moses was deprived by the Lord of the right to set foot on the land of Canaan. He died on the border with the Holy Land, seeing his cherished goal from a mountain top. Before his death, Moses publicly laid his hands on Jesus, thereby transferring to him his authority over the Jewish people.
After the death of the prophet, God appeared to Jesus in a dream and commanded him to cross the Jordan River and populate the Promised Land: “Every place where your feet set foot, I give to you... Be strong and courageous, for you will give possession to this people of the land that I swore give them to their fathers." (The land promised to the Jewish people is the territory of Palestine, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, the Mediterranean coast).
Yahweh predicted Joshua's victory over all who stood in the way of carrying out his will. God promised to always be there, as he was with Moses, if he kept the law, exactly fulfilling the commandments written on the tablets: “... carefully keep and fulfill the law bequeathed by Moses... do not deviate from it either to the right or to the left... then you you will be successful... do not be afraid, for the Lord will always be with you.”
The next day, Jesus ordered preparations to be made for crossing to the west bank of the Jordan River, on which the city of Jericho was located. The river was overflowing at this time of year, and there was no way to cross it. The townspeople from the walls of Jericho calmly watched the bustle on the opposite bank. Joshua came to the Jews, whose lands were on the eastern bank of the Jordan, and called on them to help recapture the Promised Land from the Gentiles, as Yahweh had commanded. The tribal leaders agreed to provide military assistance with 40 thousand warriors.
At the direction of Jesus, the priests with the Ark of the Covenant walked at the head of the column, the rest kept their distance. When the priests approached the river, a miracle happened: the flow of water stopped, rising like a wall several kilometers from the crossing, the rest of the water flowed into the Salt Lake. The priests reached the middle of the riverbed and stopped. When all the people and warriors crossed to the other side, they left the river bed and the water returned to its banks. The miracle raised the authority of Joshua among the Jews, who had previously treated him as the “shadow” of Moses. From a humble servant he turned into a ruler.
The news that the Jewish army had crossed the Jordan horrified the tribes inhabiting Canaan. The inhabitants of Jericho locked the gates and decided to fight back, hoping for high and strong city walls. At night, the Archangel Michael appeared to Joshua and showed him how to take the city. The next day, soldiers led by priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant and calling out prayers walked around the fortress. This went on for 6 days. On the 7th day they walked around 7 times. At a sign from Joshua, all the Jews let out a cry at the same time, and the walls of Jericho collapsed.
The defenders found themselves face to face with Jewish soldiers. By order of Naveen, all residents, including children and women, were killed and the city was burned. The city was cursed by God; the Israelis had no right to appropriate any of the property. The next city to fall was Ai, whose population was also exterminated. Five kings united to oppose the Israelites. Their military strength was superior to that of the Jews, but this did not help them.
The battle took place on the slope of Mount Veforonskaya. Under the pressure of the Israelites, the Canaanites began to retreat. Huge stones began to fall from the sky on their heads, which intensified the panic and turned the retreat into flight. The battle was in full swing when the sun began to set. In order not to give the enemy respite and to gather strength at night, Jesus stopped the heavenly bodies: “Stop, Sun... and Moon...”. Navin and his soldiers defeated the enemy army. The kings who lost the battle hid in a cave on Mount Veforonskaya, but were discovered, killed and hanged from trees.
A merciless fate befell the residents of the cities of Maked, Likhna, Livna, Eglon, and Hebron. The Promised Land was liberated for the Jews. Joshua divided the conquered territory among the 12 tribes of Israel.
Death and burial
Having fulfilled God's will, Joshua died at the age of 110 years. Before his death, he turned to the people and urged them to abandon pagan gods and serve the Lord sincerely and fervently. He was buried on Mount Ephraim. Where exactly the tomb of the righteous man is located is not precisely established.
[edit] Origin
Joshua, originally named Hoshea (Hoshea), son of Nun, came from the tribe of Ephraim and was its leader. Moses called him by the name of Jesus (Yehoshua).
The position that Joshua held under Moses was called na'ar
(cf. Ugaritic
n'r
, that is, a servant of the highest rank). Jewish historian Josephus writes:
“...Moses singled out all the military forces from the entire mass of the people and put Joshua, the son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim, as commander over them, a very brave man, capable of enduring all kinds of hardships, extremely prudent and eloquent, who was distinguished by deep piety, since he was a mentor in this matter his was Moses himself, and therefore enjoyed great respect among the Jews."[5]
The meaning of the saint for Orthodoxy
Jesus became a worthy successor to Moses, a true leader of the Jewish people. In his dying address, Joshua reminds the people that the victory was won because God was on their side, and further possession of Canaan will be possible if they remain faithful to the covenant of the Lord. The Israelites convince Jesus that they will always honor God. To these words, Joshua sets up a stone as a witness if the people do not fulfill their covenant. After the death of the saint, no leader was found. The children of those who conquered the Holy Land forgot the commandments of God and broke the covenant.
The Israelites were able to conquer the Holy Land thanks to Joshua, who, for his faith and fulfillment of the commandments, had help and care from God. For this feat, Jesus was canonized. The biblical hero resembles Moses in many ways:
- God gives him direct instructions;
- Joshua led the Jews out of the desert (Moses from Egypt);
- led through the Jordan (Moses through the Dead Sea);
- gave instructions to the people before his death.
But the Christian tradition does not equate the saint with the prophet; the authority of Moses surpasses Joshua in many respects. Joshua is depicted on icons in military garb, as a young youth or a wise old man with a sword in his hand. The iconography emphasizes that Navin, first of all, was a warrior. In the Orthodox Church, the day of remembrance of the righteous is September 1 according to the Julian calendar.
Links
-
Judges of Israel Joshua (Joshua Bin-Nun) Othniel son of Kenaz (Othniel ben Knaz) Ehud son of Gera (Ehud ben Gera) Samegar, son of Anath (Shamgar ben Anat) Devorah (Dvora) Gideon (Gid'on) Abimelech son of Gideon (Abimelech ben Gid'on) Fola, son of Fui (Tol'a ben Pua) Jair of Gilead (Yair ha-Gil'adi) Jephthah (Yiftah) Yesevon (Ivtsan) Elon the Zebulunite (Eilon ha-Zebuluni) Avdon son of Hillel (Avdon ben Hillel) Samson (Shimshon) Eli (Eli ha-Kohen) Samuel (Shmuel) Other heroes of the era of judges In Israel: Varak (Barak) Jael (Yael) Jotham son of Gideon (Yotham ben Gid'on) Naomi (Naomi) Ruth (Ruth) Boaz (Boaz) Anna (Hana) Among other peoples: Rahab (Rahab) Eglon, king of Moab (Eglon, king of Moab) Husarsafem (Kushan-Rishatayim) Jabin of Hazor (Jabin, King of Hazor) Sisera (Sisra) Delilah (Dlila) Balaam Bilyam Job Job Abraham Abraham Sarah Sarah Isaac Isaac Jacob Jacob Moses Moshe Aaron Aaron Miriam Miriam Joshua Joshua bin Nun Phinehas Pinchas Anna Hannah Samuel Shmuel David David Solomon Shlomo Gad Gad Nathan Nathan Ahijah the Shilohite Ahijah HaShiloni Jeremiah Yirmeyahu Isaiah Yeshayahu Daniil Daniel Minor prophets: Habakkuk Havakkuk Avdiy Ovadya Haggai Haggai Amos Amos Zechariah Zechariah Joel Yoel Jonah Jonah Malachi Malachi Micah Micah Nahum Nahum Hosea Hoshea Zephaniah Tsfania Elisha Elisha Oldama Hulda Prophets - Idris (Enoch)
- Shis (Sif)
- Hood (Ever)
- Salih*Lut (Lot)
- Ismail (Ishmael)
- Ishaq (Isaac)
- Yakub (Jacob)
- Yusuf (Joseph)
- Ayyub (Job)
- Shuaib (Jethro)
- Harun (Aaron)
- Yusha ibn Nun ( Joshua )
- Ilyas (Elijah)
- Al-Yasa (Elisha)
- Dhu-l-Kifl (Ezekiel)
- Ishmail (Samuel)
- Yunus (Jonah)
- Davud (David)
- Suleiman (Solomon)
- Zechariah (Zechariah)
- Yahya (John)
honest Jews Joshua • David • Judah Maccabee good Christians King Arthur • Charlemagne • Godfrey of Bouillon
Interesting Facts
The events described in the 6th book of Holy Scripture, “Joshua”, are not forgotten and have their own interpretation. Ermak had a banner with Joshua embroidered on it. For the conqueror of Siberia, the saint was a symbol, a moral support for fulfilling his mission. The relic is kept in the Kremlin Armory Chamber. Astronomers have called the phenomenon observed on Mercury, when the sun freezes and then begins to move in the opposite direction, the “Joshua effect.” The writer M. Twain, for the sake of imagery, compared feudal fragmentation in Britain with tribal disunity in Palestine under Joshua. In cinema, the image of Jesus the warrior is depicted in the film “The Ten Commandments.”
Notes
- Makarov E. E.
[www.pravenc.ru/text/293947.html Book of Joshua] // Orthodox Encyclopedia. Volume XXI: “Iveron Icon of the Mother of God - Ikimatariy”. - M.: Tserkovno-nauchny, 2009. - P. 713. - 752 p. — 39,000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-89572-038-7 - [days.pravoslavie.ru/Days/sentqbr'1.htm Orthodox calendar]
- Navin // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
- Nun, father of Joshua
- 1 Par. 7:27
- Number 13:4-17
[edit] Distribution of conquered land
After the wars, Jesus divided the captured land between the tribes of Israel[26][27][28][29][30][31]. On the territory that Ephraim received was the city of Shiloh. Joshua decided to move the people's shrine to this city - the Tabernacle of Meeting and the Ark of the Covenant. Thus, Shiloh became the first capital of Israel. Jesus also established the Levitical cities: the Levites were given ownership of 48 cities, where, according to the covenant of Moses, they performed religious duties. He also identified 6 cities of refuge (cities where people guilty of unintentional murder were hiding from blood feud) beyond the Jordan and in Canaan itself[32][33].
