The Book of Joshua is the sixth book of the bible and the first book of the Deuteronomistic history. It comes right after Deuteronomy, which I discussed extensively earlier. In Deuteronomy, Moses instructs the Israelites to destroy their enemies. They were to invade Canaan, which roughly corresponds to present day Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Iraq. After the death of Moses it was now up to Joshua, who God appoints as leader, to make good on the words of Moses.
Even Wikipedia, of all places, admits this: “In the Book of Joshua, Canaanites are included in a list of nations to exterminate“.
The formation of Israel seventy years ago and the current “War on Terror” no doubt borrows themes from those two books. All passages below are from the New International Version.
Chapter 1 Joshua Appointed
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. (God’s punishment for not going along with Joshua’s plan of destruction of their enemies)
Chapter 2 This chapter is a theme similar to what the Israelites did to Sihon and Og in Numbers by betraying one of their enemy’s trusted advisers or protectors. It is about subverting the loyalty of their enemies to be on their side by promising protection. Joshua sent two spies to evaluate the land of Jericho. Rahab protected the spies from being caught by the King and aided and abetted the Israelites in destroying her country. A similar process has been going on all over the West by Jewish leaders subverting the loyalty of Gentile individuals, often with money and/or fame.
2 The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.
12 (After hiding the two Israeli spies from the authorities, Rahab tells the spies in return): “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
24 They (two spies upon return) said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”
Chapter 6 The Attack on Jericho
20 When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.” 23 So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel.
24 Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. 25 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.
(As promised, Rahab and her family were saved for betraying her people and assisting the enemy)
Chapter 8 Town of Ai destroyed
1 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. 2 You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.
20 The men of Ai looked back and saw the smoke of the city rising up into the sky, but they had no chance to escape in any direction; the Israelites who had been fleeing toward the wilderness had turned back against their pursuers. 21 For when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that smoke was going up from it, they turned around and attacked the men of Ai. 22 Those in the ambush also came out of the city against them, so that they were caught in the middle, with Israelites on both sides. Israel cut them down, leaving them neither survivors nor fugitives. 23 But they took the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. 26 For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city (unlike Jericho where they were specifically instructed not to), as the Lord had instructed Joshua.
28 So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 29 He impaled the body of the king of Ai on a pole and left it there until evening. At sunset, Joshua ordered them to take the body from the pole and throw it down at the entrance of the city gate. And they raised a large pile of rocks over it, which remains to this day.
Chapter 9 The Gibeonites The Gibeonites, like all neighbor’s to the Israelite’s, were terrified of them after seeing the Israelites absolutely annihilate their neighbors. The Gibeonites decided to do something different, instead of warring with them. They planned to deceive them.
1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. 3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4they resorted to a ruse . . . 6 they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.” (As disclosed under Deuteronimical law, territories that are distant from Israel are given a choice of enslavement or extermination, but those that are near are only given the choice of extermination)
Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
(Three days later the Israelite’s found out they were deceived, but did not kill the Gibeonites because they swore an oath to the Lord)
18 the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
Joshua asks the Gideonites why they lied:
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them.
Chapter 10 Southern Cities Defeated
28 That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.
29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.
31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.
34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.
36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.
38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.
40 So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. 41 Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. 42 All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
Chapter 11
10 At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. 11 Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed, and he burned Hazor itself.
12 Joshua took all these royal cities and their kings and put them to the sword. He totally destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded. 13 Yet Israel did not burn any of the cities built on their mounds—except Hazor, which Joshua burned. 14 The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. 15 As the Lord commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses.
16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and put them to death. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive.
23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
Chapters 12-17 Covers division of plundered land to the five Israelite tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, Judah, Reuben, and Gad.
Chapter 12 Here is a list of the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir. Joshua gave their lands as an inheritance to the tribes of Israel according to their tribal divisions. 8 The lands included the hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the wilderness and the Negev. These were the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. These were the kings (defeated, which totalled 31 in all):
| 9 the king of Jericho | one |
| the king of Ai (near Bethel) | one |
| 10 the king of Jerusalem | one |
| the king of Hebron | one |
| 11 the king of Jarmuth | one |
| the king of Lachish | one |
| 12 the king of Eglon | one |
| the king of Gezer | one |
| 13 the king of Debir | one |
| the king of Geder | one |
| 14 the king of Hormah | one |
| the king of Arad | one |
| 15 the king of Libnah | one |
| the king of Adullam | one |
| 16 the king of Makkedah | one |
| the king of Bethel | one |
| 17 the king of Tappuah | one |
| the king of Hepher | one |
| 18 the king of Aphek | one |
| the king of Lasharon | one |
| 19 the king of Madon | one |
| the king of Hazor | one |
| 20 the king of Shimron Meron | one |
| the king of Akshaph | one |
| 21 the king of Taanach | one |
| the king of Megiddo | one |
| 22 the king of Kedesh | one |
| the king of Jokneam in Carmel | one |
| 23 the king of Dor (in Naphoth Dor) | one |
| the king of Goyim in Gilgal | one |
| 24 the king of Tirzah | one |
Chapter 17
12 Yet the Manassites (Israeli tribe) were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13 However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.
(unable to drive out the Canaanites completely, the Manassites resorted to let them live but with forced labor)
Chapters 18-19 Covers division of land to the other seven Israelite tribes
Chapter 23 Joshua’s speech
Joshua makes a speech to his people just before his death at an old age. He warns his people to maintain their racial purity and remain loyal Israelites to God:
12 “But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, 13 then you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.
14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. 15 But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.”
Chapter 24 Joshua speaks to his people about the covenant and God’s message:
13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant. (enjoying the riches of their plundered land)
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