Deuteronomy 26

Firstfruits and Tithes

¹When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ²take some of the firstfruits^† of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^{† 3}and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the land the LORD swore to our forefathers to give us.” ⁴The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God. ⁵Then you shall declare before the LORD your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean,^† and he went down into Egypt with a few people^† and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. ⁶But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,^† putting us to hard labor. ⁷Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice^† and saw^† our misery, toil and oppression. ⁸So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with miraculous signs and wonders.^{† 9}He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;^{† 10}and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, O LORD, have given me.” Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him. ¹¹And you and the Levites^† and the aliens among you shall rejoice^† in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.

¹²When you have finished setting aside a tenth^† of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,^† you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³Then say to the LORD your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.^{† 14}I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,^† nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵Look down from heaven,^† your holy dwelling place, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our forefathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the LORD’s Commands

¹⁶The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.^{† 17}You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in his ways, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws, and that you will obey him. ¹⁸And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession^† as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations^† he has made and that you will be a people holy^† to the LORD your God, as he promised.

Deuteronomy 27

The Altar on Mount Ebal

¹Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands that I give you today. ²When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster.^{† 3}Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,^† just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. ⁴And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal,^† as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. ⁵Build there an altar^† to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool^† upon them. ⁶Build the altar of the LORD your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. ⁷Sacrifice fellowship offerings^[39] there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. ⁸And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up.”

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Joshua’s Altar on Mount Ebal

Deuteronomy 27 Both Deuteronomy 27:1–18 and Joshua 8:30–35 describe the, altar the Israelites constructed on Mount Ebal (“Map 2”) after entering Canaan.¹ A structure discovered on Mount Ebal in 1980 offers tantalizing parallels to the Biblical description of Joshua’s altar. Constructed of unworked stones (in the state in which they were originally found), this rectangular structure, roughly 29 feet (9 m) long by 23 feet (7 m) wide, is filled with layers of ash, animal bones, potsherds and stones. Fragments of lime plaster were discovered in the immediate vicinity (cf. Dt 27:2, 4; Jos 8:30–31). In front of the installation a sloping wall divides two stone-paved courtyards, forming a ramp that ascends to the altar (cf. Ex 20:26). A low stone wall encloses the entire site, covering an area of 11,500 square feet (1,070 sq m). Based upon the pottery and associated finds at this open-air cult site, excavators have dated it to the early Iron Age,² approximately 1200 B.C. (a date significantly later than the conquest).

While it is possible that this is Joshua’s altar, a number of indicators suggest that it is not:

• The current dating of the site does not fit with Biblical chronology, which suggests an earlier, fourteenth century (c. 1400 B.C.) date for Joshua and the conquest.³ Late Bronze Age pottery, possibly dating to the fourteenth century B.C., was unearthed at the site, but the main phase, during which the ramped structure was built, appears definitely to date to the later Iron I period.

• Likewise, Biblical sources mention only cattle, sheep, goats, doves and pigeons as valid sacrifices. Remains of these were found, but bones of other species were present as well, especially those of fallow deer.⁴

It is possible that the Iron I structure was constructed on the site of Joshua’s earlier altar. The locations of ancient sacred sites tended to persist over time. Although the general tradition of the site’s holiness may have been preserved, worship practices may have become heterodox (nontraditional or deviant) if foreign elements had at some point been introduced (such as offering animals other than those prescribed in the Biblical text).⁵

1. See “Canaan.”

2. See “Archaeological Periods Chart” in the front of this Bible.

3. See “The Conquest of Canaan.”

4. See “Sacrifices and Offerings in the Bible and the Ancient Near East.”

5. See also “Ancient Altars.”

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Curses From Mount Ebal

⁹Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God.^{† 10}Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”

¹¹On the same day Moses commanded the people:

¹²When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim^† to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin.^{† 13}And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

¹⁴The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

¹⁵“Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol^†—a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of the craftsman’s hands—and sets it up in secret.”

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

¹⁶“Cursed is the man who dishonors his father or his mother.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

¹⁷“Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

¹⁸“Cursed is the man who leads the blind astray on the road.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

¹⁹“Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien,^† the fatherless or the widow.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²⁰“Cursed is the man who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he dishonors his father’s bed.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²¹“Cursed is the man who has sexual relations with any animal.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²²“Cursed is the man who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²³“Cursed is the man who sleeps with his mother-in-law.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²⁴“Cursed is the man who kills^† his neighbor secretly.”

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²⁵“Cursed is the man who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

²⁶“Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.”^†

Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”

Deuteronomy 28

Blessings for Obedience

¹If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands^† I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.^{† 2}All these blessings will come upon you^† and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

³You will be blessed^† in the city and blessed in the country.^†

⁴The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.^†

⁵Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

⁶You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.^†

⁷The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.^†

⁸The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

⁹The LORD will establish you as his holy people,^† as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name^† of the LORD, and they will fear you. ¹¹The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.^†

¹²The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain^† on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.^{† 13}The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left,^† following other gods and serving them.

Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵However, if you do not obey^† the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:^†

¹⁶You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

¹⁷Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

¹⁸The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

¹⁹You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

²⁰The LORD will send on you curses,^† confusion and rebuke^† in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin^† because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.^{[40] 21}The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.^{† 22}The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought,^† with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.^{† 23}The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron.^{† 24}The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

²⁵The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven,^† and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.^{† 26}Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.^{† 27}The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt^† and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. ²⁸The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. ²⁹At midday you will grope^† about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

³⁰You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her.^† You will build a house, but you will not live in it.^† You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.^{† 31}Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. ³²Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation,^† and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. ³³A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.^{† 34}The sights you see will drive you mad. ³⁵The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils^† that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

³⁶The LORD will drive you and the king^† you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers.^† There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone.^{† 37}You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.^†

³⁸You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little,^† because locusts will devour^† it. ³⁹You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them.^{† 40}You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off.^{† 41}You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity.^{† 42}Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

⁴³The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower.^{† 44}He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him.^† He will be the head, but you will be the tail.^†

⁴⁵All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed,^† because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. ⁴⁶They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever.^{† 47}Because you did not serve^† the LORD your God joyfully and gladly^† in the time of prosperity, ⁴⁸therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke^† on your neck until he has destroyed you.

⁴⁹The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth,^† like an eagle^† swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, ⁵⁰a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old^† or pity for the young. ⁵¹They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined.^{† 52}They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.^†

⁵³Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you.^{† 54}Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, ⁵⁵and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. ⁵⁶The most gentle and sensitive^† woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter ⁵⁷the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.

⁵⁸If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere^† this glorious and awesome name^†—the LORD your God— ⁵⁹the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. ⁶⁰He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt^† that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed.^{† 62}You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky^† will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. ⁶³Just as it pleased^† the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please^† him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted^† from the land you are entering to possess.

⁶⁴Then the LORD will scatter^† you among all nations,^† from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. ⁶⁵Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart.^{† 66}You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. ⁶⁷In the morning you will say, “If only it were evening!” and in the evening, “If only it were morning!”—because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see.^{† 68}The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

Deuteronomy 29

Renewal of the Covenant

¹These are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.^†

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Moab

Deuteronomy 29 Surprisingly little is known of Moab, a neighbor and frequent enemy of Israel. The information we have can be summarized succinctly:

• Moabite Territory:

Moab proper (see Ge 19:30–38 for origins of Moab) lay between the deep gorges of the Arnon River in the north (Nu 21:13) and the Zered River in the south (“Map 4”). Moabite territory also included the “plains of Moab,” situated in the Jordan Valley northeast of the Dead Sea (cf. Nu 22:1; Dt 34:1).

Numerous Biblical events related to Moab are connected to yet another area, the tableland north of the Arnon. This fertile agricultural zone was highly contested and regularly changed hands (Nu 21:21–32; Jdg 11:14–27). Thus, with few exceptions (cf. Ruth), Moabites and Israelites remained in almost steady conflict over the land (Nu 22–24; Jer 48).

• Moabite History and Culture:

Moabites were closely related to the Israelites, as attested by the Biblical account linking Moab to Lot (Ge 19:37). The Moabite language was similar to Biblical Hebrew.

Moabite territory was known and recognized from the time of Moses (Nu 21:10–20; Dt 2:9–19). The Moabite king at the time of the conquest was Balak (Nu 22–24).

A Moabite ruler, Eglon, oppressed Israel during the Judges period (Jdg 3:12–30).

Moabite territory was at times under Israelite control (2Sa 8:2), but the inhabitants were known to rebel and break free of Israelite influence (2Ki 1:1; 3:4–27).

Archaeological evidence suggests that Moab was dominated by Assyria during the eighth century B.C. Moab was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar around 582 B.C., after which it ceased to exist as an identifiable entity.¹ The land was subsequently occupied by other peoples, such as the Nabatean Arabs.

The Moabite national god was Chemosh, but the people were thoroughly polytheistic.

• Archaeology and Moab:

There is evidence of an increase in Moabite settlement during the Iron I² period (1200–1000 B.C.), particularly in the form of small fortified farmsteads. However, it is difficult to make precise historical connections to the Moabites or to Israelite settlements in Transjordan (Nu 21:21–35; 32; Dt 2–3; Jos 13).³

In contrast, the Mesha Inscription from the ninth century B.C. provides clear information about the wars between Israel and Moab (cf. 2Ki 3). This inscription attests to the regional importance of Moab during Israel’s monarchy and is the most significant archaeological artifact discovered to date from Moab.⁴

Assyrian, and possibly Egyptian, texts also mention Moab.

1. See “Nebuchadnezzar.”

2. See “Archaeological Periods Chart” in the front of this Bible.

3. See “Changes in Canaan.”

4. See “The Mesha (Moabite)Stone.”

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²Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.^{† 3}With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders.^{† 4}But to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.^{† 5}During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet.^{† 6}You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.^†

⁷When you reached this place, Sihon^† king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them.^{† 8}We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.^†

⁹Carefully follow^† the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.^{† 10}All of you are standing today in the presence of the LORD your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, ¹¹together with your children and your wives, and the aliens living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water.^{† 12}You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, ¹³to confirm you this day as his people,^† that he may be your God^† as he promised you and as he swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. ¹⁴I am making this covenant,^† with its oath, not only with you ¹⁵who are standing here with us today in the presence of the LORD our God but also with those who are not here today.^†

¹⁶You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. ¹⁷You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold.^{† 18}Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.^†

¹⁹When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way.” This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.^{[41] 20}The LORD will never be willing to forgive him; his wrath and zeal^† will burn^† against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the LORD will blot^† out his name from under heaven. ²¹The LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.

²²Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the LORD has afflicted it.^{† 23}The whole land will be a burning waste^† of salt^† and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,^† Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in fierce anger. ²⁴All the nations will ask: “Why has the LORD done this to this land?^† Why this fierce, burning anger?”

²⁵And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. ²⁶They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. ²⁷Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.^{† 28}In furious anger and in great wrath the LORD uprooted^† them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.”

²⁹The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 30

Prosperity After Turning to the LORD

¹When all these blessings and curses^† I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations,^{† 2} and when you and your children return^† to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, ³then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes^{[42] †} and have compassion on you and gather^† you again from all the nations where he scattered you.^{† 4}Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back.^{† 5}He will bring^† you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. ⁶The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants,^† so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. ⁷The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you.^{† 8}You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. ⁹Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land.^† The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, ¹⁰if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.^†

The Offer of Life or Death

¹¹Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.^{† 12}It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”^{† 13}Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” ¹⁴No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

¹⁵See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.^{† 16}For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.^† You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

¹⁹This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you^† that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.^† Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ²⁰and that you may love^† the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life,^† and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 31

Joshua to Succeed Moses

¹Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: ²“I am now a hundred and twenty years old^† and I am no longer able to lead you.^† The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’^{† 3}The LORD your God himself will cross^† over ahead of you.^† He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross^† over ahead of you, as the LORD said. ⁴And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. ⁵The LORD will deliver^† them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. ⁶Be strong and courageous.^† Do not be afraid or terrified^† because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you;^† he will never leave you^† nor forsake^† you.”

⁷Then Moses summoned Joshua and said^† to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. ⁸The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you;^† he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

The Reading of the Law

⁹So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried^† the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. ¹⁰Then Moses commanded them: “At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts,^† during the Feast of Tabernacles,^{† 11}when all Israel comes to appear^† before the LORD your God at the place he will choose, you shall read this law^† before them in their hearing. ¹²Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns—so they can listen and learn^† to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. ¹³Their children,^† who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Israel’s Rebellion Predicted

¹⁴The LORD said to Moses, “Now the day of your death^† is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him.” So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.

¹⁵Then the LORD appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent.^{† 16}And the LORD said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute^† themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake^† me and break the covenant I made with them. ¹⁷On that day I will become angry^† with them and forsake^† them; I will hide^† my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?’^{† 18}And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.

¹⁹“Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them. ²⁰When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers,^† and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods^† and worship them, rejecting me and breaking my covenant.^{† 21}And when many disasters and difficulties come upon them,^† this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do,^† even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath.” ²²So Moses wrote^† down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

²³The LORD gave this command^† to Joshua son of Nun: “Be strong and courageous,^† for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.”

²⁴After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, ²⁵he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD: ²⁶“Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain as a witness against you.^{† 27}For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked^† you are. If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! ²⁸Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them.^{† 29}For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt^† and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster^† will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made.”

The Song of Moses

³⁰And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

Deuteronomy 32

¹Listen, O heavens,^† and I will speak;

hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

²Let my teaching fall like rain

and my words descend like dew,^†

like showers^† on new grass,

like abundant rain on tender plants.

³I will proclaim the name of the LORD.^†

Oh, praise the greatness^† of our God!

⁴He is the Rock,^† his works are perfect,^†

and all his ways are just.

A faithful God^† who does no wrong,

upright and just is he.

⁵They have acted corruptly toward him;

to their shame they are no longer his children,

but a warped and crooked generation.^{[43] †}

⁶Is this the way you repay^† the LORD,

O foolish and unwise people?^†

Is he not your Father,^† your Creator,^[44]

who made you and formed you?^†

⁷Remember the days of old;

consider the generations long past.

Ask your father and he will tell you,

your elders, and they will explain to you.^†

⁸When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,

when he divided all mankind,^†

he set up boundaries for the peoples

according to the number of the sons of Israel.^[45]

⁹For the LORD’s portion^† is his people,

Jacob his allotted inheritance.^†

¹⁰In a desert^† land he found him,

in a barren and howling waste.

He shielded him and cared for him;

he guarded him as the apple of his eye,^†

¹¹like an eagle that stirs up its nest

and hovers over its young,^†

that spreads its wings to catch them

and carries them on its pinions.

¹²The LORD alone led him;

no foreign god was with him.^†

¹³He made him ride on the heights^† of the land

and fed him with the fruit of the fields.

He nourished him with honey from the rock,

and with oil^† from the flinty crag,

¹⁴with curds and milk from herd and flock

and with fattened lambs and goats,

with choice rams of Bashan

and the finest kernels of wheat.^†

You drank the foaming blood of the grape.^†

¹⁵Jeshurun^[46] grew fat^† and kicked;

filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.

He abandoned^† the God who made him

and rejected the Rock^† his Savior.

¹⁶They made him jealous^† with their foreign gods

and angered^† him with their detestable idols.

¹⁷They sacrificed to demons, which are not God—

gods they had not known,^†

gods that recently appeared,^†

gods your fathers did not fear.

¹⁸You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;

you forgot^† the God who gave you birth.

¹⁹The LORD saw this and rejected them^†

because he was angered by his sons and daughters.^†

²⁰“I will hide my face^† from them,” he said,

“and see what their end will be;

for they are a perverse generation,^†

children who are unfaithful.

²¹They made me jealous^† by what is no god

and angered me with their worthless idols.^†

I will make them envious by those who are not a people;

I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.^†

²²For a fire has been kindled by my wrath,

one that burns to the realm of death^[47] below.^†

It will devour the earth and its harvests

and set afire the foundations of the mountains.

²³“I will heap calamities^† upon them

and spend my arrows^† against them.

²⁴I will send wasting famine against them,

consuming pestilence^† and deadly plague;^†

I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,^†

the venom of vipers^† that glide in the dust.

²⁵In the street the sword will make them childless;

in their homes terror will reign.^†

Young men and young women will perish,

infants and gray-haired men.^†

²⁶I said I would scatter^† them

and blot out their memory from mankind,^†

²⁷but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,

lest the adversary misunderstand

and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed;

the LORD has not done all this.’ ”^†

²⁸They are a nation without sense,

there is no discernment in them.

²⁹If only they were wise and would understand this^†

and discern what their end will be!

³⁰How could one man chase a thousand,

or two put ten thousand to flight,^†

unless their Rock had sold them,

unless the LORD had given them up?^†

³¹For their rock is not like our Rock,

as even our enemies concede.

³²Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom

and from the fields of Gomorrah.

Their grapes are filled with poison,

and their clusters with bitterness.

³³Their wine is the venom of serpents,

the deadly poison of cobras.^†

³⁴“Have I not kept this in reserve

and sealed it in my vaults?^†

³⁵It is mine to avenge; I will repay.^†

In due time their foot will slip;^†

their day of disaster is near

and their doom rushes upon them.^†”

³⁶The LORD will judge his people

and have compassion on his servants^†

when he sees their strength is gone

and no one is left, slave or free.

³⁷He will say: “Now where are their gods,

the rock they took refuge in,^†

³⁸the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices

and drank the wine of their drink offerings?

Let them rise up to help you!

Let them give you shelter!

³⁹“See now that I myself am He!^†

There is no god besides me.^†

I put to death and I bring to life,^†

I have wounded and I will heal,^†

and no one can deliver out of my hand.^†

⁴⁰I lift my hand to heaven and declare:

As surely as I live forever,

⁴¹when I sharpen my flashing sword^†

and my hand grasps it in judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

and repay those who hate me.^†

⁴²I will make my arrows drunk with blood,^†

while my sword devours flesh:^†

the blood of the slain and the captives,

the heads of the enemy leaders.”

⁴³Rejoice,^† O nations, with his people,^[48],[49]

for he will avenge the blood of his servants;^†

he will take vengeance on his enemies

and make atonement for his land and people.^†

⁴⁴Moses came with Joshua^{[50] †} son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. ⁴⁵When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, ⁴⁶he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day,^† so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. ⁴⁷They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.^† By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

⁴⁸On that same day the LORD told Moses, ⁴⁹“Go up into the Abarim^† Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. ⁵⁰There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die^† and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. ⁵¹This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin^† and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.^{† 52}Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance;^† you will not enter^† the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Deuteronomy 33

Moses Blesses the Tribes

¹This is the blessing that Moses the man of God^† pronounced on the Israelites before his death. ²He said:

“The LORD came from Sinai^†

and dawned over them from Seir;^†

he shone forth from Mount Paran.^†

He came with^[51] myriads of holy ones^†

from the south, from his mountain slopes.^[52]

³Surely it is you who love^† the people;

all the holy ones are in your hand.^†

At your feet they all bow down,^†

and from you receive instruction,

⁴the law that Moses gave us,^†

the possession of the assembly of Jacob.^†

⁵He was king over Jeshurun^[53]

when the leaders of the people assembled,

along with the tribes of Israel.

⁶“Let Reuben live and not die,

nor^[54] his men be few.”

⁷And this he said about Judah:^†

“Hear, O LORD, the cry of Judah;

bring him to his people.

With his own hands he defends his cause.

Oh, be his help against his foes!”

⁸About Levi he said:

“Your Thummim and Urim^† belong

to the man you favored.

You tested him at Massah;

you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.^†

⁹He said of his father and mother,^†

‘I have no regard for them.’

He did not recognize his brothers

or acknowledge his own children,

but he watched over your word

and guarded your covenant.^†

¹⁰He teaches your precepts to Jacob

and your law to Israel.^†

He offers incense before you

and whole burnt offerings on your altar.^†

¹¹Bless all his skills, O LORD,

and be pleased with the work of his hands.^†

Smite the loins of those who rise up against him;

strike his foes till they rise no more.”

¹²About Benjamin he said:

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,^†

for he shields him all day long,

and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.^†”

¹³About Joseph^† he said:

“May the LORD bless his land

with the precious dew from heaven above

and with the deep waters that lie below;^†

¹⁴with the best the sun brings forth

and the finest the moon can yield;

¹⁵with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains^†

and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;

¹⁶with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness

and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush.^†

Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,

on the brow of the prince among^[55] his brothers.

¹⁷In majesty he is like a firstborn bull;

his horns are the horns of a wild ox.^†

With them he will gore^† the nations,

even those at the ends of the earth.

Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim;

such are the thousands of Manasseh.”

¹⁸About Zebulun^† he said:

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,

and you, Issachar, in your tents.

¹⁹They will summon peoples to the mountain^†

and there offer sacrifices of righteousness;^†

they will feast on the abundance of the seas,^†

on the treasures hidden in the sand.”

²⁰About Gad^† he said:

“Blessed is he who enlarges Gad’s domain!

Gad lives there like a lion,

tearing at arm or head.

²¹He chose the best land for himself;^†

the leader’s portion was kept for him.

When the heads of the people assembled,

he carried out the LORD’s righteous will,^†

and his judgments concerning Israel.”

²²About Dan^† he said:

“Dan is a lion’s cub,

springing out of Bashan.”

²³About Naphtali he said:

“Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD

and is full of his blessing;

he will inherit southward to the lake.”

²⁴About Asher^† he said:

“Most blessed of sons is Asher;

let him be favored by his brothers,

and let him bathe his feet in oil.^†

²⁵The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze,

and your strength will equal your days.^†

²⁶“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,^†

who rides on the heavens to help you^†

and on the clouds in his majesty.

²⁷The eternal God is your refuge,^†

and underneath are the everlasting arms.

He will drive out your enemy before you,^†

saying, ‘Destroy him!’^†

²⁸So Israel will live in safety alone;^†

Jacob’s spring is secure

in a land of grain and new wine,

where the heavens drop dew.^†

²⁹Blessed are you, O Israel!^†

Who is like you,^†

a people saved by the LORD?^†

He is your shield and helper^†

and your glorious sword.

Your enemies will cower before you,

and you will trample down their high places.^{[56] †}”

Deuteronomy 34

The Death of Moses

¹Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho.^† There the LORD showed^† him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, ²all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,^{[57] † 3}the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms,^† as far as Zoar. ⁴Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath^† to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it^† to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross^† over into it.”

⁵And Moses the servant of the LORD^† died^† there in Moab, as the LORD had said. ⁶He buried him^[58] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor,^† but to this day no one knows where his grave is.^{† 7}Moses was a hundred and twenty years old^† when he died, yet his eyes were not weak^† nor his strength gone. ⁸The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning^† was over.

⁹Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit^[59] of wisdom^† because Moses had laid his hands on him.^† So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.

¹⁰Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses,^† whom the LORD knew face to face,^{† 11}who did all those miraculous signs and wonders^† the LORD sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials^† and to his whole land. ¹²For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

JOSHUA

Author, Place and Date of Writing

No one knows for certain who wrote/compiled the book of Joshua or when or where it was written. Scholars have proposed dates ranging from immediately after Joshua’s lifetime to the time of Samuel to the early monarchy and even to the postexilic period.

According to early Jewish tradition, Joshua wrote the entire book, except, of course, for the passage concerning his funeral. Several verses do refer to his writing or to those whom he commanded to write (Jos 18:8; 24:25), and in 5:1 and 6 the author described details as though he were present, using the pronouns “us” and “we.”

Yet evidence suggesting that the book was written years after Joshua’s death includes:

• An eyewitness to the miracle of the sun standing still would not have needed to cite a source (i.e., the Book of Jashar; 10:13).
• The writer used the phrase “to this day” 12 times (e.g., 7:26; 8:29; 15:63), implying that he lived after the events had taken place. On the other hand, some verses (e.g., 6:25) imply that the book, or at least its sources, was written before the generation of Israelites involved in the conquest had died.

Scholars who date the book of Joshua after the end of the monarchy in 586 B.C. consider it to be part of a unified “Deuteronomistic history” of Israel that spans the historical books of Deuteronomy through Kings. This would place its writing about 800 years after the events it records. Some scholars suggest that Samuel may have helped to shape or compile the book.

Audience

Israelites born after the conquest were the original readers of this book.

Cultural Facts and Highlights

Joshua continues the story of the conquest from the point at which Deuteronomy left off. The military superpowers who had been players in the action (Hittites, Babylonians, Egyptians) no longer had a significant presence; instead, the Israelites would have to confront a number of independent city-states or groupings of states (cf. 9:1–2; 10:5–20; 11:1–8).

Canaanite culture was thriving during this period of the Late Bronze Age, as illustrated by thousands of artifacts, as well as by the excavated ruins of the ancient kingdom of Ugarit, tombs, altars and pagan temples.

Timeline

As You Read

Empowered by God and commissioned to replace Moses (Dt 31:23; Jos 1:5), Joshua stood ready to complete Moses’ work: to establish Israel—a second generation of former slaves—in the promised land. Be on the alert for evidence that, as God’s handpicked spokesperson, Joshua would make every attempt to hold Israel accountable to fulfilling its part of its covenant with God.

Note God’s unwavering resolution and intervention in helping the Israelites defeat the idolatrous Canaanites. Pay close attention to the consequences of covenant disobedience at Ai (ch. 7). Think about the significance of Israel’s covenant renewal with the one true God (8:30–35; 24:1–27), who had called his people to obey him and to reflect his character. Try to enter vicariously into the joy the Israelites must have felt as they received God’s promised gift of land (chs. 13–21).

Did You Know?

• In the ancient Near East a judicial verdict of the gods was commonly obtained by compelling an accused person to submit to a trial-by-water ordeal. Usually this involved casting the accused into a river. If the person drowned, the gods had found him or her guilty. Here the Israelites engaged in a different kind of trial-by-water ordeal (3:10–11).
• When Israelite officers placed their feet on the necks of great and powerful kings they had subdued, they were recognizing them as frail human beings like everyone else. This practice, widespread in ancient times, is pictured in the artwork of Egypt and Assyria (10:24).
• The use of lots in Old Testament contexts placed everything in God’s hands—making it clear that chance did not come into the picture (14:1–5).
• Horses and chariots posed an awesome challenge to the Israelites, whose own army was made up exclusively of foot soldiers (11:1–5).
• “Defiled,” a term for ritual uncleanness, did not necessarily imply something sinful (22:19).

Themes

Joshua’s themes include:

1. God, the great warrior. This book depicts God as a warrior who rescues his people from their enemies (1:1–12:24; cf. Ex 15:3). God’s people are still at war today. Indeed, we are engaged in an infinitely more dangerous confrontation—against evil itself (Eph 6:12). But God has given us powerful spiritual weapons (Eph 6:10–18), and we enter this battle confident that Christ has already assured the final outcome by his victory (Col 2:13–15; Rev 19:11–21).
2. God’s faithfulness. The second half of Joshua (13:1–24:33) portrays God’s faithfulness to his promises (21:45; 23:14). As Israel took possession of the land, the ancient promises to Abraham (Ge 12:1–3) became concrete realities. God is a promise keeper, and Christians today have been given “great and precious promises” (2Pe 1:4), every one of which is fulfilled in Jesus (2Co 1:20).

Outline

I. Preparation and Entrance Into Canaan (1:1–5:12)

II. Conquest of the Land (5:13–12:24)

A. Jericho and Ai (5:13–8:35)

B. Gibeonites, Amorites and Southern Cities (9–10)

C. Northern Kings (11)

D. List of Defeated Kings (12)

III. The Division of the Land by Tribes (13–21)

IV. Joshua’s Farewell and Death (22–24)

Joshua 1

The LORD Commands Joshua

¹After 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. ³I will give you every place where you set your foot,^† as I promised Moses. ⁴Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates^† —all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea^[1] on the west.^{† 5}No one will be able to stand up 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.

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Tablets From Ugarit and Canaanite Religion

Joshua 1 The land Joshua was commanded by God to enter was that of the Canaanites.¹,² Although the Old Testament provides us with some information concerning these non-Israelite people and their religion, we gain much of our knowledge from the writings of a people not far removed from the Canaanites themselves. Ugarit, a city in northern Syria (“Map 1”), has yielded a huge archive of tablets dating from approximately 1400 B.C.³ Though not located in Canaan proper, Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) shared many close cultural ties with the Canaanites, including a similar religious system and language.

The language in which the tablets from Ugarit were written is now simply called Ugaritic. It is closely related to Hebrew and is of great value in helping scholars to better understand ancient Hebrew.⁴ These tablets include texts of various kinds and incorporate a great number of mythological and ritual religious elements. The deities they mention constitute the pantheon (list of officially recognized gods) of Ugarit and of the Canaanite people.

The highest deity was El, the aged father god. His consort or partner was Athirat, a sea goddess also known in the Old Testament as Asherah.⁵ The principal player in the major mythological text from Ugarit is Baal (possibly El’s grandson), the mighty storm god and fertility deity who figures so prominently in many of the Old Testament historical and prophetic books.⁶ In the battles depicted in the Baal cycle, this notorious god defeated the deities Yam (the sea) and Mot (death).⁷ His consorts were Anat, a warrior goddess who also was his wife-sister, and Astarte.⁸ Other features of Canaanite religion attested at Ugarit include animal sacrifices, seasonal festivals and belief in an afterlife. Child sacrifice, a recurring motif of Canaanite religion in the Old Testament, is not mentioned in Ugaritic texts.⁹

1. See Glossary for definitions of bolded words.

2. See “Canaan.”

3. See “Ugarit/Ras Shamra.”

4. See “Languages of the Old Testament World.”

5. See also “The Kuntillet Ajrûd Inscriptions: The Lord’s Asherah?.”

6. See “Baal and the Fertility Cults.”

7. See “The Ugaritic Text of the Myth of Baal.”

8. See “The Queen of Heaven.”

9. See “Human Sacrifice in the Ancient Near East.”

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⁶“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers^† to give them. ⁷Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,^† that you may be successful wherever you go.^{† 8}Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.^{† 9}Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified;^† do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”^†

¹⁰So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ¹¹“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession^† of the land the LORD your God is giving you for your own.’ ”

¹²But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,^† Joshua said, ¹³ “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest^† and has granted you this land.’ ¹⁴Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers ¹⁵until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”^†

¹⁶Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.^† Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. ¹⁸Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

Joshua 2

Rahab and the Spies

¹Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies^† from Shittim.^† “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute^[2] named Rahab^† and stayed there.

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Rahab’s House

Joshua 2 The Israelite spies instructed Rahab to gather her family into her house, where they would be spared from the coming calamity (Jos 2:18–19). Later, Rahab and her family members were rescued as promised (6:17, 22–23). Joshua 2:15 indicates that Rahab’s house was located within the fortifications of Jericho (“Maps 2–3”). Translated literally, the Hebrew reads, “Her house was against the vertical surface of the city wall, and in the city wall she lived.” How was her house preserved when the wall fell? Remarkably, archaeology provides an answer.

German excavations from 1907–1909 on the northern section of the site uncovered a portion of the lower city wall that did not fall as it did everywhere else.¹ The still-standing section rose as high as 8 feet (nearly 2.5 m), with houses built against it still intact. A second wall at the crest of the embankment revealed that these particular houses were situated between the upper and lower city walls and were thus “in the city wall.” Since the lower wall also formed the back wall of the houses, an opening (window) in the wall would have provided a convenient escape route for the spies. From this northerly location it was only a short distance to the hills of the Judean wilderness, where the spies hid for three days (2:16, 22).

See also “New Testament Jericho.”

1. See “The Walls of Jericho.”

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²The king of Jericho was told, “Look! Some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³So 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.”

⁴But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.^† She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ⁶(But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax^† she had laid out on the roof.)^{† 7}So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.

⁸Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ⁹and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear^† of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰We have heard how the LORD dried up^† the water of the Red Sea^[3] for you when you came out of Egypt,^† and what you did to Sihon and Og,^† the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.^{[4] 11}When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you,^† for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth^† below. ¹²Now 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.”

¹⁵So she let them down by a rope through the window,^† for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. ¹⁶Now she had said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days^† until they return, and then go on your way.”^†

¹⁷The men said to her, “This oath^† you made us swear will not be binding on us ¹⁸unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family^† into your house. ¹⁹If anyone goes outside your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head;^† we will not be responsible. As for anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head^† if a hand is laid on him. ²⁰But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”

²¹“Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.” So she sent them away and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

²²When they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them. ²³Then the two men started back. They went down out of the hills, forded the river and came to Joshua son of Nun and told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴They said to Joshua, “The LORD has surely given the whole land into our hands;^† all the people are melting in fear because of us.”

Joshua 3

Crossing the Jordan

¹Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim^† and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. ²After three days the officers went throughout the camp,^{† 3}giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant^† of the LORD your God, and the priests,^† who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. ⁴Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards^[5] between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

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Crossing the Jordan

Joshua 3 The Bible describes the miracle of the crossing of the Jordan in graphic language: “The water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho” (Jos 3:16).

The town of Adam (now a site called Tell ed-Damiyeh) was approximately 16 miles (nearly 26 km) north of the point at which the Israelite procession crossed the Jordan, located at a spot were the river flowed near high banks. The Jordan Valley, part of the great Rift Valley, is an unstable region where earthquakes frequently occur. On a number of occasions throughout recorded history earthquakes have dislodged the riverbanks in the vicinity of Adam, resulting in a damming of the Jordan. The most recent occurrence was the quake of 1927, at which time a 150-foot-high (46 m) embankment on the western side of the river collapsed, completely blocking the waters for more than 21 hours. Similar cutoffs have been recorded (moving backward in time) in A.D. 1906, 1834, 1546, 1267 and 1160.

Excavations at Jericho indicate that an earthquake did in fact occur at the time that city was destroyed. This suggests the possibility of seismic activity around the time of the crossing of the Jordan. It is possible that God used one tremor to dam up the Jordan and a second a short time later to bring down the walls of Jericho.¹

Fragment of the book of Joshua from the Dead Sea Scrolls

© The Schøyen Collection; photography courtesy of Mr. Martin Schøyen

1. See “The Walls of Jericho.”

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⁵Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves,^† for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”

⁶Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

⁷And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you^† in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.^{† 8}Tell the priests^† who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’ ”

⁹Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. ¹⁰This is how you will know that the living God^† is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites.^{† 11}See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth^† will go into the Jordan ahead of you. ¹²Now then, choose twelve men^† from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD —the Lord of all the earth^† —set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream^† will be cut off and stand up in a heap.^† ”

¹⁴So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant^† went ahead^† of them. ¹⁵Now the Jordan is at flood stage^† all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶the water from upstream stopped flowing.^† It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan,^† while the water flowing down^† to the Sea of the Arabah^† (the Salt Sea^{[6] †}) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.^†

Joshua 4

¹When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan,^† the LORD said to Joshua, ²“Choose twelve men^† from among the people, one from each tribe, ³and tell them to take up twelve stones^† from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.^† ”

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The Camp at Gilgal

Joshua 4 After the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River,¹ they established a camp at Gilgal (Jos 4:19; see “Map 3”). There Joshua set up 12 stones from the river as a memorial (vv. 20–24). All Israelite males born subsequent to the exodus were circumcised there (5:2–9),² and the first Passover in the promised land was celebrated (v. 10).³ Gilgal became the base of operations for the ensuing six years of the conquest.⁴

Following the conquest Joshua established the primary Israelite religious center of the time at Shiloh (18:1; “Map 3”). After the Philistines had destroyed Shiloh (see Jer 7) the religious center shifted back to Gilgal (1Sa 10:8; 11:14–15; 13:15–18; 15:10–33), where it remained until David brought the ark to Jerusalem (2Sa 6).⁵ Gilgal remained a prestigious religious hub in Israel, unfortunately also becoming a center for apostasy (Hos 12:11). During the Byzantine period a church was built at the traditional site of Gilgal. It is depicted on the Madaba map, a sixth-century mosaic map of the Holy Land on the floor of Saint George’s church in Madaba, Jordan.

Joshua 4:19 states that Gilgal was located “on the eastern border of Jericho.” The most likely location for the site is a cluster of small, ancient mounds about 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of Jericho. This area fits the locational requirements of the Jewish historian Josephus and other ancient writers and sits on the exact spot at which the Gilgal church is depicted on the Madaba map.

1. See “Crossing the Jordan.”

2. See “Circumcision in the Ancient World.”

3. See “The Festivals of Israel.”

4. See “The Conquest of Canaan.”

5. See “The Tabernacle and the Ark.”

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⁴So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’^{† 7}tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off^† before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial^† to the people of Israel forever.”

⁸So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua;^† and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. ⁹Joshua set up the twelve stones^† that had been^[7] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

¹⁰Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, ¹¹and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. ¹²The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites,^† as Moses had directed them. ¹³About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.

¹⁴That day the LORD exalted^† Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life, just as they had revered Moses.

¹⁵Then the LORD said to Joshua, ¹⁶“Command the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony^† to come up out of the Jordan.”

¹⁷So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.”

¹⁸And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage^† as before.

¹⁹On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal^† on the eastern border of Jericho. ²⁰And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones^† they had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’^{† 22}tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’^{† 23}For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea^[8] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.^{† 24}He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know^† that the hand of the LORD is powerful^† and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.^† ”

Joshua 5

Circumcision at Gilgal

¹Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast^† heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted^† and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

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The Conquest of Canaan

Joshua 5 After defeating the nations east of the Jordan, Israel turned to the promised land west of the Jordan Valley.¹ The Canaanites occupied the coastal and valley areas and the Amorites the highlands (Nu 13:29). Old Testament chronological data (Jdg 11:26; 1Ki 6:1) suggests that the conquest took place at the end of the fifteenth century B.C.² The entire process, including the taking of Transjordan, took about seven years, most of that time spent in conquering Canaan (Dt 2:14; Jos 14:6–10).

Neolithic tower at Jericho

Preserving Bible Times; © Dr. James C. Martin

Archaeologists disagree about the date of the conquest, variously supporting the following possibilities:

A Late Bronze II Age Conquest

This view, placing the exodus during the reign of Pharaoh Rameses II and the conquest at the end of the thirteenth century B.C., was once almost unanimously held. Cities like Debir, Lachish,³ Bethel³ and Hazor³ were said to have been destroyed around 1220 B.C. by the Israelite onslaught. But today many scholars have abandoned this thesis:

• These cities are now believed to have been overtaken at different times by various armies.

• The Merneptah Stele (inscribed stone slab) suggests that Israel was already settled in the land.⁴

• Few walled cities have been discovered from this period (cf. Dt 1:28).

• It is impossible to place Jericho’s fall at this time.

A Late Bronze I Age Conquest

This position argues for a conquest around 1400 B.C., as supported by a current understanding of the Biblical chronology. The scenario:

• Jericho’s capture gave the Israelites a foothold. From their camp at Gilgal they launched attacks westward into the highlands.⁵ After taking Ai they subjugated the southern part of the country (Jos 10).⁶

• Joshua did not attack Shechem, thought to be a major city at this time, instead striking a coalition of northern kings at Hazor (11:1–15). Shechem, in the central highlands near Mount Ebal and Mount Gerazim, separated the southern from the northern city-states. Joshua could not have avoided Shechem (8:30–33),⁷ and some scholars even suggest Shechemite cooperation with Israel.⁸

Problems With a Late Bronze I Age Conquest

• Canaan was sparsely populated, lacking the great cities the Bible mentions.

• Most interpreters date Jericho’s destruction to the end of the Middle Bronze Age, over 100 years earlier.⁹

• The book of Joshua nowhere cites Shechem as a powerful city.

• God commanded Israel to exterminate the Canaanites (Dt 7:1–2). Joshua 9 mentions the Gibeonite trick, but this only underscores Joshua’s unwillingness to cooperate with Canaanite cities and contradicts the notion of Shechemite cooperation with Israel.

A Late Middle Bronze Age Conquest

• Cities were heavily fortified.

• The end of this age saw a major societal collapse and the destruction of numerous cities, including Jericho. The population may have plummeted by as much as 80 percent. Most scholars have attributed this destruction to the Egyptians—a premise now widely questioned based on lack of evidence.

Problems With a Late Middle Bronze Age Conquest

• This period is thought to have ended about 1550 B.C., too early for the Bible’s chronology.

• It is difficult to relate Egyptian chronology to a 1550 B.C. conquest. No suitable pharaoh reigned then.¹⁰

Proposed Solutions to the Problems With a Late Middle Bronze Age Conquest

Scholars have tried to correlate the exodus with the expulsion from Egypt of the Hyksos.¹⁰ This solution is unconvincing, and there remains the problem of the discrepancy with Biblical chronology.

Some historians suggest redating the end of the Middle Bronze period. If the date were lowered by 150 years, to around 1400 B.C., this era could have ended at the traditional date of the conquest. But this would also require a redating of Egyptian chronology. Most interpreters find this view unconvincing and eccentric.

Archaeologists routinely revise older, seemingly well-established conclusions. The interpretation of the data in Palestine is fraught with difficulties; even well-received interpretations may be built upon flimsy foundations. Given this uncertainty, it would be amazing if researchers were able to attain conclusive evidence regarding the time and circumstances of the conquest.

1. See “Canaan.”

2. See “The Date of the Exodus.”

3. See “The Lachish Reliefs”, “Bethel” and “Hazor.”

4. See “The Merneptah Stele.”

5. See “The Camp at Gilgal.”

6. See “Ai.”

7. See “Joshua’s Altar on Mount Ebal.”

8. See “Shechem.”

9. See “The Walls of Jericho.”

10.See “The Pharaoh of the Exodus.”

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²At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives^† and circumcise the Israelites again.” ³So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.^[9]

⁴Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt.^{† 5}All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. ⁶The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years^† until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us,^† a land flowing with milk and honey.^{† 7}So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. ⁸And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.^†

⁹Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal^[10] to this day.

¹⁰On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month,^† while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. ¹¹The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land:^† unleavened bread and roasted grain.^{† 12}The manna stopped the day after^[11] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.^†

The Fall of Jericho

¹³Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man^† standing in front of him with a drawn sword^† in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown^† to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord^[12] have for his servant?”

¹⁵The commander of the LORD ’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.”^† And Joshua did so.

Joshua 6

¹Now Jericho^† was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

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The Walls of Jericho

Joshua 6 Old Testament Jericho (“Maps 2–3”) has undergone four excavations: by Charles Warren (1867–1868); Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger (1907–1909); John Garstang (1930–1936); and Kathleen Kenyon (1952–1958). Unfortunately, the first three digs used methods modern archaeologists consider primitive and unreliable, and the site has suffered from erosion.

Watzinger concluded that Jericho was unoccupied during the Late Bronze Age,¹ when it was supposed to have been destroyed by Joshua, while Garstang determined that the heavily fortified city was destroyed late in this period. But Kenyon argued that it was annihilated at the end of the Middle Bronze Age, around 1550 B.C., after which it boasted at best a meager settlement through the Late Bronze period—leaving no fortified city for Joshua to destroy.²

Dating issues aside, much of the archaeological data corresponds with the Biblical account:

Jericho’s prominence (Jos 5–6) and wealth (7:21) suggest a great city. Excavations have shown that Jericho had massive defenses. Its tell (mound composed of remains of successive settlements) was surrounded by an earthen embankment stabilized by a 15-foot (4.6 m) stone wall. Atop the retaining wall stood a free-standing mud brick wall about 6 feet (1.8 m) thick and three or four times as high. A similar wall topped the embankment.

Neolithic tower at Jericho

Photograph courtesy of © Dr. Gary Pratico

Jericho’s mud brick walls crumpled in a heap at the base of the retaining wall (6:20). Archaeologists suggest that an earthquake took place³ and that the fallen bricks formed a ramp by which the Israelites surmounted the retaining wall.

A 3 foot (.9 m) high ash layer verifies a massive conflagration (v. 24).

There are indications of plague in Jericho before its fall (cf. Nu 25:8–9).

Joshua 3:15 states that Israel forded the Jordan at harvest time. Collaborating evidence includes Rahab’s drying of flax on her roof (2:6)⁴ and Israel’s Passover celebration (a springtime festival observed just prior to harvest) immediately before the battle (5:10).⁵

Full jars of recently harvested grain confirm the brevity of the siege (6:15).

That Jericho’s grain was left to burn is extraordinary, suggesting that the invaders had an unusual reason for leaving it intact (see vv. 17–19).

The details surrounding the destruction of Jericho City IV thus closely parallel what we read in the Bible. Unfortunately, the date of the fall of this city remains a problem. If, as Watzinger and Kenyon argued, Jericho fell around 1550 B.C., there would have been no significant city there when Joshua arrived around 1400 B.C. Nevertheless, however one deals with the chronological problem,⁶ there is much about City IV to encourage the Christian reader about the reliability of the Joshua 6 account.

1. See “Archaeological Periods Chart” in the front of this Bible.

2. See “The Conquest of Canaan.”

3. See also “Crossing the Jordan.”

4. See “Rahab’s House.”

5. See “The Festivals of Israel.”

6. See “Jericho and the Date of the Conquest.”

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