Joshua

Joshua (Heb. Yehoshua, “the LORD saves” — the Hebrew form of the name Jesus) is the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim. He first appears as the commander Moses appoints to fight Amalek at Rephidim (Exo.17.9–13), then as the personal attendant who remains close to the tent of meeting (Exo.33.11). He is one of the twelve spies sent into Canaan from Kadesh-Barnea; with Caleb he alone brings back a faithful report, and the two are the only adults of the exodus generation permitted to enter the land (Num.13–14). After Moses’s death on Pisgah, the LORD commissions Joshua personally — “be strong and of a good courage” (Jos.1.6) — and at his command the Jordan parts, the walls of Jericho fall, and the great campaigns of the south and north secure the land. He apportions Canaan by lot to the nine and a half tribes (Jos.13–21), establishes cities of refuge, and at Shechem leads the people in covenant renewal with the famous summons, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve … but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Jos.24.15). He dies at 110 and is buried in his inheritance at Timnath-serah in Ephraim (Jos.24.29–30).