PART I, F

F. TIME PERIOD, ENTRY INTO CANAAN

  After Moses died, Joshua basically repeated what Moses had said in his 3rd address (see PART I, E E.2.b.): I will give You every place where You set Your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert of Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates --all the Hittite country-- to the Great (Mediterranean) Sea on the west; as I was with Moses, I will never leave nor forsake You; I will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to Their forefathers to give Them (Jsh 1:3-6).

 1. Spies & Foreigners; Jordan Crossed; Circumcision Re-instituted; Manna Ceases

  a. Spies & foreigners Rahab saves the spies-- twice!

• Joshua secretly sent 2 spies from Shittim where the Israelites were camped prior to crossing into Canaan; 'Go, look over the land-- especially Jericho.' So They entered the house of a prostitute (innkeeper?) named Rahab (Jsh 2:1). Rahab provided for their safety 2x: 1st, immediately- When the king of Jericho sent messengers to her, demanding that she give them up (she had taken the 2 men up to the roof & hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof), she sent the messengers on a wild-goose-chase, on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan. 2nd, after expressing belief, she exhibited faith: She let Them down by a rope through the window, for the house was part of the city wall. She provided for their future safety; She said to Them, 'Go to the hills. Hide yourselves there 3 days.' The spies said to Rahab, 'If any goes outside the house into the street, his blood will be on his own head; as for anyone who is in the house with You.' She tied the scarlet thread that they had provided in the window. They [the spies] went into the hills & stayed there 3 days; They went out of the hills & forded the Jordan (Jsh 2:1-32). But point is, neither this belief nor even the demonstrated faith imparted righteousness. Rather, the promise of righteousness came after she voluntarily tied the scarlet thread they offered/provided. Hebr 11:31, 39-40 says, By faith the prostitute Rahab, because She welcomed the spies, was not killed; These were all listed in the "hall of faih" of Heb 11, being commended for Their faith, yet none of Them received what had been promised. GOD had planned something better for Us so that only together with Us would They be made perfect.
• Jame 2:25 asks this basic rhetorical question (a question that follows a statement-- i.e., the answer was already given), was even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies & sent Them off in a different direction? Actually, in this case, there is a restatement-- v. 26 goes on to say, As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. There were no benefits from God-- she did "good deeds," but the "good deeds" were not "Good Deeds", following salvation-- the "good deeds" acquired favor, but did not earn righteousness. Indeed, righteousness is freely given, upon salvation. But today, both "good deeds" & "Good Deeds" do have benefits here-n-now. For believers: God views "Good Deeds" as obedience, & favors the believers both now & eternally. And "good deeds" also have benefits now-- because of the cooperation with God's will. But make no mistake, there are no eternal benefits.
• Regarding the purity of the Jewish bloodline of Jesus: it's probable that Jesus' bloodline became mixed at the point of Boaz marrying Ruth the Moabite, engendering Obed (grandfather of David)-- if so, it really is not important. Indeed, this might underscore the fact that God so loved the world (John 3:16). What is important is the various depths of sin (no doubt they occurred)-- covered in the next point. But 1st, to preclude some confusion-- all the Israelites that went into Egypt had 100% pure blood. We saw (PART I, D D.5.b.i.) that Judah, 4th son of Jacob & Leah, 1st married & had 3 sons by a Canaanite woman (but only Shelah went to Egypt, & Jesus was not descended from him). I.e., Shelah, was a half-breed, & were Jesus descended from him, he would've had mixed blood beginning then. But Judah had 2 sons by Tamar, his own daughter-in-law, 100% Jewish; Jesus was descended from 1 of them-- Perez. The reason Shelah is even mentioned here is to point out that very likely Perez was pure-Jewish (else it would've been specifically pointed out as it had been for Shelah (it's always best to assume some conjecture about the Bible is false unless it is specifically mentioned).
• It has been said that Jesus having descended through Salmon & Rahab the harlot (or innkeeper-- see above, intro.), in addition to Perez resulting from incest (Judah & Tamar), serves to illustrate that redemption via Jesus is available to all humanity-- no matter the depth of sin. Point also is that the purity of Jesus blood does not diminish this idea in the least-- in fact we see the same 12 sons of Jacob, with their purity of blood as portrayed in the O.T., are mentioned as sealed in the end (Reve 7:5-8).

  b. Jordan crossed

• Early in the morning the Israelites set out from Shittim & went to the Jordan, where They camped before crossing over. After 3 days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders as Joshua had instructed, 'When You see the ark of the Covenant of the LORD Your GOD, & the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, follow it; but keep a distance of about a thousand yards between You & the ark' (Jsh 3:1-4).
• The LORD said to Joshua, Tell the priests, 'When You reach the edge of the Jordan's water, go & stand in the river.' So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark went ahead of Them. The Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests, Their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam; the priests who carried the ark 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. The LORD said to Joshua, Choose 12 men, 1 from each tribe, & tell Them to take up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests stood & to carry them over with You & put them down at the place where You stay tonight. Joshua said to the 12 men appointed, 'Go over before the ark, into the middle of the Jordan. Each of You is to take up a stone on His shoulder; these stones are to be a memorial.' Joshua set up the 12 stones {Jsh 3:7-8,14-17; 4:1-5,7,9).
• The men of Reuben, Gad & the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed [when these 2 & 1/2 tribes had requested land east of the Jordan; they marched in front of the ark & the rest of the Israelites]-- altogether about 40,000 armed for battle [of the 136,930 available from the 3 whole tribes-- see PART I, E E.4.c.; 43,000 + 40,500 + 52,700]; no sooner had They set Their feet on the dry ground than the waters returned to their place & ran at flood stage as before. On the 10th day of the 1st mo. the people went up from the Jordan & camped at Gilgal on the northeastern border of Jericho. Joshua set up at Gilgal the 12 stones They had taken out of the Jordan (Jsh 4:12-13,18-19).

  c. Circumcision re-instituted; manna ceases

• The LORD said to Joshua, Make flint knives & circumcise the Israelites. This is why He did so: All Those who came out of Egypt, all Those of military age who had been circumcised-- those whose fathers had been solemnly promised a land flowing with milk & honey died; the people born in the desert [wilderness] during the journey from Egypt-- not just those born since the spy incident at Kadesh, had not been circumcised on the way; These uncircumcised ones were the ones Joshua circumcised. They remained where They were in the camp until They were healed (Jsh 5:2-8).
• On the evening of the 14th day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, They ate some of the produce of the land; unleavened bread & roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after They ate this food; that year They ate of the produce of Canaan (Jsh 5:10-12); see PART I, E E.1.a., for descriptions of manna).

 2. Jericho Western Amorites & Canaanites intimidated

• When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan & all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan, their hearts were melted & they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites (Jsh 5:1).
• When Joshua was near Jericho, He looked up & saw a man with a drawn sword; 'Are You for Us or for Our enemies?' 'Neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD.' Joshua fell face down. 'What message?' 'March around the city once each day for 6 days with all of. Have 7 priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the 7th day, march around the city 7 times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. When You hear Them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout' (Jsh 5:13 - 6:5).
• This is an instance of the Lord not sweating the small stuff, so long as the instructions are done (slight embellishments being added, as in poetic license-- even allowing the Israelites to contrive some details), as the priests actually blew the trumpets every day (as opposed to just carrying them 6 days & blowing them on the 7th), and there was an armed guard that marched before the ark, & 1 after it (no mention had been made as to how the armed guards were to be deployed). Every "i" of his commands being dotted, & every "t" crossed, the city walls collapsed (except obviously Rahab's house). Joshua commanded 'The city & all that is in it are to be devoted (destroyed); keep away from the devoted things; all the silver & gold & the articles of bronze & iron are sacred to the LORD and must go into HIS Treasury.' They destroyed with sword every living thing. Joshua said to the 2 young men who had spied, 'Go into the prostitute's house & bring Her out & all who belong to Her.' They brought out Her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel; She lives among the Israelites to this day. Then they burned the whole city-- except the sacred mentioned were put into the Treasury of the LORD'S House (Jsh 6:16-19,21-24).

  3. Ai Amorites conquered-- also in central Canaan

• An Israelite [Achan] acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things [those thing to be destroyed-- some items of which he had hid in his tent]. Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai; 'Go up & spy out the region.' At 1st the soldiers of Ai beat the Israelites, killing about 36 of Them-- Joshua had only sent about 3,000 men. After the Israelites (with GOD'S help) determined who had acted unfaithfully (a descendant of Judah) & stoned & burned Him & His sons & daughters, Joshua & the entire army (30,000 as an ambush behind the city) killed 12,000 men & women-- all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out His javelin; Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap. But Israel did carry off for Themselves the livestock & plunder (Jsh 7:1-2,4,21,24-25; 8:3-4,25-27).

 4. Hivites Of Gibeon In southern Canaan-- a ruse, a treaty, servitude

• When all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things-- those in the hill country, in the western foothills, & along the entire coast of the Great (Mediterranean) Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites & Jebusites)-- they came together to make war against Joshua & Israel. However, when the people [Hivites] of nearby Gibeon heard, they resorted to a ruse: they went as if a delegation, with worn-out sacks & old wineskins, cracked & mended; worn & patched sandals on their feet, old clothes; bread of their food supply was dry & moldy. They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal & said, 'We have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD Your GOD; we have heard reports of HIM: all that HE did in Egypt & east of the Jordan. We are Your servants; make a treaty with us.' The men of Israel did not inquire of the LORD; Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, & the leaders of the community ratified it. 3 days later the Israelites heard that they were neighbors. The whole assembly grumbled, but all the leaders answered. 'We have given them an oath by the LORD, the GOD of Israel, & We cannot touch them now. We will let them live.'  So Joshua saved them from the Israelites; He made the Gibeonites woodcutters & water carriers for the community & for the altar of the LORD. And that is what they are to this day (Jsh 9:1-6,9-16, 18-20, 26-27).

 5. More Southern Conquests; Northern Conquests

  a. More southern conquests southwestern Amorites conquered

• Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai & Jericho, & that Gibeon (larger than Ai, & all its men) were good fighters had made a treaty of peace. He & his people were very much alarmed. Adoni-Zedek appealed to 5 kings of the Amorites; they joined forces against Gibeon & attacked it. The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, 'Do not abandon Your servants. Come quickly & save us.' Joshua marched from Gilgal with His entire army. As they [the 5 armies] fled before Israel, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them; more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords. Joshua said, 'O sun, stand still over Gibeon. O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.' So the sun stood still, & the moon stopped. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky & delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to a man. Then Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal. The 5 kings had fled & hidden in the cave. Joshua said, 'Roll large rocks up to the mouth.' Then Joshua & all Israel moved on. Joshua subdued the whole region; He left no survivors, in 1 campaign. Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal. It needs to be pointed out that this campaign, which was at least a couple years in duration, took place in phases; it is doubtful Joshua had any concrete plans for the northern conquests when he was focusing on the south-- he just had the promise, wherever You set Your foot (Jsh 10:1-3,5-7,11-16,18,29,40,42-43).

  b. Northern conquests including the Anakites

• West of the Jordan, The Israelites inherited the hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah [thus far whenever the Arabah is mentioned it refers to the entire eastern portion of the Arabah region-- east of the Jordan & Dead Sea. Point of fact is that the Arabah region also encompasses a western stretch, commonly divided into: the western half of the Jordan Valley; the Judean Desert, west of the Dead Sea; & the Arabah, southwest of the Dead Sea]-- the mountain slopes [west of the Jordan], the Judean desert [west of the Dead Sea], & the Negev [also called the Arabah-- the extreme southwest portion of the Arabah region]. Conquered was the lands of the Hittites, Amorites [west of the Jordan-- there were 2 east of the Jordan already defeated], Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites & Jebusites. These were all introduced in PART I, D D.3.a.viii., 1. & 2. In the west 31 kings in all were conquered (Jsh 12:1-24).
• These 6 peoples named (underlined) above came out with all their troops, a huge army; Joshua & His whole army defeated them & pursued them all the way far northwest to Greater Sidon, until no survivors were left. Joshua left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses; except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not 1 city made a treaty. Joshua even went & destroyed the Anakites-- introduced in PART I, D D.3.a.viii., 3{2}. The land had rest from war (Jsh 11:3-4,7-8,15,19,21,23d).

 6. Inhabitants Remaining; Tribal Allocations; Civil War Averted; Joshua's Farewell

  a. Inhabitants remaining

• When Joshua was old the LORD said, You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over-- portions of western Canaan along the Mediterranean Sea, & Lebanon. This is the land that remains: (1) all the regions of the Philistines & Geshurites-- southwestern coastal Canaan, including Gaza; (2) all the region of the Canaanites-- northwestern coastal Canaan; & (3) all Lebanon-- northern mountainous Canaan (Jsh 13:1-5). Some say this signifies failure on the part of Joshua, that this is the reason Joshua is not listed in the "hall of faith" of Hebr 11. But was this failure on the part of Joshua? That idea conflicts with Jsh 21:45, which says, Not 1 of the LORD'S Promises to the house of Israel failed; in Joshua's zeal He was more than a conqueror. So why is he not listed in the "hall of faith" of Hebr 11? It does not require faith to measure (evidence) what's seen (recall the promise, Everywhere You set Your foot). Which brings up a more pertinent question-- we saw above, in 1.a.2nd pt., that Heb 11 ends with this statement, These were all commended for Their faith, yet none of Them received what had been promised. So the question is, did Joshua receive what was promised?
• Jdg 2:23; 3:1-2 points out that the LORD allowed those nations to remain, to test all those Israelites [after Joshua died-- rather than nix the treaties, etc.] who had not experienced any of the wars, to teach warfare to the descendants.
• When Joshua was old, the Lord said, there are still very large areas to be taken over; I myself will drive them out; be sure to allocate this land among the 9 & 1/2 tribes, as I have instructed You. Joshua now dead, The Angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal [referring to the treaty made at Gibeon with the Hivites] & said to Israel-- quoting God, You shall not make a covenant with the people of this land; You have disobeyed. I will not drive them out; they will be thorns in Your sides & their gods will be a snare to You (Jsh 13:1.6-7: Jdg 2:1-3).

  b. Tribal allocations Size comparisons & descriptions Comparisons are of the tribal sizes to the # of fighting men that entered Canaan; likely there were other factors: rewards for zeal demonstrated, strategic locations for the future defense of Israel, etc.:

   i. East of the Jordan see PART I, E E.4.d.

   ii. West of the Jordan in Canaan (from a map):

• Benjamin The Benjaminites were 7th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Benjaminites received is small. The Benjaminites received an east-west sliver of land, extending west from the northwest of the Dead Sea; it was sandwiched between Ephraim & Judah, with its southeastern tip touching the Dead Sea. Bethel, Jericho & Jerusalem were within its borders; Gilgal & Bethlehem were not. To the north & northwest was Ephraim; to the northeast was the arm of West Manasseh; to the south was Judah.
• Judah The Judites were 1st in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Judites received is reasonable. The Judites received much land-- all the land (except the land the Simeonites received was enclosed within Judah) west of the Dead Sea, from an east-west line stretching from the northern end of the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, south to to the Wadi of Egypt (including Gaza & the rest of Philistia, areas yet to be conquered-- likely this also factored in on the size of their inheritance-- see a. above), southeast to Kadesh, & northeast to the southern end of the Dead Sea. To the northwest was Dan; to the northeast was Benjamin; Bethlehem is located in the extreme northeast.
• Simeon The Simeonites were 12th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Simeonites received is large. The Simeonites received a medium-sized, circular chunk of land southwest of the Dead Sea, totally enclosed within Judah-- perhaps they were to assist Judah in the conquests remaining; perhaps Judah acted as a buffer to protect Simeon.
• Dan The Danites were 2nd in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Danites received is small. The Danites received a curved sliver of land sandwiched between Ephraim on the north & Judah on the south, curving upward toward the Mediterranean Sea (its western border); Benjamin was its extreme eastern border. Ephraim was to the northeast.
• Ephraim The Ephraimites were 11th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Ephraimites received is large. The Ephraimites received a medium-sized, rectangular chunk of land; Dan was on its west & southwest, Benjamin was on its southeast, & West Manasseh was on its north (the tip of the arm of West Manasseh being on its east).
• West Manasseh (the western half-tribe of Manasseh): All of the Manassites together were 6th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the total size of land Manasseh received (on both sides of the Jordan) is very large. Half of the Manassites received much land between the Jordan R. on the east & the Mediterranean Sea on the west. It was north of Dan, Ephraim & Benjamin; it was south of Asher, Zebulon & Issachar; across the Jordan R. was Gad. The southeastern portion was an arm reaching nearly down to the Dead Sea (Gilgal was located there)-- resembling the Florida peninsula below its panhandle; the middle portion was rectangular-- shaped like Oregon, it stretched from the Jordan R. westward to the Mediterranean Sea; the northwestern portion was a large peak that leaned to the northwest, & reached to an east-west line from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. Its northwest border was the Kishon R.
• Issachar The Issacharites were 3rd in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Issacharites received is small. The Issacharites received a small chunk of land shaped like Connecticut & western Massachusetts. On its south & west was West Manasseh (West Manasseh also jutted up to the northeast, so that to the southeast of Issachar was a portion of West Manasseh shaped like Rhode Island); to the northwest was Zebulun; to the northeast was Naphtali; to the east was the Jordan R.; to the west was the Kishon R.
• Zebulun The Zebulunites were 4th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Zebulunites received is small. The Zebulunites received a smaller chunk of land, oriented southwest-northeast. To the southwest is the Kishon R. & West Manasseh; to the west & northwest is Asher; to the east & northeast is Naphtali; to the south & southeast is Issachar. The northern tip was the juncture of Asher & Naphtali. It can be said that Jacob & Moses prophesied (predicted what would happen) assuming the Israelites completely trusted & obeyed the LORD-- e.g., the inheritance Zebulun wound up with was not on the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulon & the land of Naphtali (God speaking through Isaiah, when Israel was carried off to Assyria-- see 2ndKi 15:29), but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan (Isa 9:1). Now Nazareth, the town where Jesus lived in his youth, is (according to the map) located in Zebulun. However, the map also shows Bethlehem, the town of Jesus' birth, to be located far south-- even south of Jerusalem (in the land Judah inherited). 1 of the towns or villages Zebulun inherited was indeed Bethlehem (Jsh 19:15). This can be dismissed as coincidence (perhaps there were 2 places named Bethlehem)-- but then some say that the traditional location of Bethlehem for Jesus' birth was not then part of the Roman Empire. So the question is, what is the evidence that Mary & Joseph went to that Bethlehem (the 1 shown below Jerusalem?
• Asher The Asherites were 5th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Asherites received is reasonable. The Asherites received medium-sized, elongated land, also oriented southwest-northeast. To the west was the Mediterranean Sea; to the southeast was Zebulun; to the southwest was West Manasseh; to the east & northeast was Naphtali. The northern border was the Litani R.; the southeastern tip was the juncture of West Manasseh & Zebulun.
• Naphtali (see Zebulun above): The Naphtalites were 8th in the # of fighting men that went into Canaan-- based on this alone, the size of land the Naphtalites received is large. The Naphtalites received a larger, elongated chunk of land parallel to Asher, with an arm stretching along the Sea of Galilee. To its west was Asher; to its southwest was Zebulun; to the south of the arm was Issachar; to its southeast was the Sea of Galilee. The eastern border was the river that flowed into the northern end of the Sea of Galilee; its northwest corner touched the northeast corner of Asher; its northeast corner touched the northwest corner of East Manasseh.

  c. Civil war averted from Jsh 21

• After Joshua's campaign, the returning eastern tribes built an altar at the Jordan-- interpreted by Israel as a declaration of independence. All Israel gathered for war, but war was prevented, as a delegation went to Gilead, composed of Phineas the priest & a representative from each of the 10 tribes, & understood that there had been a simple misunderstanding, that the altar was meant to remind their own descendants of the union.

  d. Joshua's farewell

• After a long time had passed & the LORD had given Israel rest from all Their enemies, Joshua said, 'I am old & well advanced in years; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among You; be very careful to love the LORD Your GOD. But if You turn away & ally yourself with the survivors, if You intermarry with them & associate with them-- even making them slaves, then You may be sure...' After these things, Joshua died at the age of 110. And They buried Him in the land of His inheritance, in Ephraim (Jsh 23:1-2,6-7,11-13; 24:29-30).