Yehoshua 3: River Jordan

Yehoshua 14: The Canaanites are coming! The Canaanites are coming!

“The British are coming!” Paul Revere yelled as recorded in the famous Longfellow poem. “Paul Revere’s Ride” But Revere did not ride alone and Revere did not actually finish the ride. Samuel Prescott, a fellow midnight rider, was able to evade British patrols and complete the journey to warn the colonists up the countryside. Despite a more successful ride, Revere gets all the praise. Besides, the opening of the poem ““Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere” would be much more difficult if Longfellow had to find a rhyme for “Prescott”. Back in Numbers, when the spies returned with their distorted report only two men stood up to the mob—Joshua and Calev. In fact, it was Calev that really did most of the talking. “Caleb hushed the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it’” (Numbers 13:30). וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת־הָעָם אֶל־מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי־יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ (Numbers 13:30) Shelach clearly prioritizes Calev and glorifies his behavior. He is presented as more willing to confront the people and stand up to them. In Joshua’s defense, perhaps Joshua was nervous to speak up in front of his teacher, but Calev had no such qualms. Joshua only joined Calev after Calev spoke up the first time. Calev and Joshua are forever linked thereafter as the only two who survive the forty year sojourn. Joshua becomes the leader of the people, but except for a few repetitions of the spy story, Calev disappears from the story until now. The tribe of Yehudah accompanies Calev to petition Joshua for Hebron. The commentators link this to a verse in the beginning of Deuteronomy for this promise: “none except Caleb…to him and his descendants will I give the land on which he set foot, because he remained loyal to God.” (Deuteronomy 1:36). זוּלָתִי כָּלֵב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּה הוּא יִרְאֶנָּה וְלוֹ אֶתֵּן אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר דָּרַךְ בָּהּ וּלְבָנָיו יַעַן אֲשֶׁר מִלֵּא אַחֲרֵי ה׳ (Deuteronomy 1:36) The “land on which he set foot” is then linked to Hebron via this verse: “They went up into the Negeb and he came to Hebron…” (Numbers 13:22). וַיַּעֲלוּ בַנֶּגֶב וַיָּבֹא עַד־חֶבְרוֹן (Numbers 13:22) The verse begins in the plural referring to all the spies, but continues in the singular. The commentators extrapolate that only Calev went to Hebron—either because he was not afraid of the warrior inhabitants, or because he prayed at the Cave of the Patriarchs. This midrash again shows Calev’s initiative without Joshua. Calev is the singular person who went there, which means Joshua did not go either. Perhaps Calev is a little salty here that not only has Joshua gotten all the praise, but he also seems to have forgotten the promise made to his fellow spy. He needles Joshua a little more: “I am still as strong today as on the day that Moses sent me; my strength is the same now as it was then, for battle and for activity.” (verse 11). עוֹדֶנִּי הַיּוֹם חָזָק כַּאֲשֶׁר בְּיוֹם שְׁלֹחַ אֹתִי מֹשֶׁה כַּאֲשֶׁר כֹּחִי אָז וְכֹחִי עָתָּה לַמִּלְחָמָה וְלָצֵאת וְלָבוֹא (Joshua 14:11) This sounds like the description given to Moshe at the end of his life and very different from the one given to Joshua at the start of chapter 13. Joshua must have understood the slight and decides to do more than just assign the land: “So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned Hebron to him as his portion.” וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־חֶבְרוֹן לְכָלֵב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּה לְנַחֲלָה (Joshua 14:13) Joshua’s blessing is a way to right this wrong and give Calev the respect he deserves.

Yehoshua 13: Advanced Age

“Joshua was now old, advanced in years. The LORD said to him, “You have grown old, you are advanced in years; and very much of the land still remains to be taken possession of” (Verse 1). The end of last chapter ended on a positive note with the list of defeated kings. Chapter 13 opens with a very different message. God is upset that the people have not conquered more land. Joshua is described as “grown old and advanced in years.” This phrase has been used to describe two other people- Avraham and Sarah. “Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years; Sarah had stopped menstruating” (Genesis 18:11) and “Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and God blessed with everything” (Genesis 24:1). The first verse is when Avraham and Sarah are told that they will have a child- Yitzchak. The second verse is right before Avraham sends Eliezer to go find a wife for Yitzchak. The first verse is all about Sarah and Avraham not believing that God could provide them with a child because they were so old. And yet, God did provide. Joshua may have thought that he could not conquer the land anymore because he was getting older, but by describing him the same way God described Avraham and Sarah, God sent the message that anything was still possible. The second verse described Avraham’s concern that his legacy would not be complete before he died. He had a son, but needed to know that his son had a wife to continue the family. Here too, Joshua is nearing death. He charge was to conquer the land that God gave to Avraham. After hundreds of years, these promises are about to be a reality. God is reminding Joshua that Avraham did not give up on the fulfillment of his legacy even after he was getting old. So too Joshua needs to redouble his efforts to secure his, and Avraham’s, legacy no matter his age.

Yehoshua 12: One King, One King, One King

At the end of the chapter, the Navi lists the 31 kings defeated as part of the conquest of Canaan. The kings are listed in column fashion and each king is listed with the number one after. Why are they listed in this way? Why not count them sequentially? Radak explains that each king was not a ruler of only one city, but was the ruler of one main city and many affiliated cities. The one next to each name is referring to the one kingdom that each ruled over. The cadence of this list matches the list of Esav’s descendants in Genesis 36:17, “These are the chieftains of Esav’s sons: From the sons of Elifaz, Esav’s firstborn, are: the chieftain Teiman, the chieftain Omar, the chieftain Tzefo, the chieftain Kenaz, etc.” אֵלֶּה אַלּוּפֵי בְנֵי־עֵשָׂו בְּנֵי אֱלִיפַז בְּכוֹר עֵשָׂו אַלּוּף תֵּימָן אַלּוּף אוֹמָר אַלּוּף צְפוֹ אַלּוּף קְנַז… (Genesis 36:15–17) This is also similar to how conquest epics were written in the ancient near east, with each defeated king listed separately. Malbim denotes the one as a way to focus on how each king individually was a moral threat to the Israelites and was responsible for God’s anger against the Canaanites. Another possibility is that the Navi is crafting a simple song of thanks to God. The structure of the song is the same as Moshe’s last song with two columns. The number one after each king is meant to denote the fact that each king and each victory was significant in itself. But in the end, the poem ends with “these kings were 31” to emphasize the enormity of the task and the enormity of the victory. מֶלֶךְ שְׁלֹשִׁים וְאֶחָד כֻּלָּם (Joshua 12:24) Building on this, perhaps Joshua is trying to send a Midrashic message. Joshua and the people defeated each of these kings, but they did not do it alone. God (One) was present for each and every battle with the people.

Yehoshua 11: Sleigh the Horses

“But the LORD said to Joshua, ‘Do not be afraid of them; tomorrow at this time I will have them all lying slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots’” (verse 6). וַיֹּאמֶר ה׳ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אַל־תִּירָא מִפְּנֵיהֶם כִּי מָחָר כָּעֵת הַזֹּאת אָנֹכִי נֹתֵן אֶת־כֻּלָּם חֲלָלִים לִפְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־סוּסֵיהֶם תְּעַקֵּר וְאֶת־מַרְכְּבֹתֵיהֶם תִּשְׂרֹף בָּאֵשׁ (Joshua 11:6) The 11th chapter begins with Joshua’s conquest of the north following his conquest of the south in the previous chapter. God sends Joshua to battle with the directive in verse 6. Radak wonders why God only asked Joshua to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots in this battle and not any other. He answers simply that this battle was the first that the Israelites faced against chariots and horses. The first two battles—Jericho and Ai—were walled cities. The next battle was an intervention on behalf of the Gibeonites with no open field warfare it seems. He then asks why only the chariots were destroyed and the horses maimed. What about other animals of war—like camels or donkeys? He answers that question by focusing on the fact that horses at that time were primarily used for war. Camels and donkeys had other peaceful uses. God did not want the Israelites to start using the advanced weapons—the tank of the ancient world—and forget that God was the one who was helping them succeed. As King David writes in Psalm 20: “They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God.” אֵלֶּה בָרֶכֶב וְאֵלֶּה בַסּוּסִים וַאֲנַחְנוּ בְּשֵׁם ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ נַזְכִּיר (Psalms 20:8) This answer focuses on God’s role in defeating the enemy armies, but perhaps God is trying to show the opposite. There is another poem that involves horses and chariots: “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to God. They said: I will sing to God, for He has triumphed gloriously; Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.” (Exodus 15:1). אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשֶׁה וּבְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת לַה׳ וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַה׳ כִּי־גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם (Exodus 15:1) God defeated the Egyptian chariots and horses. At that time the people were mere slaves coming out of Egypt. Now they are a powerful fighting force on the brink of taking over the land. This time, God gives the people the directive to defeat the chariots and horses. God is not concerned the people will stop believing in God’s assistance. Instead, God wants the people to see how far they have come since the Exodus.

Yehoshua 10: Did Yehoshua Invent Daylight Savings Time?

Frustrated in their attempt to defeat the Israelites, five kings in Canaan decide to take out their frustrations on the Gibeonites for making peace with the Israelites. Reminiscent of the battle of the five kings and four kings at the time of Avraham, this battle drags the Israelites into an inter Canaan dispute. Interestingly, the treaty with the Gibeonites in the last chapter did not seem to include a mutual defense option, only a non-combatant component. This may have looked like the perfect “out” for the Israelites to allow others to defeat the Gibeonites. Nevertheless, Joshua brings reinforcements to attack the five kings and defeats them with the help of two miracles. The first is a hailstorm—reminiscent of the plague of hail. The second is the opposite of a plague in Egypt. This time, instead of God enveloping the land with darkness, Joshua requests that the sun stay in the sky longer to aid in the battle. Why is the sun staying in the sky so important? The answer to this question may be at the end of the chapter. The five kings flee the battle scene and all hide in a cave. Joshua finds out and orders the cave shut with a large stone until the battle is complete. Once the five city states are routed, Joshua opens the cave and brings out the defeated rulers. The kings hide in the cave because they feel they can slip away into the darkness. At the beginning of the chapter they thought they could avoid the Israelites by attacking an ally instead—again, trying to avoid the Israelites. The message of the sun staying in the sky longer sends a message that there is nowhere to hide. Try to defeat us by attacking our friends instead? We will find you. Try to flee to the darkness of a cave? We will find you. Try to flee the battlefield? We will find you. Joshua records this message in an epic poem. The text states “While a nation wreaked judgment on its foes—as is written in the Book of Jashar. Thus the sun halted in midheaven, and did not press on to set, for a whole day” (verse 13). וַיִּדֹּם הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ וְיָרֵחַ עָמָד עַד־יִקֹּם גּוֹי אֹיְבָיו הֲלוֹא־הִיא כְתוּבָה עַל־סֵפֶר הַיָּשָׁר וַיַּעֲמֹד הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ בַּחֲצִי הַשָּׁמַיִם וְלֹא־אָץ לָבוֹא כְּיוֹם תָּמִים (Joshua 10:13) What is the Book of Jashar? Rashi explains that this is the book of Bereishit. Verse 13 does not mean that Joshua recorded this in some new book. Instead, it is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Yaacov. Yaacov blesses Yosef that “The fame of his descendants will fill the nations.” That incident happens when Yosef’s descendant Joshua halts the sun. Abarbanel looks at the name of the book, Yashar/upright, and explains that the book was a compendium of stories of upright people in the Torah. Ralbag gives the straightforward answer that it was a book of epic poems that was lost in the exile. This is most likely a book related to the Book of the Wars of the LORD mentioned in the Torah.