Context at a Glance
Author:Traditional Attribution
Topic:joshua Chapter 24 Study
This chapter provides a foundational look at the theological themes of joshua, analyzed across multiple historic translations for maximum scholarly depth.
Joshua 24
New Revised Standard Version
1Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God.
2And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors — Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor — lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods.
3Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac;
4and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.
5Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst; and afterwards I brought you out.
6When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
7When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterwards you lived in the wilderness a long time.
8Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you.
9Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you,
10but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I rescued you out of his hand.
11When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you.
12I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow.
13I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.
14"Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
15Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
16Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
17for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed;
18and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
19But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.
20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good."
21And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the LORD!"
22Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses."
23He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."
24The people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and him we will obey."
25So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
26Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a large stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the LORD.
27Joshua said to all the people, "See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, if you deal falsely with your God."
28So Joshua sent the people away to their inheritances. Appendices
29After these things Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old.
30They buried him in his own inheritance at Timnath-serah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.
31Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel.
32The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem, in the portion of ground that Jacob had bought from the children of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money; it became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
33Eleazar son of Aaron died; and they buried him at Gibeah, the town of his son Phinehas, which had been given him in the hill country of Ephraim. JUDGES
486JUDGES Introduction The book of Judges continues Israel's story from the death of Joshua (1.1-2.8) to just before the birth of Samuel, who is depicted as Israel's last judge (1 Sam 7.15). After Israel's failure to conquer all the land (described in this book's initial chapters), the nation's life fell into a downward moral and religious spiral that reached its low point under the leadership of the judge Samson. The final portion of the book, in which "judges" are absent, describes Israel's further deterioration into idolatry and civil war. The title "Judges" should not be interpreted in a strictly judicial sense; the "judges" are really rulers in the wider sense (see 2.16-19), often with significant military roles. It is apparent that the book is a collection of various blocks of material concerning different tribal heroes. Some of the stories may have existed in oral and written form before they became part of the book, but none are attributed to any particular source in the text. Most scholars believe that at one point this collection became part of a larger work, the Deuteronomistic History (see Introduction to the Historical Books). The author of that history utilized these stories of local tribal judges, adding introductions and conclusions at various point to underscore his message. The book does not attempt to fully depict this time period; not every oppression that Israel suffered during the judges' era is fully narrated (see 10.11-14). A precise chronology of the period of the judges is unknown since the oppressions and judgeships noted were local or regional, and may at places overlap. The book is not primarily interested in the real history of this period. Rather, the book's selective presentation is clearly designed to instruct the reader, to communicate a coherent, didactic message concerning the consequences of disobedience to God. HT TH JUDGES
487The book of Judges has three main parts: a double introduction (1.13.6), a double conclusion (17.1-21.25) and a main section, commonly called the "cycles" section (3.7-16.31). The double introduction is symmetrical to the double conclusion, framing the "cycles." The first introduction (A1: foreign wars with the "herem" being applied, 1.1-2.5) is balanced by the second conclusion (A2: domestic wars with the "herem" being applied, 19.1-21.25). The second introduction (B1: difficulties in Israel with foreign idols, 2.6-3.6) is balanced by the first conclusion (B2: difficulties with domestic idols, 17.1-18.31). For the meaning of "herem" see the Introduction to the book of Joshua. HT TH The double introduction initiates paradigms that create literary expectations for the main "cycles" section. Judges 1.1-2.5 introduces the reader to the pattern of Israel's increasing failure to drive out the Canaanites, which will be mirrored in the degeneration of the "cycles" section. It also reveals the geographic sequence pattern of Judah to Dan reflected in the major judge cycles (Othniel to Samson). Judges 2.63.6 introduces the reader to the all-important "cycles" pattern, the very framework of the "cycles" section. The double conclusion is unified by the four-time repetition of a distinctive refrain: In those days there was no king in Israel; twice this is supplemented by all the people did what was right in their own eyes: A1 (17.6), B1 (18.1), B2 (19.1), A2 (21.25). Although this refrain serves as a bridge to Samuel, in which the monarchy is introduced, this is more than simply a promonarchic statement; it also has implications in light of the Deuteronomistic, covenantal concerns about the theocracy (see 8.23, the LORD's rule as king over Israel). The "cycles" section (3.7-16.31) contains six major judge stories built around a basic literary cycle made up of the following components: (1) Israel does evil in the eyes of the Lord; (2) the Lord gives them into the hands of oppressors; (3) Israel serves the oppressor for x years; (4) Israel cries out to the Lord (5) the Lord raises up a deliverer (i.e., a judge); (6) the spirit of the Lord is upon the deliverer; (7) the oppressor is subdued; (8) the land has "rest" for x years. JUDGES
488It is very important that the six major judge cycles (Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson) be read within the larger narrative complex of 3.7-16.13. The components are varied in such a way as to contribute to the book's message. With each major judge, the cycle unravels. In turn, this unraveling enhances the communication of the moral deterioration taking place throughout the period of the judges. In fact, by the time of Samson, the cycle has almost disappeared. The Samson cycle serves as both a literary climax and moral nadir of the "cycles" section. Moreover, this moral decline can also be seen in the characterization of the women of the book, degenerating from the outspoken Achsah (1.12-15), to Deborah and Jael (4.1-5.31), to the "certain woman" (9.53), to Jephthah's daughter (11.35), to Delilah (16.4-22), and finally to the completely dependent and silent women of 19.1-21.25. Finally, this section also contains interspersed stories of minor judges (10.1-5; 12.8-15), occurring in a one, two, three sequence. These stories also contribute literarily to the section's message. The exact function of these minor judges, however, remains unclear.