Old Testament book

Joshua

Joshua is the book of the kept promise. The LORD, the divine warrior, brings Israel across the Jordan and gives them the land He swore to Abraham, and then calls a people saved by grace to hold fast to Him and serve Him alone.

Open the overview Browse chapter summaries
Book
6 of 66
Testament
Old Testament
Section
Historical Books
Chapters
24
Author
Joshua (with later additions)
Written
Approximately 1400 BC

Purpose & theme

Joshua is the book of the kept promise. For four hundred years God had sworn to give Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:18-21), and Joshua tells how He did it: the LORD, the divine warrior, goes before His people, brings down the walls, defeats the kings, and settles each tribe in its inheritance. The book’s own summary says it best: “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (21:45).

Yet Joshua is not a tale of human conquest but of divine gift. Israel does nothing that earns the land; God gives it, and Israel receives it by faith and obedience. Rahab the Canaanite is saved by faith while Achan the Israelite is judged for sin, teaching that it is faith, not bloodline, that marks the people of God. Woven through the victories is a relentless call to wholehearted devotion: “Be strong and courageous,” meditate on the law day and night, hold fast to the LORD, and “choose this day whom you will serve” (24:15).

Chapter guide

All 24 chapters. Open any one for the full study.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24

Study sections

OverviewRead the book’s purpose, structure, and the movement from conquest to covenant.Chapter summariesBrowse a dated one-line summary for every chapter in Joshua.Key peopleMeet the leaders, the faithful outsider, and the cautionary figures of the book.ThemesExplore the theological themes that shape the book.Word studiesDig into the key Hebrew words that carry the book’s meaning.Key versesRead the seven verses that capture the heart of Joshua.Maps & timelinesSee the geography of the conquest and the dated timeline of events.Study notesReview key concepts, application, and questions for reflection.Related passagesTrace the connections from Joshua across the whole Bible.

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