Derek Worlock (February 4, 1920 – February 6. 1996) was an English priest in the Roman Catholic Church and the Archbishop of Liverpool.
Worlock was committed to collaboration with all his fellow Christians. Worlock co-authored the books Better Together and With Hope in our Hearts (1995) with the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, David Sheppard. Worklock’s motto was Caritas Christi eluceat (“For the Shining Light of Christ”).
In 1994 Archbishop Worlock was awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool award and appointed as a Companion of Honour in 1996. At his death that year, a memorial for him was planned. It was commissioned in 2005 and made possible through public donations. It was designed by British sculptor Stephen Broadbent (b. 1961). The memorial is situated at the halfway point of Liverpool’s Hope Street. Hope Street joins both the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals. See it here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newfolder/2535308455
The aim of the statue was to create a lasting memorial to the work of the two religious leaders—Catholic archbishop Worlock and Anglican Bishop David Sheppard— who aimed to heal their churches’ deep religious divisions and serve as a unifying force in Liverpool.
I am my brother’s keeper, and he’s sleeping pretty rough these days. London OBSERVER, December 16, 1990. (On the homeless).
Sheppard-Worlock Statue by Stephen Broadbent. Above: Catholic Archbishop Derek Worlock. Commissioned in 2005 and paid for with public donations, the statue sits halfway between the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals that are both situated on Hope Street in Liverpool. The statue memorializes the two religious leaders who worked together as a unifying force to heal religious divisions among their churches and in the city. Below: Anglican bishop David Sheppard.
Coat of Arms, Most Rev. Derek Worlock, Metropolitan Archbishop of Liverpool. It contains Worklock’s motto: Caritas Christi eluceat (“For the Shining Light of Christ”).
PHOTO SOURCES: File: Detail full length Sheppard-Worlock Statue 2017-2.jpg CreatorRodhullandemu License CC BY-SA 4.0 Source WikiCommons.
File: Detail from the statue of Derek Worlock, the former Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool 2.jpg Created: 18 September 2008 CC BY-SA 2.0
File: Detail from the Sheppard-Worlock statue Liverpool. Anglican Bishop David Sheppard. Man vyi – Self-photographed. Own work, all rights released (Public domain)/
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Villa Park, IL. 5/2018 4.06 mbEvanston, IL. 2/2019 4.94 mbLisle, IL. 3/2018 3.38 mbChicago. 6.30 mb 95%4/2020 7.39mb6/2020 4.59 mb4/2020 4.15 mbChicago. 3300 W. 111th St, 60655. 7/2015 4.16 mbChicago. Symphony Center. 10/2014 1.99 mbAuditorium Theatre. Chicago. 12/2016. (10)Chicago. Macy’s State Street. 1/2018 872kbChicago. Loop Synagogue. 9/2015 4.73 mb9/2015 3.82 mbForest Park, IL. 7/2016 5.11 mb1/2018 2.40 mbChicago. 9/2015 2.75 mbChicago. 134 S Wabash Ave, 60603. 7/2015 3.68 mbChinatown Chicago. 8/2015 3.44 mbChinatown Chicago. 10/2016 404 kb 25%Chinatown Chicago. 7/2016 5.01 mb (20)South Loop Chicago. 9/2015 3.82 mbChicago. 558 E 79th St, 60619 6/2018 3.64mb6/2021 95%Watseka, IL. 8/2017 6.24mb Kentland, IN. 8/2017 3.16mbChicago. 8/2015 3.54 mbChicago. 2/2018 4.74 mbWestmont IL. 12/2017 7.83 mb 98%2/2018 6.74 mb 98%Cedarburg, Wi. 6/2018 6.23 mb 95% (30)Chicago. 9/2017 2.80 mbKennedy Expressway Chicago. 2/2018 6.58 mbChicago. 2/2018 3.63 mbChicago. 12/2015 4.30 mbChicago. Symphony Center. 10/2014 2.51 mbPost Office. 3/2017 4.11 mbChicago. 2/2018 6.18 mbDowners Grove, IL. 6/2018 7.35 mb Chicago. 12/2018 6.67 mb 99%Westchester IL. 5/2022 7.33mb 98% (40)6/2022 7.02mbLisle Il. 9/2022 6.57 mbDowners Grove, IL. 10/2022 5.80 mb 99%10/2022 7.48 mb 99%Chicago. 6/2022 5.86 mb20, rue Surcouf, Paris, 75007. 10/2002 65%Chicago. 12/2017 141 kb 25%8/2022 7.57 mb 99%Wheaton, IL. 917 E Roosevelt Rd, 5/2022 7.76 mb 99%Chicago. 9/2015 6.33 mb (50)Alsip, IL (Demolished). 7/2017 4.56 mbChicago. 8/2021 6.25 mb 99%Chicago. 6/2022 2.11mbChicago, 8611 S Pulaski Rd 60652. 8/2015 7.71 mb 87%Chicago. 2116 W. 95th Street, 60643. 8/2015 7.13 mbSan Diego, CA. 1/1999 75% The California Conservation Corps (CCC) at the end of a work day. The CCC was founded by Gov. Jerry Brown in 1976. It is a pay-as-you-go government agency that gives youth the opportunity to work in a job that is mostly outdoors as well as provides some scholarships. Chicago. 8/2021 7.43 mb 70%Waukegan, IL. 6/2014 7.10mb5/2023 7.09 mb 99%6/1979 Dublin, Ireland 200kb 45%. Opened in 1967, the Berkeley at Trinity College is an example of Brutalist architecture – exposed, unpainted concrete, monochrome palette, steel, timber, glass – that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom as a reaction to nostalgic architecture.
(3.26 minutes). When I was in Ireland studying history, it was at Trinity College in Dublin. Though there was access to the Berkeley Library (pronounced Barkley) as well as the Old Library that housed the Book of Kells, I ended up using almost exclusively The National Library of Ireland, established in 1877 (though its origins are in the early 18th century), which was a 5-minute walk from the Trinity College campus. Through its decorative iron gates off Kildare Street was Ireland’s “library of record” whose rich collection of books, manuscripts and other documents (over 12 million items) was deeply related to the expanse of Irish history, particularly from its medieval period to before 1800. Taking up a desk day after day in the Main Reading Room designed in 1890 by Irish architect Sir Thomas Deane (1828 –1899) I searched their catalogs and spoke with reference librarians which resulted in requested materials which were then delivered by runners to my assigned desk.
FROM THE (May 9, 2023) ARTICLE: “A fellow of Trinity and the former librarian there, [18th century philosopher George] Berkeley [1685-1753] is regarded by academics as one of the most influential thinkers of the early modern period. Some view his philosophical and scientific ideas on perception and reality as foreshadowing the work of Albert Einstein. But last month, the governing board of Trinity, Ireland’s oldest university, announced that it had voted to “dename” the library after months of research and consultation by a group established to review problematic legacies.”
After months of work in Ireland and back in the U.S., the end result was a 75-page paper on the Franciscan Order in Ireland between the 13th and 16th centuries. James Joyce set the ninth episode of Ulysses in the National Library where Stephen Dedalus is depicted talking about Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It was in fact the rejection of membership in the mid1830s to the Roman Catholic archbishop of Dublin (Daniel Murray) to the National Library’s immediate predecessor organization (The Royal Dublin Society) that led to a campaign in the House of Commons by the Conservative MP for Limerick (Will O’Brien) to reform this elitist Society so that it, as well as any reference institution connected to it, would extend admission privileges without concern of party affiliation or religion.
FEATURE image: Portrait of Chief Joseph in native dress with ornaments, 1900, by Lee Moorhouse (1850–1926). Public Domain.
INTRODUCTION. by John P. Walsh
Chief Joseph, 1877.
Joseph (1840-1904) was the leader of one of the Nez Percé tribes. The band amounted to about 200 people who lived in the Wallowa Valley in northeastern Oregon. White settlers wanted their grazing lands. After the death of Wellamotkin in 1871, a Nez Percé chief and Joseph’s father, the 31-year-old tall and handsome Joseph began to have conflict with the whites.
At the time of Joseph’s birth in 1840 there were around 6,000 Nez Percé, most of them living in small fishing villages next to fecund streams and rivers. Each village had its own “chief” and young Joseph visited these villages with his father where he learned about the people and the lore of his nation.
Once each winter was over, the Nez Percé, like other Native American tribes ranged beyond their own territory. These could be friendly visits like buffalo hunts or more contentious meetings. These cultural interchanges influenced Nez Percé as they influenced others. For hundreds of years the Nez Percé were mostly influenced by the Pacific Coast culture through the Chinook tribes more than the Plains tribes.
In the 1730s the Nez Percé learned about horses from Native Americans like the Apache who had contact with Spanish settlements in the south. With horses the Nez Percé traveled farther and more often into the Plains so that by the 1800s the Nez Percé were more a Plains tribe though they maintained their roots in the Pacific Northwest.
It was at the start of the 19th century that those venturing Nez Percé came into contact with whites and bought guns. The home tribe didn’t have to wait long to encounter the whites – in 1805 Lewis and Clark reached the Columbia River. Promised more guns, none appeared for a couple of years and these by way of a Canadian trader.
The Nez Percé got their name from this French-Canadian trader who saw the nose piercings that the tribe used to affix ornaments to themselves. In 1812 the American traders that Lewis and Clark promised finally arrived but quickly left and the Canadians took over.
By the late 1820s the Nez Percé roamed farther east and encountered more white fur traders among whom they lived, traded, fought, and frequently intermarried. It was in this period that the first Christian missions, both protestant and Catholic, began their influence among the Nez Percé. In the 1830s the Nez Percé journeyed to St. Louis to recruit missionaries which was successful. Joseph’s father, Wellamotkin, became a Presbyterian and Joseph was baptized at birth. By 1850, with the influx of white settlers into Oregon, the Native Americans expelled the missionaries though this divided the tribe. Joseph retreated to the Wallowa Valley away from contact – and conflict – with the new arrivals.
In 1855 the Nez Percé signed a treaty that created a large reservation for themselves. Joseph was considered a Christian and friendly to the whites. In 1860 when gold was discovered on the Nez Percé reservation the rampant trespassing of whites was unacceptable to Joseph. White crime against Nez Percé went up and whites built settlements on Indian land. Federal agents arrived and offered a smaller new reservation to the Nez Percé. The proposal was initially opposed by Indian leaders but Federal agents bought off the local chiefs one-by-one and, in 1863, a treaty was signed.
The new reservation was one quarter the size of what it was and did not include the Wallowa Valley. Joseph and most of the rest of the chiefs refused to sign. It was at this time that Joseph renounced his protestant Christianity as the white man’s religion. The Nez Percé on the new reservation saw the arrival of more and more whites. Though the Wallowa Valley where Joseph lived remained outside the white settlements’ orbit that changed over a short time.
In 1871, after Joseph buried his father and became chief, white settlers began moving into the Wallowa Valley. Joseph protested to the U.S. Government and, in 1873, President U.S. Grant ordered the whites to withdraw and formally recognized the Wallowa reservation.
But the White House in Washington D.C. was far away and the whites refused to leave. They threatened Joseph with extermination if the Nez Percé didn’t leave – and invited increasing numbers of white settlers who poured into the valley. The Oregon governor took the side of the white settlers and President Grant was forced to rescind his decision that favored Chief Joseph.
Chief Joseph – known as Heinmot Tooyalakekt (“thunder travels to lofty mountains”) – counseled delay. He moved his tribe farther from the encroaching white settlers and appealed to the U.S. Government again whose review of land claims and treaties advised siding with the Indians.
The U.S. Government did nothing until they appointed a panel in November 1876 with the power to make a final decision about the competing claims. Looking to dominate and persuade Chief Joseph, they were not able to do so by argument.
Chief Joseph, before 1877. Photographed by William H. Jackson.
But events on the ground were intensifying between whites and Nez Percé so much so that violence between them was expected. The commissioners made their decision. Whether Nez Percé signed the 1863 or not all Nez Percé must go to the new small reservation or be taken there by force. The whites would get the Wallowa Valley. The deadline was April 1,1877.
As the deadline approached the Nez Percé appealed to the commission to let them continue to live in the Wallowa Valley but the decision was final. A new deadline of June 12, 1877 was set. Joseph was called a coward by his tribe for abiding by the order to go to the reservation.
That night a Nez Percé youth avenged the murder of his father by whites by killing 4 whites and wounding 1 more. Nez Percé killed 15 more whites in the next couple of days – and struck terror in the hearts of white settlers.
Chief Joseph counseled diplomacy but most of the Nez Percé didn’t listen to him and left for hiding places. Joseph was watched closely by his own tribe that he would not abandon them or betray them to the soldiers. Chief Joseph and his buffalo-hunting younger brother Ollokot finally decided to join the Nez Percé to fight the whites.
Soldiers were deployed to force the Nez Percé onto the reservation. With Nez Percé informants they planned to attack the hostile Nez Percé in their encampment. The Indian response was to buy time to escape. A white flag of truce went on ahead of the small Nez Percé party to meet the soldiers. There was an exchange of gunfire and the battle was on. The soldiers lost 34 dead, a third of the command, while the Nez Percé lost none and two wounded. The victors retrieved scores of guns and ammo that the fleeing soldiers left behind.
Reinforcements were called in – on both sides. Rumors ran wild. There was a massacre of reservation Nez Percé mistaken for hostiles. As the soldiers advanced the hostiles cut in behind them and the white settlers the soldiers were supposed to be protecting lay exposed to the hostiles. These Nez Percé advanced and massacred parties of soldiers, civilian volunteers, and terrified settlers.
Nez Percé picked up about 40 warriors but also whole communities of women and children to protect. Joseph was being given credit for this successful war campaign though it was other war leaders who led the strategy and tactics.
By July 11, 1877, there was 400 soldiers and 180 others who were pursuing the Nez Percé. They attacked and the Nez Percé responded. The battle went on for two days though the Nez Percé were outnumbered 6 to 1. The army lost 13 killed and 27 wounded and the Nez Percé lost 4 killed and 6 wounded – and escaped again. The Nez Percé decided it was time to evacuate the area.
On July 16, 1877 Chief Joseph agreed to the exodus to Montana. The army decided to pursue them. Army reinforcements were called out of Montana to intercept the Nez Percé. Chief Joseph decided to talk with them. Promising to be peaceful and pay for any supplies on his way to the Crows, he reassured the volunteers. In Montana. the Nez Percé rested though they were being pursued by new reinforcements. On August 8, 1877, the Nez Percé were attacked. The Nez Percé were surprised but reorganized and counter attacked and escaped with much of the army’s hardware and ammo. The army lost 33 soldiers dead and 38 wounded. Fourteen of 17 officers were among the casualties. But at least 60 Nez Percé were killed in the battle of Big Hole.
The Nez Percé decided to escape to Canada. Lean Elk replaced Looking Glass as supreme war chief. On and on the Indians hurried. On September 13, 1877 the Nez Percé were overtaken by U.S. cavalry. But, at Canyon Creek, the Nez Percé escaped with three wounded while 3 cavalrymen were killed and 11 were wounded.
Nez Percé, c. 1910.
Just 30 miles from the Canada border and confident that they had outrun their pursuers, the Nez Percé took a much-needed rest. This pause became their last stand.
The army arrived with 600 men that included infantry, cavalry, and Cheyenne warriors. This force intercepted the Nez Percé on September 30, 1877. They attacked and, from Nez Percé gunfire, the army had 2 officers and 22 soldiers killed and 4 officers and 38 soldiers wounded. Another contingent of army successfully worked to cut the Nez Percé camp into pieces. A siege ensued. The army commander lured Joseph to a diplomatic talk and then took him prisoner/hostage. The Nez Percé retaliated by taking an army officer prisoner/hostage. A swap was quickly agreed to.
The arrival of army reinforcements on October 4, 1877 spelled the end for the Nez Percé hold outs. Negotiations began and the Nez Percé were split – some argued to keep fighting. Joseph agreed to surrender. When the parlay ended one of chiefs who argued to keep fighting was shot in the head by a stray bullet as he stood up from discussion with the white man.
SOURCES: The Patriot Chiefs, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., Viking Press, NY, 1961, pp. 312-340.
Following the Battle of Bear Paw, non-treaty (of 1863) groups of the Nez Percé surrendered to the United States Army on October 5, 1877, ending the Nez Percé War.
When I am gone, think of your country. You are the chief of these people. They look to you to guide them. Always remember that your father never sold the country. You must stop your ears whenever you are asked to sign a treaty selling your home. They have their eyes on this land. My son, never forget my dying words, this country holds your father’s body. Never sell the bones of your father and mother. Wellamotkin to Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, 1871.
Somebody has got our horses. Reaction to violation of surrender treaty terms by U.S. Government. “When the terms of surrender were violated by the government, [Chief] Joseph did not dig up the tomahawk and go on the warpath again…. He…. spoke with a straight tongue , and was a gentleman of his word. Nor did he blame [Maj. Gen. O. O.] Howard or [Col. Nelson A.] Miles for what his people suffered. He remarked only the above. (Quoted in Saga of Chief Joseph, H. A. Howard, University of Nebraska Press, 1978, p. 348.)
We love the land. It is our home. Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, November 1876.
Suppose a white man goes to my neighbor and says to him, ‘Joseph has some good horses. I want to buy them, but he refuses to sell.’ My neighbor answers, ‘Pay me the money, and I will sell you Joseph’s horses.’ The white man returns to me and says, ‘Joseph, I have bought your horses and you must let me have them.’ If we sold our lands to the government, this is the way they were bought. Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, November 1876.
Gravesite of Chief Joseph, Nez Percé cemetery, Nespelem, Okanogan Co., Washington. Author’s photograph, 1993. In October 1877, after months of fugitive resistance, most of the surviving remnants of Joseph’s band were cornered in northern Montana, 40 miles from the Canadian border. Chief Joseph surrendered to the Army with the understanding that he and his people would be allowed to return to the reservation in western Idaho. He was instead transported between various forts and reservations on the southern Great Plains before being moved to Colville Indian Reservation in east-central Washington where he died in 1904.
If you tie a horse to a stake, do you expect him to grow fat? If you pen an Indian up on a small spot of earth, and compel him to stay there, he will not be contented, nor will he grow and prosper. I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in one place, while he sees white men going where they please. They cannot tell me. Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, North American Review, Cedar Falls, Iowa, April 1879.
I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed…The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men are dead. Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, 1877.
It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food, no one knows where they are – perhaps freezing to death. Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, 1877.
I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. Chief Joseph (c.1840-1904), Nez Percé, 1877.
Chief Joseph, c. 1903. Nez Percé cemetery, Colville Indian Reservation, Nespelem, Okanogan Co., Washington. Chief Joseph’s gravesite is in the distance marked by the tall memorial pillar. Author’s photograph, 1993.
“Giovanni, why don’t you sleep? Is it the Pope or the Holy Spirit who governs the church? It’s the Holy Spirit, no? Well, then, go to sleep, Giovanni!” Wit and Wisdom of Good Pope John, collected by Henri Fesquet.
One day John XXIII visited the Hospital of the Holy Spirit in Rome. Deeply stirred by the pope’s visit, the mother superior whose nuns administered the hospital, went up to introduce herself. “Most Holy Father,” she announced, “I am the Superior of the Holy Spirit!” “Well, I must say you’re lucky,” the pope said. “I’m only the Vicar of Jesus Christ!”Wit and Wisdom of Good Pope John, collected by Henri Fesquet.
Voglio essere buono, ad ogni costo, sempre, con tutti.(“I want to be good, at all costs, always, with everyone.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Una croce mi ci vuole: Signore Gesù aiutami a portarla umilmente e degnamente(“A cross is needed for me: Lord Jesus, help me to carry it humbly and worthily.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Non cade lacrima dai nostri occhi e non c’è sospiro del nostro cuore senza una riposta di Dio. (“There is no tear that falls from our eyes and no sigh of our heart without a response from God.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Mi sento più che mai unito ai tanti e tanti che soffrono negli ospedali e nelle case, o sono angustiati in varie forme. (“I feel more than ever united with the many who suffer in hospitals and homes, or are distressed in various forms.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Una gran medicina per i nostri mali è la buona coscienza, soprattutto l’abbandano nella Provvidenza di Dio. (“A great medicine for our ills is a good conscience, especially its abandonment to the Providence of God.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Per la pace in famiglia tutto bisogna sacrificare e tutto conviene prendere dalla buona parte. (“For peace in the family everything must be sacrificed and everything should be taken from its good part.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Figlioli, cercate più quello che unisce che ciò che divide… (“Little children, seek more what unites than what divides…”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
Tutti ricordo e per tutti pregherò. (“I remember everyone and I will pray for everyone.”) Casa Natale di Papa Giovanni, Sotto Il Monte Giovanni XXIII (Bergamo).
FEATURE image: Henry Miller, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1940. Public Domain. This work is from the Carl Van Vechtan Photographs collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are noi known copyright restrictions on the use of this work. As the restrictions on this collection expired in 1986, the Library of Congress believes this image is in the public domain. However, the Carl Van Vechten estate has asked that use of Van Vechten’s photographs “preserve the integrity” of his work, i.e, that photographs not be colorized or cropped, and that proper credit is given to the photographer.
We have two American flags always: one for the rich and one for the poor. When the rich fly it, it means that things are under control; when the poor fly it, it means danger, revolution, anarchy. The Air-Conditioned Nightmare (1945).
The world dies over and over again, but the skeleton always gets up and walks.The Wisdom of the Heart, “Uterine Hunger,” (1941).
Actually we are a vulgar, pushing mob whose passions are easily mobilized by demagogues, newspaper men, religious quacks, agitators and the like. To call this a society of free peoples is blasphemous. What have we to offer the world besides the superabundant loot which we recklessly plunder from the earth under the maniacal delusion that this insane activity represents progress and enlightenment?The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, Preface (1945) on the people of the U.S.
Perhaps I am still very much an American. That is to say, naïve, optimistic, gullible…In the eyes of a European, what am I but an American to the core, an American who exposes his Americanism like a sore. Like it or not, I am a product of this land of plenty, a believer in superabundance, a believer in miracles.Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch (part 3), “Paradise Lost,” 1957.
The mission of man on earth is to remember. To remember to remember. To taste everything in eternity as once in time.Remember to Remember, 1947.
Everything which evokes raptures from me, in connection with France, springs from the recognition of her Catholicity. Remember to Remember, 1947.
To make whole, universal, to include everything, that is the pristine sense of being catholic. It is the attitude which the healer adopts.Remember to Remember, 1947.
I began to realize that I was living in a treasure garden, the garden of France at which the whole world casts loving, yearning glances.Remember to Remember, 1947.
To penetrate the spirit of France one has to examine her art; it is there she reveals herself absolutely.Remember to Remember, 1947.
The obsession for beauty, for order, for clarity – why should I not add “for charity”? – that is what underlies the spirit of creation, which is the true seat of resistance.Remember to Remember, 1947.
The [artists] are, as we have been told so often, the eternally young. They ally themselves with all that endures, with that which triumphs even over defeat.Remember to Remember, 1947.
The artist is not a revolutionary, he is a rebel. Remember to Remember, 1947.
Henry Miller, Paris. Photography by Brassaï, 1931.
FEATURE image: Marc Chagall, Moses Blesses Joshua, Lithograph on paper, 1966.
Introduction by John P. Walsh.
Begins Israel’s story of the conquest of Canaan (1405 BCE)
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible. It is the same for Christians in the Old Testament. It is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history or the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan (1404 BCE) to the Babylonian exile (586 BCE).
Types of writings in the Book of Joshua
Joshua contains many different kinds of highly synthesized and edited literary materials. These include battle narratives and various etiologies (explanations of customs, institutions, landmarks, etc.). From a literary perspective, these materials are thereby complex.
The Book of Joshua relates the military campaigns of the Israelites in central, southern and northern Canaan. It tells of the destruction of their enemies and the division of the land among the Twelve Tribes. These developments are conveyed by two set-pieces—the first by God commanding the conquest of the land (Chapter 1) and, the second, by Joshua exhorting the people to a faithful observance of the Law revealed to Moses (Chapter 23).
Joshua with Moses, stained glass panel, 15th century, Church of St. Lawrence, Nuremberg, Germany.
Completed in the 6th century BCE, the Book of Joshua relates historical and religious events from 800 years before
Is the Book of Joshua of historical value? Clearly historical, the Israelites gained control of Canaan—and the book relates that it was accomplished by a series of battle victories which is not unreasonable to presume. The book’s broad narrative is generally to be founded on history.
Myth and folklore do not substitute for historical fact
The Book of Joshua is not historically indisputable in its details presented as fact since it also contains many creations of the popular imagination or folklore. Literary criticism has revealed that when a meagerness of materials is present, the ancient compilers and editors did not elaborate based on simple or broad textual statements but moderated descriptions to available details.
Today’s modern archaeology, while able to provide insight into human activity in Canaan throughout this time period (13th century BCE and later), the historical quest to establish a clear, concrete connection to episodes mentioned in the Book of Joshua by such science can be hard to support.
Joshua is the book’s protagonist
The figure of Joshua in the role of significant military leader is integral to the narrative and found in the most ancient, original text (i.e., his role in the formation of the 12-tribe league at Shecham, Chapter 24), among other examples. All factors point to Joshua’s significant role in the conquest.
Primitive religious ideas such as “holy war” and collective guilt
In terms of the Book of Joshua’s religious aspects there are several layers of religious tradition that are held in common but with singular or special emphases. The book relates the conquest as an act of God. For man, the act of conquest or “holy war” was closely associated to an act of worship though that idea was based on an older, primitive religious practice that was not practiced at least by the time the Book of Joshua was completed in the mid6th century BCE. The Book of Joshua also conveys another religiously primitive idea–that of collective guilt (Chapter 7).
Primacy of Law and Covenant
Religious tradition is expressed in the ideas of God’s covenant and that morality is based on obedience to the Law as part of their close personal relationship to God. In chapters 13 to 21 which were added later, the book expresses God’s fidelity to the Israelites to the point of restoration of total possession of the land although while in exile that idea would be a dream. The idea of a future Israel that is restored was further embellished religiously—such as the 12 tribes gathered to worship at the sanctuary and providing carefully for its tribal priests (Chapter 22).
Joshua’s speech ends the book with a warning about the future (Chapter 23) though the following and last chapter added later ends differently. In that last chapter the people of Israel proclaim their choice to serve God (Joshua 24:24) and that the choice of Israel to be in relationship with God is a free one (24:15). The narrative of the Book of Joshua closes with Joshua’s death at the age of 110 years old and his burial among the heritage of the descendants of Joseph (24: 29, 32).
SOURCES: The Jerome Biblical Commentary, edited by Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Joseph A Fitzmeyer, S.J., and Roland E. Murphy, O. Carm., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. The New American Bible, Catholic Book Publishing Corp, New York, 1993.
Chapter 1.
Joshua 1: 2-3.
1 [T]he LORD said to Moses’ aide Joshua, son of Nun: 2 Moses my servant is dead. So now, you and the whole people with you, prepare to cross the Jordan to the land that I will give the Israelites. 3 Every place where you set foot I have given you, as I promised Moses. Joshua 1: 2-3.
Joshua 1: 6-7.
6 [The LORD said…]Be strong and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. 7 Only be strong and steadfast, being careful to observe the entire law which Moses my servant enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go. Joshua 1:6-7.
Joshua 1: 9.
9 [The LORD said…] I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1: 9.
Chapter 2.
Joshua 2: 10-11.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan, whom you destroyed under the ban. 11 We heard, and our hearts melted within us; everyone is utterly dispirited because of you, since the LORD, your God, is God in heaven above and on earth below.Joshua 2:10-11.
Joshua 2: 23-24.
23 Then the two [spies sent by Joshua] came back down from the hills, crossed the Jordan to Joshua, son of Nun, and told him all that had happened to them. 24 They assured Joshua, “The LORD has given all this land into our power; indeed, all the inhabitants of the land tremble with fear because of us.” Joshua 2: 23-24.
Chapter 3.
Joshua 3:5.
5 Joshua also said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will perform wonders among you.” Joshua 3:5.
Joshua 3:7.
7 Then the LORD said to Joshua: Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. Joshua 3:7.
Joshua 3:10.
10 He continued: “By this you will know that there is a living God in your midst: he will certainly dispossess before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. Joshua 3:10.
Joshua 3:11, 13.
11 The ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth will cross the Jordan before you….13 When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the waters of the Jordan, it will cease to flow; the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a single heap.” Joshua 3:11,13.
Joshua 3: 14, 16.
14 The people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them….16 Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Joshua 3: 14, 16.
Chapter 4.
Joshua 4:5-7.
5 Joshua said to them: “Go to the Jordan riverbed in front of the ark of the LORD, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the Israelites. 6 In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When your children ask you,‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 you shall answer them, ‘The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the ark of the covenant of the LORD when it crossed the Jordan.’d Thus these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial to the Israelites.” Joshua 4: 5-7.
Joshua 4: 11-13.
11 When all the people had completed the crossing, the ark of the LORD also crossed; and the priests were now in front of them. 12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh, armed, marched in the vanguard of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered. 13 About forty thousand troops, equipped for battle, crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war. Joshua 4: 11-13.
Joshua 4: 14.
14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and so during his whole life they feared him as they had feared Moses. Joshua 4: 14.
Joshua 4: 17-19.
17 Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up from the Jordan,” 18 and when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come up from the Jordan riverbed, as the soles of their feet regained the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their course and as before overflowed all its banks. 19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped in Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. Joshua 4: 17-19.
Joshua 4:22-24.
22 ‘Israel crossed the Jordan here on dry ground.’ 23 For the LORD, your God, dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you crossed over, just as the LORD, your God, had done at the Red Sea, drying it up in front of us until we crossed over, 24 in order that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and that you may fear the LORD, your God, forever.” Joshua 4: 22-24.
Chapter 5.
Joshua 5: 2-3.
2 On this occasion the LORD said to Joshua: Make flint knives and circumcise Israel for the second time. 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth. Joshua 5:2-3.
Joshua 5: 5; 7-8.
5 Though all the men who came out [of Egypt] were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness during the journey after the departure from Egypt were circumcised….7 It was the children God raised up in their stead whom Joshua circumcised, for these were yet with foreskins, not having been circumcised on the journey. 8 When the circumcision of the entire nation was complete, they remained in camp where they were, until they recovered. Joshua 5: 5; 7-8.
Joshua 5: 10, 12.
10 While the Israelites were encamped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they celebrated the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month….12 [A]fter they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. No longer was there manna for the Israelites, who that year ate of the yield of the land of Canaan. Joshua 5: 10,12.
Joshua 5: 13-14.
13 While Joshua was near Jericho, he raised his eyes and saw one who stood facing him, drawn sword in hand.h Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you one of us or one of our enemies?” 14 He replied, “Neither. I am the commander* of the army of the LORD: now I have come.” Then Joshua fell down to the ground in worship, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” Joshua 5: 13-14.
Joshua 5: 15.
15 The commander of the army of the LORD replied to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua 5: 15.
Chapter 6.
Joshua 6: 2-5.
2 And to Joshua the LORD said: I have delivered Jericho, its king, and its warriors into your power. 3 Have all the soldiers circle the city, marching once around it. Do this for six days, 4 with seven priests carrying ram’s horns ahead of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, and have the priests blow the horns. 5 When they give a long blast on the ram’s horns and you hear the sound of the horn, all the people shall shout aloud. The wall of the city will collapse, and the people shall attack straight ahead. Joshua 6: 2-5.
Joshua 6: 16-17.
16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the horns and Joshua said to the people, “Now shout, for the LORD has given you the city. 17 The city and everything in it is under the ban. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are in the house with her are to live, because she hid the messengers we sent. Joshua 6: 16-17.
Joshua 6: 20-21.
20 As the horns blew, the people began to shout. When they heard the sound of the horn, they raised a tremendous shout. The wall collapsed, and the people attacked the city straight ahead and took it. 21 They observed the ban by putting to the sword all living creaturese in the city: men and women, young and old, as well as oxen, sheep and donkeys. Joshua 6: 20-21.
Joshua 6: 24-25.
24 The city itself they burned with all that was in it; but the silver, gold, and articles of bronze and iron they placed in the treasury of the house of the LORD. 25 Because Rahab the prostitute had hidden the messengers whom Joshua had sent to reconnoiter Jericho, Joshua let her live, along with her father’s house and all her family, who dwell in the midst of Israel to this day. Joshua 6: 24-25.
Frederick Richard Pickersgill (English, 1820-1900), 1897. Two Israelite spies sent by Joshua to Jericho saved by Rahab the harlot. Joshua. Chapter 2. Rahab promised the Israelites that she would not reveal their whereabouts to their enemies and they promised her that after their victory at the battle of Jericho she and her family would be spared. Public Domain.
Chapter 7.
Joshua 7:1.
1 But the Israelites acted treacherously with regard to the ban; Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah of the tribe of Judah, took goods that were under the ban, and the anger of the LORD flared up against the Israelites. Joshua 7:1.
Joshua 7: 2,4.
2 Joshua next sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven and east of Bethel…4 About three thousand of the people made the attack, but they fled before the army at Ai…
Joshua 7: 7,8.
7 “Alas, Lord GOD,” Joshua prayed, “why did you ever allow this people to cross over the Jordan, delivering us into the power of the Amorites, that they might destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell on the other side of the Jordan. 8 Please, Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back to its enemies?
Joshua 7:10.
10 The LORD replied to Joshua: Stand up. Why are you lying there? Joshua 7:10.
Joshua 7:13.
13 Get up, sanctify the people. Tell them, “Sanctify yourselves before tomorrow, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: That which is banned is in your midst, Israel. You cannot stand up to your enemies until you remove it from among you.
Joshua 7: 20-21.
20 Achan answered Joshua, “I have indeed sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 Among the spoils, I saw a beautiful Babylonian mantle, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight; I coveted them and I took them. They are now hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.” Joshua 7: 20-21.
Joshua 7:25.
25 Joshua said, “What misery have you caused us? May the LORD bring misery upon you today!” And all Israel stoned him to death. They burnt them with fire and they stoned them. Joshua 7.25.
John Trumbull (1756-1843), Joshua at the Battle of Ai Attended By Death, 1839, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut. Public Domain.
Chapter 8.
Joshua 8: 1-2.
1 The LORD then said to Joshua: Do not be afraid or dismayed. Take all the army with you and prepare to attack Ai. I have delivered the king of Ai into your power, with his people, city, and land. 2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king—except that you may take its spoil and livestock as plunder. Set an ambush behind the city. Joshua 8:1-2.
Joshua 8: 3-4.
3 So Joshua and all the soldiers prepared to attack Ai. Picking out thirty thousand warriors, Joshua sent them off by night 4 with these orders: “See that you ambush the city from the rear…” Joshua 8: 3-4.
Joshua 8:14
14 The king of Ai saw this, and he and all his army came out very early in the morning to engage Israel in battle at the place in front of the Arabah, not knowing that there was an ambush behind the city. Joshua 8:14.
Joshua 8: 18-19.
18 Then the LORD directed Joshua: Stretch out the javelin in your hand toward Ai, for I will deliver it into your power. Joshua stretched out the javelin in his hand toward the city, 19 and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose from their post, rushed in, captured the city, and immediately set it on fire. Joshua 8: 18-19.
Joshua 8: 22-23.
22 Since those in the city came out to intercept them, Ai’s army was hemmed in by Israelites on both sides, who cut them down without any fugitives or survivors 23 except the king, whom they took alive and brought to Joshua. Joshua 8: 22-23.
Joshua 8: 25.
25 There fell that day a total of twelve thousand men and women, the entire population of Ai. Joshua 8: 25.
Joshua 8:29.
29 Then Joshua had the king of Ai hanged on a tree until evening; then at sunset Joshua ordered the body removed from the tree and cast at the entrance of the city gate, where a great heap of stones was piled up over it, which remains to the present day. Joshua 8:29.
Joshua 8: 30.
30 Later, on Mount Ebal, Joshua built to the LORD, the God of Israel, an altar Joshua 8:30.
Chapter 9.
Joshua 9: 1-2.
1 When the news reached all the kings west of the Jordan, in the mountain regions and in the Shephelah, and all along the coast of the Great Sea as far as the Lebanon: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, 2 they gathered together to form an alliance against Joshua and Israel. Joshua 9: 1-2.
Joshua 9: 22, 24.
22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us and say, ‘We live far off from you’?—You live among us!…24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were fully informed of how the LORD, your God, commanded Moses his servant that you be given the entire land and that all its inhabitants be destroyed before you. Since, therefore, at your advance, we were in great fear for our lives, we acted as we did. Joshua 9: 22, 24.
Joshua 9: 25-27.
25 And now that we are in your power, do with us what is good and right in your eyes.”
26 Joshua did what he had decided: while he saved them from being killed by the Israelites,
27 on that day he made them, as they still are, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the community and for the altar of the LORD, in the place the LORD would choose. Joshua 9: 25-27.
Chapter 9, Book of Joshua. Joshua and the Gibeonites. Illustration, 1890. Public Domain.
Chapter 10.
Joshua 10: 3-4.
3 So Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, Piram, king of Jarmuth, Japhia, king of Lachish, and Debir, king of Eglon, with this message:
4 “Come and help me attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” Joshua 10: 3-4.
Joshua 10: 5-6.
5 The five Amorite kings, of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon,* gathered with all their forces, and marched against Gibeon to make war on it.
6 Thereupon, the Gibeonites sent an appeal to Joshua in his camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up here quickly and save us. Help us, because all the Amorite kings of the mountain country have joined together against us.” Joshua 10: 5-6.
Joshua 10:11.
11 While they fled before Israel along the descent of Beth-horon, the LORD hurled great stones from the heavens above them all the way to Azekah, killing many. More died from these hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword. Joshua 10:11.
Joshua 10:12-13.
12 It was then, when the LORD delivered up the Amorites to the Israelites, that Joshua prayed to the LORD, and said in the presence of Israel: Sun, stand still at Gibeon, Moon, in the valley of Aijalon! 13 The sun stood still, the moon stayed, while the nation took vengeance on its foes. Joshua 10:12-13.
Joshua Commanding Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Public Domain.
In this epic, densely populated work, John Martin depicts the biblical battle at Gibeon, part of the conquest of Canaan. Joshua, as leader of the Israelites, asks God to cause the moon and the sun to stand still so that he and his army might continue fighting by daylight. God further assists Joshua by calling up a powerful storm to bombard the Canaanites with rain and hailstones. The British artist, John Martin (1789-1854), combines the genres of history and landscape painting in this work by giving equal compositional space and artistic attention to both the human narrative and the dramatic natural surroundings.
Joshua Commanding the Sun, Raphael, c.1515, fresco, Rome, Vatican. Public Domain. Joshua 10: 16-19.
16 The five kings who had fled hid in the cave at Makkedah.
17 When Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found, hiding in the cave at Makkedah,”
18 he said, “Roll large stones to the mouth of the cave and post guards over it.
19 But do not remain there yourselves. Pursue your enemies, and harry them in the rear. Joshua 10: 16-19.
Joshua 10: 24-26.
24When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he summoned all the army of Israel and said to the commanders of the soldiers who had marched with him, “Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” They came forward and put their feet upon their necks. 25Then Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed, be firm and steadfast. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies against whom you fight.” 26Thereupon Joshua struck and killed the kings, and hanged them on five trees, where they remained hanging until evening. Joshua 10: 24-26.
Joshua 10: 27.
27 At sunset Joshua commanded that they be taken down from the trees and be thrown into the cave where they had hidden; over the mouth of the cave large stones were placed, which remain until this very day. Joshua 10: 27.
Joshua 10:40.
40 Joshua conquered the entire land; the mountain regions, the Negeb, the Shephelah, and the mountain slopes, with all their kings. He left no survivors, but put under the ban every living being, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. Joshua 10:40.
Joshua 10: 42.
42 All these kings and their lands Joshua captured all at once, for the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. Johua 10:42.
Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665), Joshua’s Victory Over the Amorites, 1625, Puskin Museum, Moscow. Public Domain.
Joshua was successor to Moses, who led the Israelites through the Desert and into the Promised Land. Canaan, however, was inhabited by other tribes. According to the Book of Joshua, the Amorites lived on the east bank of the River Jordan and in the region between the Dead Sea and Hebron. Joshua defeated the Amorites in a series of battles. see – https://www.artbible.info/art/large/139.html
Nicolas Poussin, drawing, The Victory of Joshua over the Amorites.
Chapter 11.
Joshua 11:4-5.
4 [The northern kings] came out with all their troops, an army numerous as the sands on the seashore, and with a multitude of horses and chariots. 5 All these kings made a pact and together they marched to the waters of Merom, where they encamped to fight against Israel. Joshua 11: 4-5.
Joshua 11: 7-8.
7 Joshua with his whole army came upon them suddenly at the waters of Merom and fell upon them. 8 The LORD delivered them into the power of the Israelites, who defeated them and pursued them to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth-maim,d and eastward to the valley of Mizpeh. They struck them all down, leaving no survivors. Joshua 11:7-8.
Joshua 11:15.
15 As the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua acted accordingly. He left nothing undone that the LORD had commanded Moses should be done. Joshua 11:15.
Joshua 11: 18-19.
18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 With the exception of the Hivites who lived in Gibeon, no city made peace with the Israelites; all were taken in battle. Joshua 11:18-19.
Joshua 11: 23.
23 Thus Joshua took the whole land, just as the LORD had said to Moses. Joshua gave it to Israel as their heritage, apportioning it among the tribes. And the land had rest from war. Joshua 11:23.
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), Northern Canaan Conquered. Public Domain.
Chapter 12.
Joshua 12: 1-3.
1 These are the kings of the land whom the Israelites conquered and whose lands they occupied, east of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern section of the Arabah: 2 First, Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His domain extended from Aroer, which is on the bank of the Wadi Arnon, to include the wadi itself, and the land northward through half of Gilead to the Wadi Jabbok at the border with the Ammonites, 3 as well as the Arabah from the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth, as far south as the eastern side of the Salt Sea of the Arabah in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, southward under the slopes of Pisgah. Joshua 12: 1-3.
Joshua 12:6.
6 It was Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the Israelites who conquered them; Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave possession of their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Joshua 12:6.
Canaan. Public Domain.
Chapter 13.
Joshua 13: 1.
1 When Joshua was old and advanced in years, the LORD said to him: Though now you are old and advanced in years, a very large part of the land still remains to be possessed. Joshua 13:1.
Joshua 13: 7-8.
7 Now, therefore, apportion among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh the land which is to be their heritage. 8 Now the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, as well as the Reubenites and Gadites, had taken as their heritage what Moses, the servant of the LORD, had given them east of the Jordan. Joshua 13:7-8.
Joshua 13:14.
14 However, Moses assigned no heritage to the tribe of Levi; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their heritage, as the LORD had promised them. Joshua 13:14.
Chapter 14.
Joshua 14: 1-2.
1 These are the portions which the Israelites received as heritage in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites determined 2 their heritage by lot, as the LORD had commanded through Moses concerning the remaining nine and a half tribes. Joshua 14: 1-2.
Joshua 14: 6; 10-12.
6 When the Judahites approached Joshua in Gilgal, the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, said to him….10 Now, as he promised, the LORD has preserved me these forty-five years since the LORD spoke thus to Moses while Israel journeyed in the wilderness; and now I am eighty-five years old, 11 but I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me forth, with no less vigor whether it be for war or for any other tasks. 12 Now give me this mountain region which the LORD promised me that day, as you yourself heard. Joshua 14: 6; 10-12.
Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German, 1794-1872), Return of the Spies, woodcut for Die Bibel in Bildern, 1860. According to Numbers 13, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was one of 12 spies sent by Moses to reconnoiter Canaan. In the aftermath of the conquest, Caleb asks Joshua (Chapter 14) to give him a mountain in property within the land of Judah, and Joshua blesses him as a sign of God’s blessing and approval, giving him Hebron. Public Domain. Joshua 14: 13-14.
13 Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as his heritage. 14 Therefore Hebron remains the heritage of the Kenizzite Caleb, son of Jephunneh, to the present day, because he was completely loyal to the LORD, the God of Israel. Joshua 14: 13-14.
Chapter 15.
Joshua 15: 16-17.
16 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage.” 17 Othniel captured it, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz; so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. Joshua 15: 16-17.
Joshia 15: 18-19.
18 When she came to him, she induced him to ask her father for some land. Then, as she alighted from the donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?” 19 She answered, “Give me a present! Since you have assigned to me land in the Negeb, give me also pools of water.” So he gave her the upper and the lower pools. Joshua 15: 18-19.
Joshua 15. Caleb gives his daughter Achsah in marriage. engraving, 1846. Public Domain.
Chapter 16.
Joshua 16:10.
10 [The Josephites] did not dispossess the Canaanites living in Gezer; they live within Ephraim to the present day, though they have been put to forced labor. Joshua 16:10.
Chapter 17.
Joshua 17: 12-13.
12 Since the Manassites were not able to dispossess these cities, the Canaanites continued to inhabit this region. 13 When the Israelites grew stronger they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not dispossess them. Joshua 17: 12-13.
Joshua 17: 14.
14 The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share as our heritage? Our people are too many, because of the extent to which the LORD has blessed us.” Joshua 17: 14.
Joshua 17: 17-18.
17 Joshua therefore said to Ephraim and Manasseh, the house of Joseph, “You are a numerous people and very strong. You shall not have merely one share, 18 for the mountain region which is now forest shall be yours when you clear it. Its adjacent land shall also be yours if, despite their strength and iron chariots, you dispossess the Canaanites.” Joshua 17: 17-18.
Chapter 18.
Joshua 18: 1.
1 The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, where they set up the tent of meeting; and the land was subdued before them. Joshua 18: 1.
Joshua 18: 2-3.
2 There remained seven tribes among the Israelites that had not yet received their heritage. 3 Joshua therefore said to the Israelites, “How much longer will you put off taking steps to possess the land which the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Joshua 18: 2-3.
Joshua 18: 4-5.
4 Choose three representatives from each of your tribes; I will send them to go throughout the land and describe it for purposes of acquiring their heritage. When they return to me 5 you shall divide it into seven parts. Judah is to retain its territory in the south, and the house of Joseph its territory in the north. Joshua 18: 4-5.
Joshua 18: 6-7.
6 You shall bring to me here the description of the land in seven sections. I will then cast lots for you here before the LORD, our God. 7 For the Levites have no share among you because the priesthood of the LORD is their heritage; while Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received the heritage east of the Jordan which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave them.” Joshua 18: 6-7.
Joshua casting lots for the tribes of Israel, engraving, 1873, unknown artist. Public Domain.
Chapter 19.
Joshua 19: 1-8.
1 The second lot fell to Simeon. The heritage of the tribe of Simeonites by their clans lay within that of the Judahites. 2 For their heritage they received Beer-sheba, Shema, Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Bethmar-caboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages. 7 Also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages, 8 besides all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer (that is, Ramoth-negeb). This was the heritage of the tribe of the Simeonites by their clans. 9 This heritage of the Simeonites was within the confines of the Judahites; for since the portion of the latter was too large for them, the Simeonites obtained their heritage within it. Joshua 19: 1-8.
Joshua 19:10.
10 The third lot fell to the Zebulunites by their clans. The boundary of their heritage was at Sarid. Joshua 19:10.
Joshua 19: 17-23.
17 The fourth lot fell to Issachar. The territory of the Issacharites by their clans 18 included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary reached Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan: sixteen cities and their villages. 23 This was the heritage of the Issacharites by their clans, these cities and their villages. Joshua 19: 17-23.
Joshua 19: 24.
24 The fifth lot fell to the Asherites by their clans. Joshua 19: 24.
Joshua 19: 32.
32 The sixth lot fell to the Naphtalites. Joshua 19: 32.
Joshua 19:40.
40 The seventh lot fell to the tribe of Danites by their clans. Joshua 19:40.
Joshua 19: 49-50.
49 When the last of them had received the portions of the land they were to inherit, the Israelites assigned a heritage in their midst to Joshua, son of Nun. 50 According to the command of the LORD, they gave him the city he requested, Timnah-serahf in the mountain region of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and made it his home. Joshua 19: 49-50.
Chapter 20.
Joshua 20: 4-5.
4 To one of these cities the killer shall flee, and standing at the entrance of the city gate, shall plead his case in the hearing of the elders of the city, who must receive him and assign him a place in which to live among them. 5 Though the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver up to him the one who killed a neighbor unintentionally, when there had been no hatred previously. Joshua 20: 4-5.
Joshua 20: 7-9.
7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the mountain region of Naphtali, Shechem in the mountain region of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the mountain region of Judah. 8 And beyond the Jordan east of Jericho they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These are the designated cities to which any Israelite or alien residing among them who had killed a person unintentionally might flee to escape death at the hand of the avenger of blood, until the killer could appear before the community. Joshua 20: 7-9.
Chapter 21.
Joshua 21:1-3.
1 The heads of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families of the other tribes of the Israelitesa 2 at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, and said to them, “The LORD commanded, through Moses, that cities be given us to dwell in, with pasture lands for our livestock.” 3 Out of their own heritage, according to the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites the following cities with their pasture lands. Joshua 21:1-3.
Joshua 21: 41-42.
41 Thus the total number of cities within the territory of the Israelites which, with their pasture lands, belonged to the Levites, was forty-eight. 42 With each and every one of these cities went the pasture lands round about it. Joshua 21: 41-42.
Joshua 21: 43-45.
43 And so the LORD gave Israel the entire land he had sworn to their ancestors he would give them.k Once they had taken possession of it, and dwelt in it, 44 the LORD gave them peace on every side, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of their enemies could withstand them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their power. 45 Not a single word of the blessingl that the LORD had promised to the house of Israel failed; it all came true. Joshua 21: 43-45.
Chapter 22.
Joshua 22: 4-5.
4 Now that the LORD, your God, has settled your allies as he promised them, you may return to your tents, to your own land, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave you, across the Jordan. 5 But be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the LORD, commanded you: love the LORD, your God, follow him in all his ways, keep his commandments, hold fast to him, and serve him with your whole heart and your whole self.” Joshua 22: 4-5.
Joshua 22: 6.
6 Joshua then blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. Joshua 22: 6.
Commissioning of Joshua, 1853, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (German, 1794-1872). Public Domain. Joshua 22:10.
10 When the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, they built an altar there at the Jordan, an impressively large altar. Joshua 22:10.
Joshua 22: 19.
19 [Thus says the whole community of the LORD:] If you consider the land you now possess unclean, cross over to the land the LORD possesses, where the tabernacle of the LORD stands, and share that with us. But do not rebel against the LORD, nor involve us in rebellion, by building an altar of your own in addition to the altar of the LORD, our God. Joshua 22:19.
Joshua 22:24.
24 [The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the Israelite clans:] We did it rather out of our anxious concern lest in the future your children should say to our children: ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? Joshua 22:24.
Joshua 22:31.
31 Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the Manassites, “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst. Since you have not rebelled against the LORD by this act of treachery, you have delivered the Israelites from the hand of the LORD.” Joshua 22: 31.
Phinehas confronts the eastern tribes, Joseph Muldor (1659-1718) and Otto Elliger. Public Domain. The engraving depicts Phinehas confronting the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh over the building of an alleged sacrificial altar. From Historie des Ouden en Nieuwen Testaments, David Martin (1639-1721). Public Domain. Joshua 22: 33-34.
33 The report satisfied the Israelites, who blessed God and decided not to take military action against the Reubenites and Gadites nor to ravage the land where they lived. 34 The Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar its name as a witness among them that the LORD is God. Joshua 22: 33-34.
Chapter 23.
Joshua 23: 1-3.
1 Many years later…2 [Joshua] summoned all Israel, including their elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and said to them: “I am old and advanced in years. 3 You have seen all that the LORD, your God, has done for you against all these nations; for it has been the LORD, your God, who fought for you. Joshua 23: 1-3.
Joshua 23:4-5.
4 [Joshua said:] See, I have apportioned among your tribes as their heritage the nations that survive, as well as those I destroyed, between the Jordan and the Great Sea in the west. 5 The LORD, your God, will drive them out and dispossess them at your approach, so that you will take possession of their land as the LORD, your God, promised you. Joshua 23:4-5.
Joshua 23: 6-8.
6 Therefore be strong and be careful to observe all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, never turning from it right or left, 7 or mingling with these nations that survive among you. You must not invoke their gods by name, or swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them, 8 but you must hold fast to the LORD, your God, as you have done up to this day. Joshua 23: 6-8.
Joshua 23: 10-11.
10 One of you puts to flight a thousand, because it is the LORD, your God, himself who fights for you, as he promised you. 11 As for you, take great care to love the LORD, your God. Joshua 23: 10-11.
Chapter 24.
Joshua 24: 15.
15 [Joshua addressed all the people:] If it is displeasing to you to serve the LORD, choose today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24: 15.
Joshua 24: 29-30.
29 After these events, Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten, 30 and they buried him within the borders of his heritage at Timnath-serahu in the mountain region of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. Joshua 24: 29-30.
Illumination, c. 840, Carolingian. Above – Moses at Sinai receiving the Tablets of the Law from God with Joshua (left) in red tunic; Below – Moses giving the Law to the people with Joshua (left) in red tunic. British Library. Public Domain.
