Yehoshua - Furtive PatachYehoshua - Furtive Patach
1:1 וַיְהִ֗י אַחֲרֵ֛י מ֥וֹת מֹשֶׁ֖ה עֶ֣בֶד יְהוָ֑ה וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן מְשָׁרֵ֥ת מֹשֶׁ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃
Vayhi acharei mot Mosheh eved Adonai (יהוה) vayomer Adonai (יהוה) el-Yehoshua Bin-Nun mesharet Mosheh lemor.
Now after the death of Mosheh the eved of ADONAI (יהוה) it came to pass, that ADONAI (יהוה) spoke to Yehoshua Ben Nun, Mosheh' minister, saying,
1:2 Mosheh my avedi is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Yarden, you, and all this people, to the eretz which I do give to them, [even] to the Benai Yisrael.
1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given to you, as I said to Mosheh.
1:4 From the midbar and this Levanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the eretz of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
1:5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of your life: as I was with Mosheh, [so] I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
1:6 Be strong and courageous: for to this people shall you divide for an inheritance the eretz, which I sware to their fathers to give them.
1:7 Only be you strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the Torah, which Mosheh my eved commanded thee: turn not from it [to] the yamin or [to] the left, that you mayest prosper whithersoever you goest.
1:8 This sefer ha Torah shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.
1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be you dismayed: for ADONAI (יהוה) Eloheicha [is] with thee whithersoever you goest.
1:10 Then Yehoshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,
1:11 Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare your provision food; for within three days you shall pass over this Yarden, to go in to possess the eretz, which ADONAI (יהוה) Eloheichem gives you to possess it.
1:12 And to the Reuvenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Menasheh, spoke Yehoshua, saying,
1:13 Zakar Dvar which Mosheh the eved ADONAI (יהוה) commanded you, saying, ADONAI (יהוה) Eloheichem has given you rest (nuach), and has given you this eretz.
1:14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the eretz which Mosheh gave you on this side Yarden; but you shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them;
1:15 Until ADONAI (יהוה) have given your brethren rest, as [he has given] you, and they also have possessed the eretz which ADONAI (יהוה) Eloheichem gives them: then you shall return to the eretz of your possession, and enjoy it, which Mosheh ADONAI (יהוה)'S eved gave you on this side Yarden toward the sunrising.
1:16 And they answered Yehoshua, saying, All that you commandest us we will do, and whithersoever you sendest us, we will go.
1:17 According as we listened to Mosheh in all things, so will we listen to thee: only ADONAI (יהוה) Eloheicha be with thee, as he was with Mosheh.
1:18 Whosoever [he be] that does rebel against your commandment, and will not listen to your Divrei in all that you commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a good courage.
The Sefer Y'hoshua (ספר יהושע) is the sixth book in the Tenakh. This book stands as the first in the Former (or First) Neviim covering the history of Israel from the possession of the Promised Land to the Babylonian Captivity.
Yehoshua was the prominent tribe of Efrayim. His name was originally Hoshea (salvation) but Mosheh changed it to Yehoshua meaning Yah is Salvation (Badmibar 13:8,16). He was the eved Mosheh and of EL (Yehoshua 1:1, 5:14).
Authorship
Jewish tradition ascribes authorship of the sefer Yehoshua. The Talmud states that the book was written by Yehoshua except for the last verses (24:29-33) which were added by Phinehas ha Kohen.
Certainly, the author writes as an eyewitness to the accounts described, occasionally using first person pronouns (for instance, in Yehoshua 5:1), although Yehoshua himself is usually described in the third person. Some sections, however (eg. 5:9, 7:26, 24:29-33) could only have been added after his death (probably by Eleazar ha Kohen or his son Phinehas).
More recently, the authorship of the book of Yehoshua has come under dispute. Two possibilities have been suggested for the authorship of the book:
Conservative scholars argue that the majority of the book of Yehoshua was written at the time of the Israelite invasion (the fifteenth century or twelfth century BC), by a contemporary of Yehoshua and an eyewitness of the events that occurred.
Excursus on the Cities of Refuge
Map of the conquest and settlement