Joshua 24


Joshua 24 is the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Joshua in the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. According to Jewish tradition, the book was attributed to Joshua, with additions by the high priests Eleazar and Phinehas, but modern scholars view it as part of the Deuteronomistic history, which spans from the Book of Deuteronomy to 2 Kings, attributed to nationalistic and devotedly Yahwistic writers during the time of the reformist Judean king Josiah in 7th century BCE. This chapter records Joshua's final address to the people of Israel that ends with a renewal of the covenant with YHWH, and the appendices of the book, a part of a section comprising Joshua 22:1–24:33 about the Israelites preparing for life in the land of Canaan.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the Hebrew language. It is divided into 33 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis, Aleppo Codex, and Codex Leningradensis.
Extant ancient manuscripts of a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint include Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus.

Analysis

The narrative of Israelites preparing for life in the land comprising verses 22:1 to 24:33 of the Book of Joshua and has the following outline:
The book of Joshua is concluded with two distinct ceremonies, each seeming in itself to be a finale:
  1. A farewell address of Joshua to the gathered tribes in an unnamed place
  2. A covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem

    Covenant at Shechem (24:1–28)

's final farewell address to the people of Israel in this chapter was during a ceremony in Shechem, which has important roots in the narrative of exodus and conquest, and has a strong association with covenant. The importance of Shechem is supported in the Book of Judges with a reference to a temple of 'Baal-berith', that is, the 'lord' 'of the covenant'.
This chapter exhibits unique features:
  • a preamble
  • a review of the historical relationship between God and Israel
  • stipulations and the requirement of loyalty
  • formal witnesses
  • writing a document, and
  • a statement of consequences.
The narrative in form of a literary construction resembles the ancient treaty, with real significance, that it records the actual commitment of the people of Israel to YHWH rather than to other gods, and their acceptance of this as the basis of their lives. The historical context of the narrative draws on themes that belong to Israel's traditions: the origins of Israel's ancestors in Mesopotamia and the patriarchal line, the Exodus from Egypt and the wilderness wanderings, the conflicts in Transjordan and the Balaam story, and the conquest of Canaan. Archaeology has found structures at the remains of ancient Shechem and on Mount Ebal, which could be linked to this ceremony and to the one recorded in Joshua 8:30–35.
Now the Israelites are to enter into a covenant renewal, they are called to exclusive loyalty, challenged with the possibility that they "cannot serve the ", on the basis that it seems evil, unjust, unreasonable, or inconvenient to do so. A strong warning is given not to think that loyalty to YHWH will be easy and to enter the covenant lightly. This is based on the inclination of the early generations of Israel to resort to other gods from the beginning, that Deuteronomy 32 portrays Israel as unfaithful. The effect here could be rhetorical as the generation of Joshua is pictured as faithful.

Verse 26

  • "Large stone" : This stone was rediscovered by a German archaeologist, Ernst Sellin, during the excavation in ancient Shechem in 1926-1928, standing in front of the ruins of a worship place referred to this verse as 'the sanctuary of the LORD'.
  • "The terebinth": an old and large tree, under which Jacob had hid the teraphim of his household. The spot of the tree is called Allon-Moreh, "the oak of Moreh" in Genesis 12:6 and Genesis 35:4.

    Three burials (24:29–33)

Four short units conclude the whole book, and, in a sense, the Hexateuch. The deaths of Joshua and Eleazar, who were co-responsible for the division of the land, are recorded as the outer framing sections of these four units, signalling the end of the era of conquest and settlement. Joshua is finally given the title 'servant of the LORD', and he was buried in Timnath-serah on the land given to him as a personal inheritance. The note concerning Israel records that they were faithful during Joshua's lifetime, agreeing with Judges 2:7, bringing the completed aspiration in Joshua of 'a people dwelling peacefully and obediently in a land given in fulfilment of God's promise'. The emphasis is on 'service', or worship, of YHWH, echoing the commitment undertaken in the covenant dialogue.

Verse 32

The record of Joseph's burial connects expressly with Genesis 50 and, placing the story of Joshua in a broader context that the 'ending' achieved in it relates to the promises to the patriarchs long time ago, the great theme in the Book of Genesis: Joseph's bones were finally buried in the land of Canaan, in Shechem, in the territory of Joseph's firstborn son Manasseh.