Resumo de The Book Of Joshua

The book of Joshua tells of the Jews? escape from Egypt under the guidance

of Joshua, the son of Nun and Moses? minister. After Moses? death, the Lord

commands Joshua to take the children of Israel over the river Jordan and into

the ?promised land?, fulfilling the promise already made to Moses before his

death. At the Lord?s command, Joshua prepares his people for the

forthcoming move. The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribes of

Manasseh already live on the east banks of the Jordan, on land given them by

the Lord through Moses. The women and children are to stay there while the

men, who immediately vow allegiance to Joshua, go to battle. Joshua then

sends two messengers as spies to Jericho. They shelter in the home of Rahab,

a prostitute. The King of Jericho hears of these spies and demands Rahab

betray them. Instead, she hides the two men among stalks of flax on the roof.

When the King?s men arrive and question her, Rahab insists the spies are

gone and the King?s men leave on a wild goose chase. Later, Rahab tells

Joshua?s messengers that Jericho?s citizens are afraid after hearing about the

destruction of the Amorite Kings, Sihon and Og and how the Lord dried up

the Red sea for him. In return for her aid she asks that her family, all their

property and their souls must be delivered from death. The two men vouch

for her safety and that of her family and property and swear her to secrecy.

They tell her to tie a red cord in the window and that every person of her

household must hide inside when the Israelites arrive. The messengers return

to Joshua and report their adventure.

The following morning, Joshua gathers his men by the Jordan River where

they stay for three days. At the end of this time, Joshua directs the sons of

Israel to move as soon as they see the Levite priests carrying the ark of the

covenant. Then, according to Jehovah, just as the soles of the priests? feet

carrying the ark of Jehovah stand in the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will

rise forming a dam on either side and the people will pass the ark of Jehovah

on dry land. This done, the Lord tells Joshua to chose twelve men, one from

each tribe and each man will chose a stone from the place in the Jordan

where the priests stand with the arc of the covenant. They will take these

stones in memory of this day when the waters of the Jordan were cut off

before the arc of the covenant of the Lord. Then Joshua takes another twelve

stones and sets them in the midst of the Jordan where they stay until this day.

When the priests carrying the arc leave the middle of the Jordan, and the

soles of their feet touch dry land, the waters of the Jordan return and

overflow its banks as before. This happens on the fourteenth day. And the

children of Israel celebrate Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day in

the plains of Jericho.

The children of Israel wander forty years in the wilderness till all the fighting

men disappear. Then the Lord tells Joshua to circumcise the children of Israel

a second time because those born during the escape from Egypt are not yet

circumcised. And the Lord gives Joshua a plan for the downfall of Jericho.

Following this plan, the people walk in absolute silence around the walls of

Jericho for six days while the priests blow the ram?s horn trumpets. On the

seventh day when they hear the ram?s horn trumpets blow and Joshua ?s cry:

Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city. All the children of Israel join in a

huge cry and the walls fall flat. The Israelites enter and destroy everything in

the city: every man, woman and child, old and young without prejudice. Only

Rahab and her father?s family are spared because she saved the lives of

Joshua?s two messengers.

And now Joshua and the children of Israel proceed to conquer the land

Jehovah promised them. This land being from Gileadd as far as Dan, and all

Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh and all the land of Judah as

far as the western sea, and the Negeb and the District, the valley plain of

Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Besides directing him, the Lord

does wondrous things in support of Joshua and his chosen people: once at

Gibeon, He hurles huge hailstones down on the enemy so that more die from

the pelting by hailstones than from the fighting. And on yet another occasion

when Joshua speaks to the Lord saying, ?Sun be motionless over Gibeon and

moon over the low plain of Aijalon.? The sun and the moon stand still until

the nation can wreak vengeance on its enemies. Nowhere else in the history

of the world is such an event recorded. On this day, Jehovah listens to one

man?s voice and time stands still.

Joshua, the son of Nun, faithful servant of Jehovah and the children of Israel,

lives until the age of one hundred and ten. They bury him in the land of his

inheritance: Timnathserah, in the mountainous region of Ephraim, north of

Mount Gaash.

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