Tag Archives: Caleb

Joshua 13-24:

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Dividing up the Land:
For many years the Israelites had still not yet conquered all of the land that the Lord had promised them.  “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 conquered.”” (Josh. 13:1)  This unconquered land included lands of the Philistines in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.  As noted earlier, Gath is where David will later have to fight a remnant of the Amorites, the giant Goliath.  Caleb notes that even though he is now 85 years old, he is “still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me forth..” (Josh.14:11)  Caleb vows even in his advanced years to drive out the Anakim from the territory promised to him.  Joshua gives Caleb “Kiriath-arba” or “Arba,” which is also known as Hebron.  From Hebron, “Caleb drove out from there the three Anakim, the descendants of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.” (Josh. 15:14)  Caleb is still driving out the giant Anakim from the land.  Joshua further designates all the different regions and lands for each tribe of Israel. They are to go forth and settle the land, and drive out the Canaanites from it, any that remain there.  “Jebus” the name used of Jerusalem at the time, is listed as still being occupied by the Canaanites.

Conquering the Land:
The ancient Near East writers often employed hyperbole to exaggerate their military victories and conquests.  Joshua seems to have done so here since all of the Canaanites were not totally driven out from the land.  But, any organized resistance to the Israelites presence is eventually eliminated.

Archeological Evidence, the Merneptah Stele, and Pig Bones:
There are generally two timeframes suggested for when Joshua and the Israelites conquered the land: (1) an early 15th century BC (1400’s BC); or (2) a late 13th century BC (1200’s BC) time of conquest.  Archeological evidence, including the “Merneptah Stele,” shows the presence of Israel in the land of Canaan by at least 1209 BC.  It shows a rapid growth of population and villages which could be explained by the Israelite migration there. [The Merneptah Stele is an Egyptian stele detailing their military conquests from the Egyptian King Merneptah from 1213 to 1203 BC, and it directly mentions the nation “Israel.”]  The archeological evidence of the towns from that time period significantly show little to no evidence of “pig bones,” which would be highly suggestive in distinguishing the Israelite settlements from the pagan Canaanite settlements.

Joshua Sets up the Meeting Tent in Shiloh:
“After they had subdued the land, the whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, where they set up the meeting tent.” (Josh. 18:1)  Shiloh becomes the new location for the Tabernacle and the Meeting Tent with the Lord.  Seven tribes of Israel had still not received their land heritage and settled the land, so Joshua instructed them to do so.  The Lord also instructs them to set up the “asylum cities” for those accused of unintentional homicide, so they can find refuge there.

The Promised Land Finally Settled:
“And so the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to their fathers he would give them. Once they had conquered and occupied it, the Lord gave them peace on every side, just as he had promised their fathers.  Not one of their enemies could withstand them; the Lord brought all their enemies under their power.  Not a single promise that the Lord made to the house of Israel was broken; every one was fulfilled.” (Josh. 21:43-45)

Joshua’s Final Plea and Covenant Renewal:
“Many years later, after the Lord had given the Israelites rest from all their enemies round about them, and when Joshua was old and advanced in years, he summoned all Israel . .  said to them: “I am old and advanced in years. . .  Therefore strive hard to observe and carry out all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, not straying from it in any way, or mingling with these nations while they survive among you.  You must not invoke their gods, or swear by them, or serve them, or worship them, but you must remain loyal to the Lord, your God, as you have been to this day.” (Josh. 23:1-2, 6-8)

As for Me and My Household, We will Serve the Lord:
Joshua tells the Israelites they must choose who they serve. Do they want to serve “the gods your fathers served” or do they want to serve the Lord?  “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:14-15)  This is the famous final saying from Joshua often quoted by Christians “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Covenant Renewal at Shechem:
Then, Joshua leads Israel in a Covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem.  “Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.  And Joshua said to all the people, “This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us.  It shall be a witness against you, should you wish to deny your God.” (Josh. 24:26-28)  The whole object of the Exodus was to occupy the Promised Land, and to use “the land” for the worship of the one true God, Yahweh. Now, that the land is settled, the Israelites can move on to the next stage of their Exodus, that is, to worship God. The purpose of the land is to worship God.  The land is to be a sanctuary of God, a theocracy, if you will.

The Death of Joshua:
Finally, at the age of 110 years old, Joshua died.  He was buried at “Timnath-serah in the mountain region of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.” (Josh. 24:30)  This is most probably the modern Palestinian village of “Kefr Haris” in the West Bank.  With that, the Book of Joshua, an epilogue to the Pentateuch (or, the five Books of Moses), comes to an end.

Numbers 11-14:

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The Israelites Complaining:
The Israelites complained in hearing the Lord and “when he heard it his wrath flared up so that the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.” (Num. 11:1)  But, Moses prayed and the fire died out.  The “foreign elements among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again, ‘Would that we had meat for food!'” (Num. 11:4)  The Israelites complained, “we see nothing before us but his manna.”

The Manna and the Complaining for Meat:
“Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.  The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil.  When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.” (Num. 11:7-9)  The manna fell like the dewfall, just as we hear in the liturgy of the Eucharist as Mass.  Moses likewise complained to the Lord, “Where can I get meat to give to all this people?  For they are crying to me, ‘Give us meat for our food.’  I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me.'” (Num. 11:13-14)  Moses takes his complaining to the Lord to the extreme saying, “If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress.” (Num. 11:15)  Moses is ready for death rather than face the Israelites’ complaining any more.

The 70 Elders:
The Lord then tells Moses that He will bestow some of His Spirit upon the Elders so that Moses will not have to bear the Israelites alone.  The Lord tells the Moses to tell the people: “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, when you shall have meat to eat.” (Num. 11:18)  Further, He says: “Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall not eat one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you..” (Num. 11:19-20)  The Lord promises to provide meat for them, reminiscent of Jesus’ Bread of Life Discourse that His flesh is “meat indeed.” It is of particular importance too that the spirit if conferred upon the 70 Elders through the laying on of hands. The ordination rite is passed, like today in the Christian dispensation for Holy Orders, through the bishops’ laying-on of hands of the priests and bishops. So too, was it in the days of Moses and the 70 Elders.

The Quail:
“And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and it brought quails from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth.” (Num. 11:31) The Lord provided flesh and meat for the Israelites to eat.

Aaron and Miriam Complain against Moses:
Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ sister, complain against the intimacy that Moses enjoys with the Lord.  They use the pretext of him marrying a “Cushite woman” to complain against him.  Yet, Moses was the “meekest man on the face of the earth.”  The Lord addresses Aaron and Miriam directly saying He speaks “face to face” with Moses. “Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?” (Num. 12:8)  In the Lord’s anger, He afflicts Miriam with leprosy. Moses again intercedes for her, and the Lord let her be afflicted for 7 days, and to stay outside the camp with the affliction, “only then may she be brought back.”

The Twelve Scouts and the “Bad Report”:
The Lord tells them to send one scout from each tribe to the land of Canaan. The scouts reported back: “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anakim there.” (Num. 13:27-28)  The large, giant people live there.  Most of the scouts are intimidated and advise against taking the land that the Lord has promised.  So, they “spread discouraging reports among the Israelites.”  They said, “And all the people we saw there are huge men, veritable giants [the Anakim were a race of giants]; we felt like mere grasshoppers, and so we must have seemed to them.” (Num. 13:32-33)

The Israelites Panic and Joshua Responds:
The Israelites panicked and said, “Let us appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”  Yet, Joshua tore his garments saying, “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us in and give us that land, a land flowing with milk and honey. But do not rebel against the Lord!  You need not be afraid of the people of that land; they are but food for us!” (Num. 14:8-9)

The Ten Complaints, and None shall enter the Promised Land:
Despite all of the signs and wonders the Lord worked for them in releasing them from bondage in Egypt, yet the Israelites “have put me to the test ten times already and have failed to heed My voice, not one shall see the land which I promised on oath to their fathers.  None of these who have spurned Me shall see it.”  (Num. 14: 22-23)  The Israelites’ grumbling and testing of the Lord leads Yahweh to declare that no one of that generation shall enter the Promised Land.  The Lord declares that, “Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall.”  “Forty days you spent in scouting the land; forty years shall you suffer for your crimes: one year for each day.” (Num. 14:34)  Thus, the Lord condemns the Israelites to wander the desert for 40 years.

The Ten Tests Against the Lord by the Israelites:
1. Rejection of Moses and message (Ex. 5:15-6:9)
2. Complains and loses faith at the shores of the Red Sea (Ex. 14:10-12)
3. Murmurs at the bitter waters of Marah (Ex. 15:22-25)
4. Murmurs against hunger, so God provides manna (Ex. 16:1-36)
5. Murmurs and tests the Lord at Massah; God provides water from the rock (Ex. 17:1-19)
6. The Golden Calf Incident (Ex. 32:1-35)
7. Complaints against God at Taberah (Num. 11:1-3)
8. Demanding meat, so God provides quail (Num. 11:4-35)
9. Miriam and Aaron question and rebel against Moses (Num. 12:1-16)
10. Revolt after the bad report from the spies (Num. 14:1-38)

Only Caleb and Joshua Shall Enter the Promised Land:
Caleb and Joshua believed in the Lord and in the Promised Land, so they alone of this ‘wicked generation’ shall enter the Promised Land.  The people felt “great remorse,” yet they still tried to seize the Promised Land.  Moses advised against it as they had disobeyed the Lord. And so, “the Amalekites and Canaanites who dwelt in that hill country came down and defeated them..”