{"id":52844,"date":"2019-04-01T20:08:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T17:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=52844"},"modified":"2022-10-24T15:15:51","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T12:15:51","slug":"joshua-of-myth-and-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/joshua-of-myth-and-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"Joshua Of Myth And Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joshua has been mentioned frequently in the Torah as Moses\u2019 assistant and successor as the leader of the Israelite tribes in their conquest of the Promised Land (see, for example, Exodus 33:11). When Joshua is first mentioned in Scripture (Exodus 17:9), he is called upon by Moses to rally the Israelite troops to fight Amalek, but with no further detail concerning Joshua\u2019s identity. In fact, the biblical text lacks any mention of Joshua\u2019s early years. Perhaps because of this dearth of information, the creative Jewish imagination was motivated to provide a Prologue to Joshua\u2019s taking over leadership from Moses.<\/span><\/p>\n

An extraordinary legend (see Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, \u201cThe Servant of Moses\u201d) relates that like Moses, Joshua was set afloat upon the waters as an infant. And like Jonah, Joshua was swallowed by a great fish. This is perhaps related to his patronymic \u201cNun\u201d, which in Aramaic means \u201cfish\u201d. So, when Joshua bin Nun was eventually spewed out on a distant shore, he did not know who his parents were. Again, like Moses, Joshua was raised in a royal household. But, unlike Moses, Joshua was appointed the court executioner. As fate would have it, unbeknownst to him, in pursuing his gruesome vocation, Joshua eventually ended up beheading his own father! And, in line with local custom, he took possession of all that had belonged to anyone he executed, including his wife. Fortunately, when Joshua was about to \u201cpossess\u201d his own mother without knowing her actual identity, miraculously milk spurted from her breasts, suggesting her parental relationship. This led to Joshua finally finding out the identity of his parents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Joshua subsequently became, Moses\u2019 successor, he was not initially endowed with Moses\u2019 innate wisdom and understanding. However, Joshua applied himself diligently to studying the teachings of Moses. Significantly, according to the Talmud (Hullin 124a, see also Maimonides, Introduction to the Mishnah) Joshua was regarded by some as a secondary Halakhic authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to another Jewish legend (see Ginzberg cited above), prior to his death, Moses asked if Joshua had any questions about Torah law. This caught Joshua by surprise, causing him to forget three hundred Halakhot and raising doubts in his mind concerning seven hundred other instructions. But, as a result, Joshua continued to study Torah with renewed diligence. Thus, when God appeared to Joshua prior to the conquest of the Promised Land, He found him studying the Book of Deuteronomy. For this reason, God called to Joshua, saying: “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them \u2026. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips \u2026 Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go\u201d (Joshua 1:6-9).<\/span><\/p>\n

image:\u00a0Joshua and the Israelite people, Karolingischer Buchmaler c. 840 – The Yorck Project (2002) \/ wikimedia<\/p>\n

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