{"id":54843,"date":"2019-05-04T23:06:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-04T20:06:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=54843"},"modified":"2019-05-04T23:06:32","modified_gmt":"2019-05-04T20:06:32","slug":"closing-the-final-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/closing-the-final-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Closing The Final Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a passage reminiscent of Numbers 20 — the demise of Miriam and Aaron, as well as the sealing of Moses’ fate to not enter the land — our final verses are also full of transition. With the death of Joshua, a new generation prepares to continue the process of settlement and to secure their place in the land, under God’s watchful eye. The leadership transitions noted in the final verses neatly bring the book to a close by recalling its earliest chapters. In its penultimate verse, the book notes a final event associated with those times: <\/span><\/p>\n

The bones of Joseph that the people of Israel had taken up from Egypt they buried in Shekhem… (Josh. 24:32) <\/span><\/p>\n

Joseph’s burial completes our account, the same Joseph who had been sold by his brothers down to Egypt. Joseph’s descent to Egypt was in the end the cause of his family’s survival, for they too came down when famine blanketed the land of Canaan. There they were welcomed by Pharaoh and enjoyed his beneficence, but eventually a new Pharaoh arose to enslave them.<\/span><\/p>\n

But during the years spent in Egypt in loyal service to the Pharaoh, Joseph enjoyed honor, respect, and wealth. Nevertheless, the Torah records that at the time of his death Joseph longed to return home: “Joseph placed an oath upon the children of Israel saying: ‘God will surely remember and redeem you, and you will then take up my bones from here!'” (Gen. 50:25). Though Joseph achieved greatness in his adopted land, he never forgot the legacy of his ancestors and the special status of Canaan in their story. Joseph was perceptive enough to realize that a nation cannot fulfill its mission without a land, and that Israel’s land was Canaan, and Canaan only. <\/span><\/p>\n

The conclusion of the Book of Joshua with the story of Joseph’s burial therefore closes a great circle. The saga that began with the children of Jacob in Canaan, was followed by their descent to Egypt and lengthy sojourn there as strangers, continued with their jubilant exodus and return to the land as a nation, now concludes with the burial of Joseph. While Joseph himself died in Egypt far from Canaan’s hallowed earth, his descendants returned to the land, lovingly carrying his bones back home.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land <\/span><\/i>(Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); <\/span>Chapter: \u201cJoshua\u2019s Final Address\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":54844,"id":54844,"title":"jo24-circle","filename":"jo24-circle.gif","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/jo24-circle.gif","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/closing-the-final-circle\/jo24-circle\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jo24-circle","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":54843,"date":"2019-05-04 20:06:18","modified":"2022-02-01 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