Joshua

Book Written:  came to its present form in 7th-6th century B.C. via writings discovered while repairing temple during King Josiah's reign ;  not attributed to Joshua

Time Period/Setting:  1250 B.C. - 1200 B.C.

Title:  named after main character

I know that Joshua fought the battle of Jericho  because of  the song that I learned one summer in Bible School.  I only vaguely remember the verses, but the refrain was rousing, and I believe we clapped after each of those three Jerichos in the first line. 

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho,

And the walls came tumbling down.

It was edifying to finally understand that Joshua was Moses's successor in leading the Israelites into Canaan though not his blood relation.  Joshua was the son of Nun. 

The crossing of the Jordan and the curious placing of the twelve stones in the river bed along with the story of Rahab the prostitute were new to me, but I did enjoy the more familiar account of the way the retinue of priest-trumpeters and armed men circled the city for six days without uttering a word.  They said nothing, but blew their ram's horn trumpets the whole time.   What a scene.   After this careful build-up, they then just ran in and razed the city.  Go figure.

Shiloh, Gilgal and Shechem are discussed in my study Bible as important places for "tribal assembly." 

Fr. Baker notesthat Joshua's faithfulness to God throughout his leadership is a theme of this book, that the  conquest of Jericho is not a human victory, but a result of God's intercession, that the name Joshua is a variant of Jesus.  In terms of relating the Old and New Testaments (typology), Baker writes ". . . Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land is a prophecy of the spiritual conquest of the world by Jesus and his Church. . . . . "