Jensens survey of the old testament adam 86

It is helpful to have clear in one’s mind
the place which the book of Joshua occupies
in the historical thread of the Old Testament
books as concerns Israel. Simply stated, the
Old Testament history of Israel is of three
eras,3 centered around a land (Canaan) and
a government (theocracy [God as Ruler]), as


shown by Chart 28.

As noted in chapter 1, the arrangement of
the Hebrew Old Testament is vastly di erent
from that of the Protestant Old Testament,
though the text content is identical. The
Hebrew Old Testament contains three
groups, namely, Law, Prophets, and
Writings. The Prophets section is divided
into two parts: Former and Latter. Joshua is
the rst book of the Former Prophets,
followed in order by Judges, Samuel (1 and
2 Samuel), and Kings (1 and 2 Kings).
Placing Joshua among prophetical books
may have been because its author was
considered to hold the o ce of prophet;
more likely it was because the historical


record illustrated the great principles which
prophets preached.4
2. Before you study the Bible text of

Joshua, become acquainted with the
geography involved in the narrative. Map H
marks the major movements of the Israelite
hosts against the enemies, which fall
naturally into three general campaigns:
a) the central campaign—to secure a
bridgehead for the Israelites in the
center of the land, from which to spread
out


b) the southern campaign—to rout the
nearest foes
c) the northern campaign—to gain control of
the distant territory
Map I shows how Joshua divided the land
of Canaan among the twelve tribes after the