JOSES

chronology of the Apostolic period is given its fixed dates by his references to Jewish and Koman rulers. Josephus, it is true, does not add to our Isnowledge of the life of Christ. While his reference to John the Baptist is possibly authenticand while it is not impossible that he mentions Jesus, the entire passage (Ant. xviii. iii. 3) can hardly have come from Josephus in its present form. At the same time, his narrative of the events of the Gospel period and his description of the character of the various rulers of Judsea serve to corroborate the accuracy of both the Gospels and Acts. As furnishing data for our knowledge of Jewish legends, parties, practices, and literature, his importance is exceptional. Even if we did not have the Mishna, it would be possible from his passages to reconstruct a satisfactory picture of the Jewish life of NT times. His few references to the current Messianic expectations of his day are par-ticularly valuable. On the other hand, his comments upon and explanations of the OT are of comparatively small value. Shailer Mathews.

JOSES.— 1. One of the ' brethren of the Lord ' (Mk 6* 15«- ", Mt 27"). In Mt 136' aV has Joses, but RV correctly Joseph. 2. The natal name (Ac 4" AV) of Barnabas; KV correctly has Joseph.

JOSHAH.— A Simeonite chief (1 Ch 4^).

JOSHAPHAT.— 1. One of David's heroes (1 Ch 11"). 2. A priest in David's time (1 Ch 15").

JOSHAVIAH.— One of David's heroes (1 Ch 11").

JOSHBEKASHAH.— A son of Heman (1 Ch 25'- «). There is reason to believe that this and five of the names associated vrith it are really a fragment of a hymn or prayer.

JOSHES -BASSHEBETH occurs in RV of 2 S 23» as a proper name in place of the meaningless ' that sat in the seat ' of the AV. But the text is corrupt, and the original name Jashobeam must be restored from the parallel passage, 2 Ch 11", just as the 'Hachmonite' must be substituted for the 'Tahchemonite.'

JOSHIBIAH.— A Simeonite chief (1 Ch 4»).

JOSHUA (on forms and meaning of the name see next art.). — 1. The successor of Moses. See next article. 2. The Bethshemite in whose field was the stone on which the ark was set, on its return from the land of the Phil-istines (1 S6"'i'). 3. The governor of Jerusalem in the time of Josiah (2 K 238). 4. The high priest who along with Zerub. directed affairs at Jerusalem after the restoration (Hag l'- i^- " etc.. Zee S'- '■ ' etc.). In the books of Hag. and Zee. he is called Joshua, in Ezr. and Neh Jeshua (wh. see). See also Jesus, 2.

JOSHUA (cf. jEsns, 1). — The successor of Moses as leader of Israel. He is called Hoshea in Dt 32", Nu 138; and in Nu 13" this is represented as his original name. But Nu 13 is late, and the versions in Dt. show that 'Joshua' was probably the original reading. The most Ukely rendering of the naraeis ' Jahweh is salvation.' The son of Nun and of the tribe of Ephraim, he com-manded the army in the battle with Amalek (Ex 17'-"), attended on Moses at Mt. Sinai (32'"), and at the Tent of Meeting (33"; all these passages are from E); acted as one of the twelve spies (Nu 13* 14'-°), was spared along with Caleb (14>i'- 'S; all P). His subse-quent history belongs to the story of the conquest of Canaan (see following article). He was buried in Timnath-serah (Jos 19'° 24™) or Timnath-heres (Jg 2«), in the hill-country of Ephraim.

The view is widely held that Joshua has no historical reality as a person, that his name is merely the name of a clan in Ephraim, and that his leadership in Israel represents, andputs back into the period of the eonquest.the commanding position which Ephraim had come to hold in the Israelite confederation. And the effort is made to show tiiat he makes his appearance fiiBt in E, the N. Israelite or Ephraimite source. But the old poetic fragment Jos lO'^f- represents him as speaking in the name of united Israel, and Jos 171'-'*

JOSHUA

brings him into view in his dealing with his own tribe as having more than their interests in his mind, as being in some sense the arbiter of the confederacy. And while it is difficult on any reading of the history to understand why all our sources say nothing about the conquest of Central Palestine, this becomes doubly difficult if originally this was the scene of Joshua's first activity and influence. The historical foundation for making the hero of Ephraim. into the conqueror of all Canaan is absent.

It seems more probable that Joshua led the nation in their first assault on Palestine, that imder his leadership the entry by Jericho was won, and a wedge thrust into the land by the capture of Bethel and Ai. After this early and united victory, the tribes may have divided for their future settlements, and the separate^ conquests may have been carried out, as the traditions in Jg. represent them, in a more piecemeal and imperfect fashion. But this is not incompatible with the fact that Joshua may have retained such a position of arbiter as, e.g., Jos 17 gives him. The loose confederacy, which still recognized its unity against its enemies, may have turned naturally for guidance to one who led its early efforts. In our later sources the conquest was conceived in a different fashion. It was represented as thorough, and as carried out by a united people. The writers naturally grouped all this round the name of one who had been able, though only for a short time, to give the tribes a sense of unity and to begin their assault on their new land. They idealized both his person and his work. But only on the supposition that there was something to idealize is it possible to understand why a man, who belongs to a clan in Ephraim which is otherwise unknown, came to be set up as the hero under whom they won their foothold among the nations, and passed from wandering tribes into a people.

A. C. Welch.

JOSHUA. — 1. Place in the Canon. — The book was placed by the Jews among the Early Prophets, i.e. Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings. The reason generally accepted for this is that Joshua, unlike Exodus or Leviticus, does not contain Torah or law. But Genesis, which recounts only the origins of the nation to which the Torah was delivered, was included in the Pentateuch ; Joshua, which relates the conquest of the land where the Torah was to be practised, was excluded. Jewish tradition worked with criteria of which we are ignorant, but in separating Joshua from the Pentateuch it may have recognized the presence of different documents.

Modem criticism has insisted on connecting the book more closely with the Pentateuch, on the ground that, since all the Pentateuch documents look forward to the fulfilment of Jahweh's promise of Palestine, Joshua, which relates the conquest, is a necessary sequel. This, however, forgets (a) that all Hebrew history is a unity in which the conquest of Palatine is merely an incident; (6) that Deuteronomy looks forward beyond the conquest to the erection of a national sanctuary, for which Joshua provides no more than the foundation. And there are other evi-dences that Joshua formed part of a history which extended through the period of the Judges to the establishment of the kingdom in Jerusalem. It is possible that a wider recognition of this fact may help to clear up some of the difficult questions as to the composition of the book.

2. Structure and contents. — The book falls into three parts: (a) the conquest, chs. 1-12; (b) the division of the land, chs. 13-21; (c) a conclusion, chs. 22-24. It is convenient to discuss these separately.

<a) In chs. 1-12, an account, closely akin to JE, suppUes the foundation. It relates the mission of the spies to Jericho (2'-o- "-24)^ and the consequent passage of Jordan (3i- ^- "-" 4i-"'»- "-is. 20). in the latter story a difference in substance proves the presence of two accounts, but every effort to identify one of these with J, the other with E, fails from insufficient criteria. It recounts the circumcision at Gilgal, which it views as a novelty {'the second time' of 5^ is absent from the LXX), since by this means the reproach of the circumcised Egyptians is removed from the people (52f. 8f.). The story of the capture of Jericho and Ai (in both of which the presence of two accounts is clear) follows (518-62' 72-26 81-29), with the trespass of Achan. Joshua then makes a compact with the Gibeonites (O^-oa-n-i6a. IB. 22f. 26. 27a)^ and advauccs to the victory at Beth-horon (IQi-'- a-". i2b-i4a)^ to the execution at

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