Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/324

* JOSHUA. 296 JOSIAH. tribes (Joshua i.-xxiv.). He is said to have died at the age of 110 (Joshua xxiv. 2!)). Tliis ac-coiiiit of Josliua, according to the critics, is written from the point of view whidi regards the conquest of Canaan as the fullillnient of a promise made by Yaliweh in the days of Moses; it is not justifiable, liowever, to regard Josliua as an entirely legendaiy character. In the united movements of the clans forming the Hebrew confederacy, leaders naturally arose, and there is no reason to question that a leader by the name of Joshua existed and by liis deeds aided the movement which brought the Hebrews into possession of the lands to the west of the .Jordan. At the same time legend and dimmed tradition are thought to have dealt generously with the historical element in the Joshua story. The long process involved in the conquest is pictured as though it tflok place in the days of .Joshua and through the efforts of the popular hero. It is likely that he captured Jericho, but the other deeds ascribed to him belong to later periods. The supposed distribution of the lands among the tribes merely reflects the geographical i)Osi- tion of the clans at a certain period after the conquest, probably in the ninth centurj' li.c. JOSHUA, Book of. The first of the four his- torical books in the Hebrew Bible, forming w^ith .Judges, Samuel, and Kings the division known in the Jewish canon as the Former Prophets. js a matter of fact. .Joshua is a direct continua- tion of Deuteronomy, and it has therefore become customaiy among scholars to groip the first six books of the Old Testament together under the name Hexateuch (q.v. ). These six books form part of a great historical compilation, beginning with Genesis and ending with Kings. The Book of Joshua is mainly occupied with the narrative of the conquest of Canaan and with the settle- ment of the Hebrew clans in the newly gained territory. Because of the prominence which is assigned to Joshua in the book, the tradition arose which made him the author. As a matter of fact, the historical narrative in Joshua is in the main the work of the writer designated as JE, who, living probably in the seventh een- turj' B.C., compiled from two sources, known as the Yahwistic and Elohistic histories (see Elohist and Yajiwi.st), a narrative extending from the Creation to the death of .Joshua; this compilation was siibsequently combined with the various codes and the priestly history produced in the post-exilic period, and further enlarged by the addition of historical compilations of a composite character, bringing the history down to the destniction of Jerusalem. The Book of Joshua, therefore, in its present shape repre- sents a redaction several centuries later even than the compilation known as JE. The contents of the book may be summarized as follows: (a) Chaps, i.-xii.. crossing of the Jordan: capture of .Jericho; advance to Ai; the ruse of the Gibconites to save themselves from destruction; the subjugation of the south; cam- paign against the King of Hazor and allies; con- quest of the north; and summary of results, (b) Chaps, xiii.-xxiv.. distribution of the land to the trans-.Jordanic tribes, to Caleb. .Tudah, Ephraim. apd ][anassch; survey and allotment to the remaining tribes; Joshua's inheritance; designation of cities of refuge; I>evitical cities; dismissal of trans-.Jordanic divisions of the con- federation; final exhortations of Joshua; assem- bly and covenanting at Shechem; death and burial of Joshua. in the first half (chaps, i.-xii.) we have al- most exclusively the narrative of JE with but a few fragments belonging to the priestly his- lorj'. The second half is more composite in character, and in chaps, xx.-xxii. (designation of cities of refuge and Levitical cities) we have chieily the priestly narrative; but. on the whole, even in this second half, the older compilation JE predominates. It has also bei'U oliscrvcd by critics that there are two variant trailitions of the conquest embodied in the book, one according to which the conquest wa.s gradual and not com- plete, the other representing it as rapidly and completely carried out by .losliua. History- writing in Joshua, as in Samuel and Kings, is based on the same pragmatic theory of the re- lationship of Yahweh to His people, and of the jiromise made to Abraham and Moses regarding the possession of Canaan and the future great- ness of the Hebrew nation. The ciin(piest and distribution is therefore regarded as an illus- tration of this promise and its fullillnient. For all that, the Book of Joshua contains much valuable historical material, which when prop- erly used throws light upon events and con- ditions among the Hebrews during the two centuries following the exodus from Egypt. Con- sult the chapters on the conquest in the Hebrew histori(>s of Kittel. Stade, Wellliausen. Guthe, Renan, and Piepenbring: the cciiiiiicnlaries to the Book of Joshua by Keil. Dillnianii. Oettli, Steuernagel, and Bennett; also Buddc. Uirhter und Josua (Giessen, 1888) ; Albers, Die Quvllen- herichtc in Josua I.-XXI. (Bonn. 1S!I1 i ; Addis, Doeuiiients of the Hexateuch (London. 1898); Carpenter and Batersley. Ttie Hrxatrueh (I>on- don. 1900) ; and the Introductions to the Old Testament by Driver, Kucncn. Kautzsch, Konig, and Cornill. JOSI'AH (Heb. yd'shimiOhri. Yahweh sup- ports) (c.039-608 B.C.). King of Jiilah. He was the son of Anion and .Jedidah. and is said to have succeeded his father at the age of eight years (II. Kings xxii. 1). It is hard to believe that this figure can be correct. Of the early years of his reign we hear nothing. The compiler of Kings is chiefly interested in an important event that happened in the eighteenth year of the King's reign. According to chaps, xxii.-xxiii., the priest Hilkiah found in the Temple a book of the Law which he sent to the King through Shaphan. the scribe. The King, upon learning of the contents of the book, is in deep distress at the religious practices of the country, which are in flagrant contradiction to the ordinances in the Law book. He orders an assembly of the elders, and in solemn convocation it is agreed to abide in the future by the laws prescribed in the new book. The narrative then goes on to give an account of the radical religious refonns instituted by .Josiah in destroying all Baal cults. in removing the priests from the high places, and establishing the worship of Yahweh in its pure form, freed from all foreign elements. There is no longer question among scholars that the Law book 'found' by Hilkiah was the legal portion of the present book of Deuteronomy (q.v.). This religious code was probably compiled either by Hilkiah or during the reign of .Josiah's predeces- sor. .Josiah's religious reform marks the end of an important epoch in the religious history of