Joshua

Joshua depicts Israel, under Moses' successor Joshua, crossing the Jordan, confronting Canaanite cities, receiving tribal allotments, and renewing covenant at Shechem. The story is set after Deuteronomy and before Judges, in the land of Canaan; its relationship to Late Bronze and Early Iron Age history and archaeology remains debated. The book itself names no author. Later Jewish tradition linked it to Joshua, but notices of his death and later conditions point to subsequent editorial work; many scholars see older traditions arranged in monarchic and exilic stages by editors who interpreted Israel's history through Deuteronomy's covenant theology. For later Israelite and Judean readers, this theologically shaped account interprets possession of the land as God's gift, insists that covenant loyalty matters, treats judgment gravely, and explains why possession remains incomplete. Joshua continues Deuteronomy and prepares for Judges.