GIOSUÈ

**JOSHUA – I. THE PERSONAGE.**

Joshua, son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:9, 17; 1 Chr. 7:22–27), was the successor of Moses as theocratic leader of the people of Israel during the period of the conquest of the land of Canaan and the settlement of the various tribes in their respective territories.

The Hebrew name is Yehôsîa', Yehôsîa', previously in the form Hôsêa' (cf. Num. 13:8 with 13:16), abbreviated as Jêsîa' (Neh. 8:17), whence the name "Jesus," likely meaning "Yahweh (is) salvation," cf. Josh. 1:9.

Already during the desert crossing, he had been chosen by Moses as his "minister" (Ex. 24:13) and entrusted with special missions of trust, such as the war against the Amalekites while Moses prayed on the mountain (Ex. 17:9–13), and the exploration of Canaan (Num. 13). Moses took him up Mount Sinai when he received the Tablets of the Law (Ex. 24:13) and always held him in affection (Num. 11:29; 14:6 ff.). Joshua had long since been designated to succeed Moses and had been initiated into his office with a kind of investiture rite (Num. 27:18–23). As Moses lay dying, he reiterated the designation, emphasizing the particular task entrusted to him of leading Israel to conquer and divide Canaan (Deut. 31:3–7, 23; cf. Josh. 1:6–9, where the repeated exhortation to be "strong and courageous" refers to the military functions characteristic of Joshua’s activity).

The chronology of the conquest of Canaan depends on the system chosen to fix the Exodus (v.). If one accepts that the pharaoh of the Exodus was Merneptah of the 19th Dynasty (late 13th century B.C.), then Joshua would belong to the period immediately following the death of Ramesses III (1167 B.C.), when Egypt was steadily losing power in Palestine, where local sovereignties were asserting themselves (cf. Josh. 13:2–3).

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**II. THE BOOK OF JOSHUA.**

The story of Joshua is closely linked to the conquest, a period of perhaps thirty years, the subject of the book that bears his name. It occupies the sixth position in the Old Testament, following the Pentateuch, of which it is the narrative continuation: a work that is at times vivid and detailed, at others schematic and essential in recounting this epic enterprise.

The book is divided into two equally extensive parts: the occupation of Canaan (chaps. 1–12) and its division among the tribes (chaps. 13–24). The first part narrates the preparations (chaps. 1–5), then the conquest: Jericho (chap. 6), Ai (chaps. 7–8), and the remaining southern (chaps. 9–10) and northern (chap. 11) territories. The section concludes with a summary list of conquered kings (chap. 12). The second part recounts the distribution of the territory to the tribes, beginning with those beyond the Jordan (chap. 13), then moving westward: Judah (chap. 14), Ephraim (chaps. 15–16), Manasseh (chap. 17), Benjamin (chap. 18) with the remaining six tribes (chap. 19), followed by the designation of the cities of refuge (chap. 20) and the Levitical cities (chap. 21). After these operations, the tribes beyond the Jordan are sent back to their territories (chap. 22). The book concludes with the account of two speeches by Joshua and the narration of his death and burial (chaps. 23–24).

Archaeological exploration, especially in the region of Jericho, and documents from el-ʿAmrān have shed light on this period in its general significance: for example, it is now established that during this period there was an armed penetration into Palestine from the outside. Excavations conducted at Jericho in 1907–1909 by a German team under Sellin, and later in 1929–31 by the Englishman Garstang, revealed a strong wall, violently destroyed, dating to the 15th–13th centuries B.C.; many identify it with the walls that fell in Joshua’s time. Excavations since 1902 at Ai (v.), Gezer, Bethel, and Lachish have also yielded fruitful results. No scholar can doubt the historical existence of a leader who, around that time, guided a great penetration into Canaan from the southeast desert.

The conquest as described in Joshua is presented only in key episodes, not always in chronological order. Yet the general reconstruction of events is not difficult: by eliminating the fortress of Jericho, Joshua secured the entire eastern side along the Dead Sea and the lower Jordan; he then invaded the central part of the country, from which individual groups of Israelites began to spread southward, reaching the southern line of Palestine as far as Gaza on the Mediterranean (Josh. 10:41) and northward, extending as far as Lebanon near Kadesh (Josh. 11:17). The occupation likely occurred in various ways, as shown by the episodic elements on which the narrator often dwells: mostly violent conquest of particular centers, initiated by armed groups as they gained the opportunity or felt the need for expansion. Naturally, Canaanite localities remained everywhere, especially on the periphery but also in the center, so that at Joshua’s death the ethnic configuration of the land was certainly varied and heterogeneous, as it would remain in the time of the Judges and even into the monarchic era.

Regarding the historical-literary problems, until recent decades criticism treated the Book of Joshua as inseparable from the Pentateuch (v.), of which it was considered an integral part (v. HEXATEUCH). Today, agreement with Jewish and Christian tradition has been reached at least in the almost universally recognized individuality of the book. However, criticism continues to seek the sources of the book in distinct writings of different origin and character, essentially the "classical" sources of the Pentateuch (J, E, D, P; to which, for some, has recently been added the "secular source" L), composed much later than the events narrated and later compiled into the present book. The book as it stands cannot go back to Joshua himself, since it speaks of his death (24:29 ff.) and subsequent events (cf. Josh. 15:13–19 and 19:47 with Judg. 1:10–15 and 18:27–29; Josh. 13:30 with Judg. 10:3–5, etc.). The contrary indications, to which ancient Jewish and sacred opinions refer, are explainable otherwise (Josh. 24:26 refers only to the renewal of the covenant; certain first-person plural expressions are critically suspect, such as 5:1, or attribute individual parts to Joshua, etc.). The lower chronological limit is the time of David (cf. 15:63 with 2 Sam. 5:6–8, etc.; also 16:10 with 1 Kgs. 9:16, from Solomon’s reign); the author is unknown. However, he drew from sources not far removed from the events themselves or from good traditions. The most notable document is the "Book of the Upright" Yašār (others read "Book of Israel," Yašurān; or "of Song," šir), perhaps a collection of epic-lyric celebrations of great national deeds and heroes, from which, as explicitly attested in the text itself (10:13), comes the well-known poetic passage containing Joshua’s command to the sun and moon to "stand still" at Gibeon and in the Valley of Aijalon.

The text of Joshua shows slight differences between the Hebrew and Greek (Septuagint) forms: the latter is sometimes better but contains occasional expansions considered later additions.

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I. The messengers of GABBANO present themselves to JOSHUA and BATTAGLIA for the liberation of GABBANO (Josh. 10:6-14). Miniature from the Joshua Roll, cod. Vat. Palat. gr. 431 (10th-century copy of a 6th-century manuscript).

See also Wes. des Alt. Test. (Beihefte zur Zeitschr. f. Alt. Wiss., 66). Berlin 1936, pp. 13-29; K. Möhlenbrink, Die Landnahmesagen des B. Jonas, in Zeitschr. alt. Wiss., 15 (1938), pp. 238-68; A. Alt, Erwägungen über die Landnahme der Isr. in Pal., in Pal. Jahrb., 35 (1939), pp. 8-63.

III. Iconography

This is a scroll or volumen made of parchment, which, though lacking its beginning and end, is 11.50 m long and between 0.64 and 0.87 m wide. It contains the story of JOSHUA from Josh. 2:15-16 to Josh. 10, with 23 illustrations that closely resemble those in S. Maria Maggiore, accompanied by legends in Greek uncial script. It is a 10th-century copy of an original possibly dating before the 6th century. JOSHUA is also depicted in some gold-glass vessels. The arrangement of the groups, the movement of the warriors, and the series of mythological figures, naiads, nymphs, and deities recall those of the Vienna Genesis; and, as in these, the classical tradition persists.

Artists of all ages and countries have drawn inspiration from the marvelous narratives of the Book of JOSHUA. Among these may be recalled Ghiberti’s relief on the so-called Gates of Paradise in the Baptistery of Florence, Benozzo Gozzoli’s fresco in the Camposanto of Pisa (The Capture of Jericho), some frescoes in Raphael’s Loggias, a sketch by Tiepolo in Milan (Museo Poldi Pezzoli, The Miracle of the Sun), and, for the 19th century, some drawings by German Romantic painters as well as a painting by Segantini (Rahab Hides the Spies on her Roof). On the other hand, certain episodes from the book lent themselves to the typological concept of the Middle Ages: in the baptismal font of Hildesheim (first half of the 13th century) the Crossing of the Jordan prefigures the Baptism of Jesus; in the antependium of Klosterneuburg (1181) and in the reliquary of Tongres, JOSHUA and CALEB bearing the miraculous vine symbolize the Crucifixion and, more precisely, Jesus Carrying the Cross. – See pl. XXXVI.

JOSHUA – Giottesque (photo: Vatican Library). Miniature from the Joshua Roll, cod. Vat. Palat. gr. 431 (10th-century copy of a 6th-century manuscript).

JOSHUA. – High priest in the time of ZERUBBABEL. Probably born in exile (his father, JEHOZADAK, was deported to Babylon in 587: 1 Chron. 6:15 [Heb. 5:41]), he ranks second after ZERUBBABEL among the twelve (Neh. 7:7) leaders of the first returning caravan (537 B.C.) of exiles (Ezra 1:2). After a few months, he rebuilt the altar, restored the daily sacrifice and the various festivals (Ezra 3:2-6).

Together with ZERUBBABEL, he organized the workforce and materials for the rebuilding of the Temple, which was begun, amid great demonstrations of faith, in May 536 (Ezra 3:7-13). He rejected, on grounds of strict Yahwism, the collaboration of the Samaritans (Ezra 4:1-3). At the urging of HAGGAI and ZECHARIAH, he resumed the construction, which had been forcibly suspended (520 B.C.). With solemn consecration, the new Temple was completed in 516 (Ezra 5:1 ff.; 6:14-17). JOSHUA, together with ZERUBBABEL, had been its chief animator (Hag. 1:1-12; 1:14; Zech. 1-8). His zeal is praised in Sir. 49:14.

Giotteschi. – Until the beginning of this century, this term was used more or less indiscriminately for all Florentine painters of the Trecento. Today, with the progress of studies, the term has been narrowed to denote the collaborators and followers of GIOTTO active between the late 13th and the mid-14th century.

Among the painters of the older generation, who graft Giottism onto archaizing experiences—sometimes called “paragiottesques”—apart from the almost mythical BUFFALMACCO, the MASTER OF THE SAINT CECILIA (from the panel of that name in the Uffizi) stands out for his freshness; he collaborated in the Assisi cycle, executing the last three scenes and, from a design by Giotto, the first. Inferior to him is PACINO DI BUONAGUIDA, whose style is meticulous and miniaturistic.

Partly dependent on the Master of the Saint Cecilia is the very refined MASTER OF FIGLINE, author, among other works, of the Assumption in S. Croce, often attributed to Giotto. In the Lower Church at Assisi, in the first decade of the 14th century, the MASTER OF THE VEILS worked, whose mediocre Franciscan allegories long usurped Giotto’s name, along with other anonymous artists, among whom the putative STEFANO excels; he is the author of the Stories of St. Stanislaus, already steeped in Sienese colorism. From Stefano descend, on the one hand, the great MASO DI BANCO, and on the other, the probable GIOTTINO (Stefano’s son), namely the author of the splendid Pietà in S. Remigio in the Uffizi and perhaps of an Assumption (destroyed in the last war) in the Camposanto of Pisa, as well as of frescoes.