Joshua 24:29

"And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Jehovah, died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-Serah, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. And Israel served Jehovah all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Jehovah, that he had wrought for Israel."

And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Ephraim.

"Joshua ...the servant of Jehovah ..." (Joshua 24:29). The title, "Servant of Jehovah" is used of Moses frequently in the Book of Joshua, as in Joshua 1:1,2,13; 8:31,33; 9:24; 11:12,15; 12:6; 13:8; 14:7; 18:7; 22:2,4,5. But this is the very first time the title is given to Joshua. Boling believed this was due to the tremendous importance of the covenant-relationship in which Joshua here stood in the place once occupied by Moses. "In other words, it was not as warfare-genius but as covenant-negotiator that Joshua bore, like Moses, the title of Servant of Jehovah."[38]

Of course, this new title which appears for Joshua here has been made the basis of all kinds of wild and irresponsible assertions to the effect that this whole paragraph is an interpolation inserted long afterward when Joshua, along with others, had been raised to the level of National Saints! Again from Plummer:

"This is a fair specimen of the inventive criticism which has found favor among modern critics in which a large amount of imagination is made to supply the want of even the tiniest fact. There never was such a period when Israel would have given any more honor to Joshua and Moses than they would have given at the hour of their death."[39]

Note that Joshua was buried "in his own inheritance," giving us a contrast with the burial of the patriarchs who had to be buried in places bought from strangers. Joshua was not buried in a strange land, but on his own property! Woudstra has identified Timnath-Serah as the modern Khirbet Tibneh, about 12 miles northeast of Lydda.[40]

Joshua 24:31 shows that during Joshua's lifetime and in the lifetimes of those who were his contemporaries, Israel remained true to the Lord. However, the occupation of Canaan was never a complete success, and soon after Joshua's death, the inevitable tendency of Israel to apostasy asserted itself more vigorously than ever. Yet it is gloriously refreshing to find in this one great hero, Joshua, that he did indeed serve the Lord with all of his heart, mind, soul, and strength.

Nothing could show more clearly the respect and honor in which Israel held the name of Joseph than the scrupulous manner in which they respected his dying wish and their obedience of his commandments respecting the disposal of his bones. "This is another link in the chain of evidence which serves to establish the early date and authenticity of this book."[41]

The additions to this chapter that are found in the Septuagint (LXX) should be rejected. As Plummer said, their mention of Astarte and Ashteroth as separate deities is alone enough to discredit it."[42]

The death and burial of Eleazar saw the transfer of the High Priesthood to his son Phinehas. Thus, just as the death of Aaron and Moses closed Deuteronomy, so the death of Eleazar and Joshua closed this book.