Joshua 23:1-16

B. Joshua’s farewell address to the Israelites ch. 23

Joshua had reached what he believed were the final days of his life. Before he died, he wished to address the whole nation, as Moses had done before his death (Deuteronomy 31). So he assembled all the leaders of the people from every tribe in Israel (Joshua 23:2).

Joshua’s experiences duplicated those of Moses in several particulars. Both men led the Israelites across a body of water. Both met God in a theophany. Both held out their staffs at a crucial time in battle. Both built altars to the Lord. Both gave farewell addresses to the Israelites that were similar in their contents.

"The content [of Joshua’s address here] . . . relates to that of a covenant renewal ceremony, but again in a distinctive manner. The liturgy of covenant renewal has become the sermon of a dying leader." [Note: Butler, p. 253.]

Compare the Book of Deuteronomy, which features Moses’ sermons just before he died. This address consists of two parts. The structure of the two parts is parallel, and the contents are similar.

"Unlike other narrative texts, this one has no specific setting in time or space. It simply connects to Joshua 13:1, when Joshua was old, and Joshua 21:44, when God had given rest. The setting thus marks Israel at the moment she had dreamed of from the Exodus onward (Exodus 33:14). But it also marks the crisis of leadership transition. The message which follows is at the same time one for prosperity, and also for crisis." [Note: Ibid., p. 254.]