Kerygma · Tools · Bible books

Joshua.

The promised land taken, the covenant renewed, and the warning of what comes next.

Testament

Old Testament

Section

Historical Books

Chapters

24

Date

Final form likely 6th c. BC.

Who wrote Joshua?

Anonymous; written compilations from material reaching back to the events themselves.

Who was it written for?

Israel — both the generation entering Canaan and later generations remembering how they got there.

Structure

  • Entering the land (1–5)
  • Conquest (6–12): Jericho, Ai, the southern and northern campaigns
  • Dividing the land (13–22)
  • Joshua's farewell (23–24)

Key verses

Why Joshua matters

Joshua is the long-promised fulfillment of God's word to Abraham — the land delivered. It's also a hard book. Modern readers wrestle with the conquest narratives. The book's frame, though, is theological more than ethnographic: it's about whether Israel will worship the LORD alone once they have what they were promised.

Related tools

Read the book, then test it.

Kerygma's trivia rounds cover Joshua in the Historical Books stream — once you've sat with the overview, the questions go deeper into the text. Free for seven days.

Start your free trial →

Available on iPhone & iPad. Subscription is $3.99/month or $29.99/year.