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Bible Dictionaries
Joshua, Book of
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
or
The sixth book of the Bible, treating of the conquest of Chanaan by the Israelites under Josue. After crossing the Jordan and capturing Jericho the Israelites defeated the Chanaanites and divided the conquered territory among the twelve tribes. Before his death Josue addressed the assembled people urging them to remain faithful to their God. The book itself was written in great part by an eye-witness, probably Josue himself. The precise knowledge of lesser details, the ancient names of Chanaanite towns, the treating of Rahab as a living contemporary, and the mention of memorial stones as still in the Jordan (4:9), justify this view, which both the Jews and the Fathers upheld. A later writer is responsible for the account of Josue's death, for additional explanatory glosses, and, in general, for the editing of the book. The historical value of the narrative is substantiated by its fidelity to older geographical names and to some circumstances of the time which archaeology is able to control. No Catholic exegete will regard the miracles recorded in Josue as an objection to its historical veracity. Saint Paul, Saint James, and Saint Stephen accepted the facts narrated as history, and this has ever been the opinion in the Catholic Church.
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Entry for 'Joshua, Book of'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/j/joshua-book-of.html. 1910.
