About Joshua & Jericho

Joshua, in the Bible.

1 Central figure of the book of Joshua.

2 High priest associated with Zerubbabel in rebuilding the Temple.

3 Owner of the field where the Ark of the Covenant stood. d

4 In Second Kings, governor of Jerusalem.

5 Hebrew name for Jesus of Nazareth.


Leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. According to the biblical book of Joshua, Joshua led the people of Israel westward across the Jordan River to invade Canaan**. Under his leadership the Israelites conquered the Canaanites and gained control of the Promised Land. The book begins by recounting the battles, including the famous demolition of the walls of Jericho. Joshua then divides Canaan among the 12 tribes of Israel, makes his farewell speech, and dies. The book was compiled much later than the events described, perhaps during the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BC.



Jericho

Town (pop., 1997: 14,674), West Bank territory. Inhabited since c. 9000 BC, it is famous in biblical tradition as the first town attacked by the Israelites under Joshua after they crossed the Jordan River. It was abandoned or destroyed several times and rebuilt in the same area. Captured by the British in 1918, it became part of the British mandate of Palestine. Incorporated into Jordan in 1950, it became the site of two huge camps of Arab refugees following the first Arab-Israeli war (1948). In the Six-Day War (1967), the town was occupied by Israel, and much of the refugee population was dispersed. In 1994 it was turned over to the Palestinian Authority under an Israeli-Palestinian self-rule agreement.



Canaan

An ancient region made up of Palestine or the part of it between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In the Bible it is the Promised Land of the Israelites.


An ancient country in southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean; a place of pilgrimage for Christianity and Islam and Judaism
Synonyms: Palestine, Holy Land, Promised Land