Joshua 24:26-33

Joshua's Last Days and Death Joshua 24:26-33

26And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

27 And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.
28 So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.
29 And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
30 And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath-serah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.
31 And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel.
32 And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph,
33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.

15.

What words did Joshua write in the Book of the Law of God? Joshua 24:26

Joshua certainly wrote down the account of this covenant which the people of Israel had made. This reference may also be a statement of the fact that Joshua wrote the history of which this covenant formed a part. In other words, this is a reference to Joshua's authorship of the book bearing his name. It would be added to the sacred canon, for a book was regarded as a part of the Word of God when it was delivered by an inspired man. It was the inspiration of the book which decided its canonicity. The fact that it was placed with the rest of the sacred writings would indicate the reverence with which it was held by the people of the day.

16.

How old was Joshua when he died? Joshua 24:29

Joshua was 110 years of age when he died. He was among those who were counted at Sinai (Numbers 1). He was also one of the spies who were sent out to go through the length and breadth of the Promised Land (Numbers 13). He must have been a mature man for he was given charge over the armies of Israel when they fought against Amalek before they reached Sinai (Exodus 17). If he was over twenty years of age when they came to Sinai, he was over sixty when they entered into the Promised Land, since they wandered for forty years in the wilderness. We are not told how long it took to conquer the land, and we are not told how long it took for them to make the allotments to the various tribes; but if Joshua was 110 when he died, he would have had thirty years in which to do this if he were no more than eighty when he entered into the Promised Land.

17.

Where was Timnath-serah? Joshua 24:30

When the land was distributed among the tribes according to its territories, the Israeiltes gave Joshua an inheritance in the midst of them. This was according to the command of Jehovah. The town was Timnath-serah, in the mountains of Ephraim. He asked for it, and he finished building the city. He dwelt there until the time of his death (see Joshua 24:30; Judges 2:9). This was given him according to the word of the Lord. This does not refer to a divine oracle, but to a promise which Joshua had probably received from God at the same time as Caleb. The promise, however, is not mentioned in the Pentateuch. Timnath-serah, called Timnath-heres in Judges 2:9, must not be confused with Timnah in the tribe of Dan. It has been preserved in the present ruins and foundation walls of a place called Tibneh. This was once a large town about twenty miles to the north of Jerusalem and eight miles to the west of Jiljilia. It really stood upon two mountains containing many caverns which have been used as graves.

18.

Who wrote the last verses of this chapter? Joshua 24:29-33

The last verses of this chapter reach beyond the time of Joshua's death. Someone besides Joshua must have written this appendix to the book of Joshua. The book also reaches down past the time of Eleazar, for the death of Eleazar is recorded in Joshua 24:33. Eleazar had been the faithful high priest in Joshua's day. Since the last man to be mentioned is Phinehas, there is some reason for believing he penned these last verses. Phinehas was a faithful defender of God's laws (Numbers 25 and Joshua 22). Although he is never expressly said to have received the Spirit of the Lord, he may have been inspired to write these last verses of Joshua.

19.

Where was Joseph buried? Joshua 24:32

Joseph was buried in a parcel of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor (Genesis 34). Joseph's body had been embalmed in Egypt. Before he died, however, he had exacted a promise from his contemporaries that they would not leave his body in Egypt. These Israelites of his day has sworn with an oath that they would take his body with them when they left Egypt (Genesis 50:24-25). They had kept this promise; and with all due reverence, the body of Joseph was buried in the Promised Land.