- Why is there no indication of the location, the time of day, or the mode of address in the very first sentence of Joshua?
- How is the initial contact with Joshua different from the initial contact with Mosheh; and why is there no element of surprise in the response of Joshua? Had he been “spoken to” prior thereto?
- There is a repeated refrain in verses 6 and 7 — the imperative to be “strong and resolute”. Why the repetition? And is it really a repetition in terms of what it is that constitutes “being resolute”?
- Does verse 8 imply that by Joshua’s time the TorahRefers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, also called the Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or the Hebrew equivalent, Humash. This is also called the Written Torah. The term may also refer to teachings that expound on Jewish tradition. had been committed to writing? Or is this a poetic reference?
- How does the response of the Reubenites/Gadites and the Menasheh families indicate that Joshua’s assumption of responsibility is with promise?
- How does the author of the text (in the closing verse of the first chapter) reaffirm the basic theme of the charge to Joshua?
