After Moses' death, the Book of Joshua unfolds the Jewish national saga. Guided by Joshua, the Israelites enter the Promised Land, crossing the Jordan River, facing rival kings with strength, and witnessing divine miracles—like Jericho's walls falling with a shofar blast. Joshua's resolute leadership sets the stage for the Israelite kingdom, flourishing under King Saul and expanding under King David.
(י) וַיְצַ֣ו יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ אֶת־שֹׁטְרֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃ (יא) עִבְר֣וּ ׀ בְּקֶ֣רֶב הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֗ה וְצַוּ֤וּ אֶת־הָעָם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הָכִ֥ינוּ לָכֶ֖ם צֵידָ֑ה כִּ֞י בְּע֣וֹד ׀ שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים אַתֶּם֙ עֹֽבְרִים֙ אֶת־הַיַּרְדֵּ֣ן הַזֶּ֔ה לָבוֹא֙ לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶ֖ם לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ {פ}
(יב) וְלָרֽאוּבֵנִי֙ וְלַגָּדִ֔י וְלַחֲצִ֖י שֵׁ֣בֶט הַֽמְנַשֶּׁ֑ה אָמַ֥ר יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ לֵאמֹֽר׃ (יג) זָכוֹר֙ אֶת־הַדָּבָ֔ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֛ם מֹשֶׁ֥ה עֶבֶד־יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹ֑ר יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ מֵנִ֣יחַ לָכֶ֔ם וְנָתַ֥ן לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּֽאת׃ (יד) נְשֵׁיכֶ֣ם טַפְּכֶם֮ וּמִקְנֵיכֶם֒ יֵשְׁב֕וּ בָּאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֥ן לָכֶ֛ם מֹשֶׁ֖ה בְּעֵ֣בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן וְאַתֶּם֩ תַּעַבְר֨וּ חֲמֻשִׁ֜ים לִפְנֵ֣י אֲחֵיכֶ֗ם כֹּ֚ל גִּבּוֹרֵ֣י הַחַ֔יִל וַעֲזַרְתֶּ֖ם אוֹתָֽם׃ (טו) עַ֠ד אֲשֶׁר־יָנִ֨יחַ יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ לַאֲחֵיכֶם֮ כָּכֶם֒ וְיָרְשׁ֣וּ גַם־הֵ֔מָּה אֶת־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם נֹתֵ֣ן לָהֶ֑ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֞ם לְאֶ֤רֶץ יְרֻשַּׁתְכֶם֙ וִירִשְׁתֶּ֣ם אוֹתָ֔הּ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ נָתַ֣ן לָכֶ֗ם מֹשֶׁה֙ עֶ֣בֶד יְהֹוָ֔ה בְּעֵ֥בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֖ן מִזְרַ֥ח הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ (טז) וַֽיַּעֲנ֔וּ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ לֵאמֹ֑ר כֹּ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוִּיתָ֙נוּ֙ נַעֲשֶׂ֔ה וְאֶֽל־כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּשְׁלָחֵ֖נוּ נֵלֵֽךְ׃ (יז) כְּכֹ֤ל אֲשֶׁר־שָׁמַ֙עְנוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֵּ֖ן נִשְׁמַ֣ע אֵלֶ֑יךָ רַ֠ק יִֽהְיֶ֞ה יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר הָיָ֖ה עִם־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ (יח) כׇּל־אִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יַמְרֶ֣ה אֶת־פִּ֗יךָ וְלֹֽא־יִשְׁמַ֧ע אֶת־דְּבָרֶ֛יךָ לְכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־תְּצַוֶּ֖נּוּ יוּמָ֑ת רַ֖ק חֲזַ֥ק וֶאֱמָֽץ׃ {פ}
After the death of Moses the servant of GOD, GOD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant: “My servant Moses is dead. Prepare to cross the Jordan, together with all this people, into the land that I am giving to the Israelites. Every spot on which your foot treads I give to you, as I promised Moses. Your territory shall extend from the wilderness and the Lebanon to the Great River, the River Euphrates [on the east]—the whole Hittite country—and up to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. No one shall be able to resist you as long as you live. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. “Be strong and resolute, for you shall apportion to this people the land that I swore to their fathers to assign to them. But you must be very strong and resolute to observe faithfully all the Teaching that My servant Moses enjoined upon you. Do not deviate from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.... Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed, for the ETERNAL your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua thereupon gave orders to the officials of the people: “Go through the camp and charge the people thus: Get provisions ready, for in three days’ time you are to cross the Jordan, in order to enter and possess the land that the ETERNAL your God is giving you as a possession...”
They answered Joshua, “We will do everything you have commanded us and we will go wherever you send us. We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses; let but the ETERNAL your God be with you as with Moses! Anyone who flouts your commands and does not obey every order you give him shall be put to death. Only be strong and resolute!”
1. What is happening in this text?
2. What is the attitude of the people towards the land of Israel?
3. How would you have reacted, had you been there?
4. Why do political foundings so often require war - weather the ancient Israelites, the American Revolution, or the creation of modern Israel in 1948?
Solomon, Israel's third king and King David's son, achieved greatness with the construction of the Temple (Beit Hamikdash) on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Once built, the Beit Hamikdash became the center of Jewish life, both national and religious. Jerusalem attracted pilgrims and visitors from around the ancient world.
(ב) וַיֵּרָ֧א יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה שֵׁנִ֑ית כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר נִרְאָ֥ה אֵלָ֖יו בְּגִבְעֽוֹן׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלָ֗יו שָׁ֠מַ֠עְתִּי אֶת־תְּפִלָּתְךָ֣ וְאֶת־תְּחִנָּתְךָ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִתְחַנַּ֣נְתָּה לְפָנַי֒ הִקְדַּ֗שְׁתִּי אֶת־הַבַּ֤יִת הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּנִ֔תָה לָשׂוּם־שְׁמִ֥י שָׁ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם וְהָי֨וּ עֵינַ֧י וְלִבִּ֛י שָׁ֖ם כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ (ד) וְאַתָּ֞ה אִם־תֵּלֵ֣ךְ לְפָנַ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר הָלַ֜ךְ דָּוִ֤ד אָבִ֙יךָ֙ בְּתׇם־לֵבָ֣ב וּבְיֹ֔שֶׁר לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתִ֑יךָ חֻקַּ֥י וּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃ (ה) וַהֲקִ֨מֹתִ֜י אֶת־כִּסֵּ֧א מַֽמְלַכְתְּךָ֛ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְעֹלָ֑ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבַּ֗רְתִּי עַל־דָּוִ֤ד אָבִ֙יךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹֽא־יִכָּרֵ֤ת לְךָ֙ אִ֔ישׁ מֵעַ֖ל כִּסֵּ֥א יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ו) אִם־שׁ֨וֹב תְּשֻׁב֜וּן אַתֶּ֤ם וּבְנֵיכֶם֙ מֵֽאַחֲרַ֔י וְלֹ֤א תִשְׁמְרוּ֙ מִצְוֺתַ֣י חֻקֹּתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לִפְנֵיכֶ֑ם וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗ם וַֽעֲבַדְתֶּם֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖ם לָהֶֽם׃ (ז) וְהִכְרַתִּ֣י אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מֵעַ֨ל פְּנֵ֤י הָאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תִּי לָהֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הַבַּ֙יִת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִקְדַּ֣שְׁתִּי לִשְׁמִ֔י אֲשַׁלַּ֖ח מֵעַ֣ל פָּנָ֑י וְהָיָ֧ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל לְמָשָׁ֥ל וְלִשְׁנִינָ֖ה בְּכׇל־הָעַמִּֽים׃
When Solomon had finished building the House of GOD and the royal palace and everything that Solomon had set his heart on constructing, GOD appeared to Solomon...
"I have heard the prayer and the supplication that you have offered to Me. I consecrate this House that you have built and I set My name there forever. My eyes and My heart shall ever be there. As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked before Me, wholeheartedly and with uprightness, doing all that I have commanded you [and] keeping My laws and My rules, then I will establish your throne of kingship over Israel forever, as I promised your father David, saying, ‘Your line on the throne of Israel shall never end.’
"[But] if you and your descendants turn away from Me and do not keep the commandments [and] the laws that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel off the land that I gave them..."
1. What is happening in this text?
2. Why does God threaten to evict the people of Israel from the land of Israel?
3. How would you have reacted, had you been there?
4. Does modern Zionism depend on the belief that the Jewish people are worthy of returning to the Promised Land as a nation?
King Solomon died around 930 BCE. Fighting between his sons led to the Israelite kingdom splitting into two: the stable Kingdom of Judah in the south, ruled by David and Solomon's descendants, and the turbulent Kingdom of Israel in the north. Internal conflicts and external invasions, particularly by the Assyrians in 722 BCE, led to the fall of the Kingdom of Israel, resulting in the dispersion of its people—known today as the "Ten Lost Tribes." In 586 BCE, King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Solomon’s Temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. He exiled most of the remaining Jews from the Land of Israel.
On the seventh day of the fifth month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards, an officer of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the House of GOD, the king’s palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem; he burned down the house of every notable person. The entire Chaldean force that was with the chief of the guard tore down the walls of Jerusalem on every side.
The remnant of the people that was left in the city, the defectors who had gone over to the king of Babylon—and the remnant of the population—were taken into exile by Nebuzaradan, the chief of the guards. But some of the poorest in the land were left by the chief of the guards, to be vinedressers and field hands.
1. What is happening in this text?
2. Why do you think the texts tells us that some of the people were left in the land?
3. How would you have reacted, had you been there?
4. What explains this amazing truth: the great empires of Assyria and Babylonia have disappeared from the world—and yet the Israelite nation remains? Is Jewish survival a miracle?
In the year 539 BCE, King Cyrus II of Persia, often known as "Cyrus the Great," seized control of Babylon. He issued a significant decree called "The Edict of Restoration," urging the Israelites to return to their homeland and reconstruct the Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion. Following Cyrus' proclamation, 42,000 exiled Jews made their way back to the Land of Israel to undertake the rebuilding of the Temple. Nevertheless, a notable number of affluent Jews opted to remain in Persia and Babylon. Cyrus returned stolen First Temple contents, funded the Second Temple's construction, earning admiration from the Jewish community. The returning Jews held deep loyalty to Cyrus during the Second Temple's construction.
(ז) וְהַמֶּ֣לֶךְ כּ֔וֹרֶשׁ הוֹצִ֖יא אֶת־כְּלֵ֣י בֵית־יְהֹוָ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הוֹצִ֤יא נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּר֙ מִיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם וַֽיִּתְּנֵ֖ם בְּבֵ֥ית אֱלֹהָֽיו׃
In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, when the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah was fulfilled, the LORD roused the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his realm by word of mouth and in writing as follows: “Thus said King Cyrus of Persia: The LORD God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has charged me with building Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Anyone of you of all His people—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem that is in Judah and build the House of the LORD God of Israel, the God that is in Jerusalem; and all who stay behind, wherever he may be living, let the people of his place assist him with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, besides the freewill offering to the House of God that is in Jerusalem.”
So the chiefs of the clans of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites, all whose spirit had been roused by God, got ready to go up to build the House of the LORD that is in Jerusalem. All their neighbors supported them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with livestock, and with precious objects, besides what had been given as a freewill offering. King Cyrus released the vessels of the LORD’s house which Nebuchadnezzar had taken away from Jerusalem and had put in the house of his god.
1. What is happening in this text?
2. Why did only some people return to the land of Israel?
3. How would you have reacted, had you been there?
4. Can Israel survive as a nation without the friendship of powerful leaders like Cyrus and powerful kingdoms like Persia?
In the year 539 BCE, King Cyrus II of Persia, often known as "Cyrus the Great," seized control of Babylon. He issued a significant decree called "The Edict of Restoration," urging the Israelites to return to their homeland and reconstruct the Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Zion. Following Cyrus' proclamation, 42,000 exiled Jews made their way back to the Land of Israel to undertake the rebuilding of the Temple. Nevertheless, a notable number of affluent Jews opted to remain in Persia and Babylon. Upon their return, they encountered a neglected land with Jerusalem in ruins, its walls charred and almost collapsing. With unwavering determination, they diligently worked, stone by stone, to restore the sacred core of Jewish national life and reestablish the Jewish community in the Promised Land.
When the builders had laid the foundation of the Temple of the LORD, priests in their vestments with trumpets, and Levites sons of Asaph with cymbals were stationed to give praise to the LORD, as King David of Israel had ordained. They sang songs extolling and praising the LORD, “For He is good, His steadfast love for Israel is eternal.” All the people raised a great shout extolling the LORD because the foundation of the House of the LORD had been laid.
Many of the priests and Levites and the chiefs of the clans, the old men who had seen the first house, wept loudly at the sight of the founding of this house. Many others shouted joyously at the top of their voices. The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the people’s weeping, for the people raised a great shout, the sound of which could be heard from afar.
1. What is happening in this text?
2. Why did the people rebuilding the Temple repeat the praises of God that King David had written generations before?
3. How would you have reacted, had you been there?
4. When the Temple is rebuilt, the Israelites are filled with both weeping and joy. Why the mixed emotions? Looking back from today, is the completion of the Second Temple a joyful event or a tragic memory?