Joshua
Joshua (/ˈdʒɒʃuə/) or Yehoshua (Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ Yəhōšūaʿ)[b] functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Exodus and Numbers, and later succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelite tribes in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua.[2] His name was Hoshea (הוֹשֵׁעַ Hōšēaʿ) the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, but Moses called him "Yehoshua" (translated as "Joshua" in English),[3] the name by which he is commonly known in English. According to the Bible he was born in Egypt prior to the Exodus.[citation needed]
The Hebrew Bible identifies Joshua as one of the twelve spies of Israel sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan. In Numbers 13:1,[4] and after the death of Moses, he led the Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan, and allocated lands to the tribes. According to biblical chronology, Joshua lived some time in the Bronze Age. According to Joshua 24:29,[5] Joshua died at the age of 110.
Joshua holds a position of respect among Muslims. Muslims also see Joshua as the leader of the faithful following the death of Moses. Some Muslims also believe Joshua to be the "attendant" of Moses mentioned in the Quran before Moses meets Khidr. Joshua plays a role in Islamic literature, with significant narration in the hadith.
The English name "Joshua" is a rendering of the Hebrew language Yehoshua, interpreted in Christian theology as "Yahweh is salvation".[6][7] This requires a different vocalization of the second name component, reading it as related to Hoshea—the name used in the Torah before Moses added the divine name.[3][8] The modern linguistic analysis of the name, however, is "Yahweh is lordly".[9]
"Jesus" is the English derivative of the Greek transliteration of "Yehoshua" via Latin. In the Septuagint, all instances of the word "Yehoshua" are rendered as "Ἰησοῦς" (Iēsoūs), the closest Greek pronunciation of the Aramaic: ישוע Yeshua.[10][11][12] Thus, in modern Greek, Joshua is called "Jesus son of Naue" (τοῦ Ναυή) to differentiate him from Jesus. This is also true in some Slavic languages following the Eastern Orthodox tradition (e.g. "Иисус Навин", Iisús Navín, in Bulgarian, Serbian and Russian, but not Czech).
Joshua was a major figure in the events of the Exodus. He was charged by Moses with selecting and commanding a militia group for their first battle after exiting Egypt, against the Amalekites in Rephidim,[13] in which they were victorious.
