Nadene Goldfoot
Hoshea (Salvation), as Joshua was originally called, would have also been born in Egypt, where Moses had been born. His name in Hebrew is Yehoshua. Moses himself prefixed the Divine name Yah we could use as J in Joshua as explained in Numbers 13:16. He must have been younger than Moses, though, missing the edict that had come out to kill all boy babies age 2 and younger during a pharaoh's fearsome dread of being replaced by one of them. His parents and tribe are unknown to us. If it helps, Moses was born in the 2nd millennium or about 1948 BCE to the tribe of Levi. Perhaps Joshua was as well but about 10 years younger. Now you must realize that this man was born 3, 964 or about 4,000 years ago.
Four thousand years ago (around 2000 BCE), humans were transitioning from the Stone Age to the height of the Bronze Age. Society became more specialized, with the emergence of powerful city-states, centralized kings, written laws, long-distance trade networks, and distinct social hierarchies.
Moses told these 12 young men to climb the mountain and notice the land and the people; strong or weak, people a few or numerous, good or bad land, cities open or fortified, land, fertile or lean, trees? in it or not; so now eat some of the fruit there; for now is the season of the 1st ripe grapes. Only Joshua and Caleb brought back good reports.
These sandals were made much later: Near the Dead Sea archaeologists have discovered leather-made first-century Jewish sandals. The area of the Dead Sea is dry and is one of the only places where leather artifacts could be preserved in such good condition. Sandal such as these were discovered in Masada, where the Jews fled and were sieged after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. A discovery was also made in the Cave of Letters. These sandals date from different centuries which give a good indication that this is the kind of sandal worn in Joshua's time as it couldn't have been much different.
Among them on this 40 years of travel must have been sandal-makers, for pairs of sandals should have lasted but a year or so walking on such rocky soil. What could they use if they had no leather to work on for 40 years? On their journey, they might have tried to make leather. Leather is primarily made from animal skin. About 99% of it comes as a by-product of the meat industry, sourced mostly from cows, sheep, goats, and pigs. The manufacturing process stabilizes the skin's collagen fibers through "tanning," stopping it from decomposing while creating a tough, flexible, and durable material. First, the skin needs curing; Fresh animal hides are heavily salted to draw out moisture and prevent bacteria from breaking the skin down before it reaches the tannery, then scraped to take hair off; Tanning: The dehaired skin (pelt) is treated with plant extracts (vegetable tanning), and Finishing: The leather is split to the proper thickness, dyed to the desired color, and treated with natural oils to restore softness.; They had no time for dye, nor for any of this process and we must turn to native Americans for more advice on making sandals.
The biblical narrative makes a sharp distinction between the two groups. The fleeing Israelites traveled on foot as an infantry, while the pursuing Egyptians used light, two-wheeled military chariots designed for speed and combat. Moses gave notice and the people had little time to prepare.
The Central Hill Country: A rocky, north-to-south mountainous spine spanning from the Galilee down through Samaria and Judea (modern Jerusalem and Hebron). Less fertile than the coast, its rugged terrain provided vital natural defenses. The Transjordan Plateau: To the east of the Jordan River, the land was less fertile and heavily inhabited by semi-nomadic herders and trading tribes like the Moabites and Ammonites.
We meet Joshua on the well-known from bible-reading Exodus with Moses and 603,550 slaves they had freed from Egypt. They in turn were all from the 12 tribes of Jacob of which Moses had been from the one of the 12, Levi, and some other people held by Egypt. They were in this bondage for 400 years ! They arrived in Canaan with only 601,730 former slaves by counting the men only, it is said, and not the females and children, but this 2nd census count was at the end of the Exodus or 40 years of traveling.
Moses was known to have the people walk within their tribe in a special formation for protection. It's good he had learned this in classes in Egypt to have this strict organization. In the biblical narrative, the Israelites left Egypt in an organized military or "battle formation" rather than as a disorganized mob of fleeing slaves. Despite being newly liberated, they marched out in disciplined ranks and heavily armed to project strength.
( Surprisingly, they had held onto their beliefs and history orally through these ages and Pharaohs. We know of other peoples in Africa who had gone through the same thing, and one had written a famous book held dear in Genealogy circles. I am thinking of the groundbreaking 1976 novel and family saga, Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley. )
Joshua became Moses' right hand, not without reason. He commanded the Israelites in the war with the Amalekites as told in Exodus 17:14-16. Later, he was the the representative of the tribe of Ephraim. Maybe this is a clue as to his tribal origins. Anyway, he was one among the 12 spies chosen by Moses to reconnoiter the land of Canaan.
He and Caleb were the only ones to bring back an encouraging report saying it was possible to enter. Caleb was from the tribe of Judah of the family of Kenizzites. He and Joshua received as a reward, being the only sole survivors of the Exodus from Egypt to enter what later was called Palestine. Promised an inheritance at Hebron, Caleb captured the place and expelled its people, the Anakim. A region of the Negev and a leading family of Judah were long known by Caleb's name.
Moses, before his death, laid his hands on Joshua and asked him to lead the people in the conquest of Canaan. After crossing the Jordan River, Joshua defeated the alliance of southern kings headed by the king of Jerusalem, and then of northern kings led by the king of Hazor, capturing most of what became the Land of Israel (except the valley areas and the coast). He then brought the Tabernacle to the town of Shiloh and died at the age of 110 and was buried in the mountains of Ephraim.
The biblical book called after him is the first of the Former Prophets and is divided into 24 chapters that are of great historical importance. Some have suggested that it was compiled from the same sources as the the Torah and then the Tanakh in Jewish tradition, or the Pentateuch by Gentiles. It is also frequently referred to as the Five Books of Moses, the Chumash (derived from the Hebrew for "five"), and The Law or the Law of Moses and call the combined book the Hexateuch.
I know that too many readers are too scientific-minded to believe that the EXODUS actually took place. One person I respect highly does. The connection between "proof of the Exodus" and the television series "The Naked Archaeologist" refers to the controversial theories proposed by investigative journalist and filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici. In his 2006 documentary The Exodus Decoded, produced with James Cameron, Jacobovici claims to link historical and archaeological evidence to the biblical Exodus. It's most compelling. It's logical. How else would such a story happen? One just does not make up such things and insert in the Torah which is probably what drove Simcha to do such research.
Resource:
https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2026/06/moses-leader-of-603550-people-out-of.html
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