25 Details About the Life of Joshua - 'A' to 'Z' Quiz

Answer: Achan

The correct answer is Achan. According to the 7th chapter of Joshua, after Achan stole a large amount of booty in the capture of Jericho, the LORD turned against the Israelites and they were defeated in battle at Ai. It's one of those long stories, but the Israelites had conquered Jericho and were attempting to invade Ai as it had been allocated to them as 'The Promised Land.'

Joshua 7:21, in the NKJV, tells of Achan making his confession of guilt to Joshua: "When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it."

After Achan made his confession, his fate was sealed.

Joshua 7:22-26 states: "So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, 'Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.' So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day."

The Website Christiananswers.net reports Achan means "one who troubles."

Answer: Chariots

The correct answer is chariots. According to Scripture, God promised Joshua He would enable the Israelites to conquer Merom by burning their chariots. The promise was made to Joshua after the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River and were attacking various communities in Canaan.

Joshua 6:6-9, in the NKJV, states: "But the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.' So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to Greater Sidon, to the Brook Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. So Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire."

Answer: Caleb

Yes, Caleb is the correct answer. While ten of the spies recommended not invading Canaan, Caleb and Joshua saw things differently. They recommended invading the territory and Numbers 14:38 reports they survived while the rest of the spies perished.

Numbers 14:4-15 tells of the twelve spies sent into Canaan:
"Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea [who would later become known as Josua] the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi."

Answer: hailstorm

The correct answer is hailstorm. According to Scripture, God unleashed large hailstones on the Israelites' enemies who were fleeing at the time.

Joshua 10:7-11, in the NKJV, states: "So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. And the LORD said to Joshua, 'Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you.' Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. So the LORD routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword."

Answer: The high priest

Eleazar, the son of Aaron and a nephew of Moses, was the high priest. According to Scripture, he ascended to the position after the death of his father.
Leviticus 10 tells of Elezar's brothers being struck dead for offering "profane fire" to the LORD with Eleazar and his brother Ithamar being named as their replacements. Numbers 20:28 tells of Aaron dying and Moses putting the priestly garments on Eleazar. Joshua 14 goes on to tell of Joshua and Eleazar dividing up tracts of land in Canaan for the twelve tribes. And the deaths of both Joshua and Eleazar are recorded in Joshua 24.

Answer: Nun

Nun is the correct answer. Not much is known about him, however, as he is mentioned in passing reference. His name appears 31 times in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament of the English Bible and in practically every case his name is used simply because Scripture describes Joshua as the son of Nun.

Answer: Caused the sun to stand still

The account of the sun standing still at Gibeon, as well as the moon standing still in the Valley of Aijalon, can be found in the 10th chapter of Joshua. While in the middle of an intensive battle with the Amorites, Joshua prayed to God the sun and moon would stay put, Scripture states. Some people believe Joshua asked for the extra daylight so the enemies would not overpower his forces at night.

Joshua 10:12-14, in the NKJV Bible states: "Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:
'Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.'
So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel."

It's interesting to note that Snopes.com reports there's a false rumor making the rounds that NASA scientists have discovered a "missing day" which corresponds with the sun standing still in the 10th chapter of Joshua. However, Snopes.com goes on to report there is no way of proving, or disproving, if the sun actually stood still some time ago.

Answer: Hoshea

Joshua's original name was Hoshea, according to Numbers 13:16. In the NKJV, it simply states: "These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua."

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible offer this explanation of the name change: "Changing Hoshea's name to Joshua probably indicated great esteem on Moses' part. As God often changed the names of people who had a special relationship with Him, so Moses changed the name of the one who would eventually become his spiritual heir. This was an act of ritual adoption. Hoshea means 'Salvation'; Joshua means 'the Lord Saves.' Joshua and Jesus are two forms of the same name."

Answer: Inferiority

Make no mistake about it, the vast majority of the Israelites felt inferior to the Canaanites, even describing themselves as "grasshoppers" to their adversaries. Their inferiority, combined with the stubborn lack of faith, was a disastrous combination.

Numbers 13 tells of ten of the twelve spies sent into Canaan to survey the land and their enemies returning to give a negative report about a plan to cross the Jordan River and occupy the territory. According to Scripture, out of the twelve spies, only Joshua and Caleb recommended proceeding with plans to occupy the land.

Numbers 13:30-32, for example, tells of Caleb advocating taking possession of the land and the ten other spies shooting him down, largely because of their lack of faith and feelings of inferiority: "Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, 'Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.' But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.' And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, 'The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight'."

Numbers 14 goes on to tell of Joshua and Caleb arguing forcefully to occupy Canaan with verse 10 stating "all the congregation said to stone them with stones."

Answer: Jericho

The walls of Jericho came tumbling down, enabling the Israelites to easily conquer the city, according to the sixth chapter of Joshua.

Joshua 6:2-5, in the NKJV Biblle, tells of the LORD giving instructions to Joshua on how to bring down the walls of Jericho: "And the LORD said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him'."

Sue enough, that's exactly what happened, according to Scripture. As documented in Joshua 6:17-25, only Rahab the prostitute and her parents, as well as her brothers and sisters, were spared when the Israelites took possession of Jericho.

Answer: In a cave

Joshua 10:17-18 tells of the five Canaanite kings found hidden in a cave at Makkedah with Joshua giving the orders to "roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and set men by it to guard them." (The five kings represented Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon). Scripture goes on to tell of the kings being executed. Joshua 10:27 states: "And afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging on the trees until evening."

Answer: Libnah

The correct answer is Libnah. Scripture states the LORD was with the Israelites and conquest of Libnah was relatively simple. Joshua 10:29-30 in the NKJV, states: "Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, to Libnah; and they fought against Libnah. And the LORD also delivered it and its king into the hand of Israel; he struck it and all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword.

He let none remain in it, but did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho."

Answer: Moses

Joshua 1:4 tells of God selecting Joshua to replace Moses as leader of the Israelites just prior to their entry into Canaan. The verses, in the NKJV, state: "After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying: 'Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them -- the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory'."

Answer: Yes

Yes. Joshua is mentioned twice in the New Testament of the New King James Version Bible. His name appears in Acts 7:45, Scripture quoting Stephen appearing before the high priests, and in Hebrews 4:8 with Verse 1 to 10 telling of the promise of rest.

In contrast, however, Moses, Joshua's mentor, is mentioned eighty times in the New Testament of the NKJV.

Answer: 110

Joshua, according to Scripture, was 110 years old when he died. His age at the time of death is given in Joshua 24:29. In the 13th Chapter of Joshua it's apparent his age was catching up with him. Joshua 13:1, in the NKJV, states: "Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: 'You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed'."

Here's how Joshua 24:29-31 tells of the death of Joshua: "Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old. And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel."

Answer: Hivites

The correct answer is the Hivites, a tribe who lived in Gibeon in Canaan. Joshua 11:19, in the NKJV, states, "There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle."

According to Scripture, when the kings of other cities in Canaan heard about the destruction of Ai and Jericho, they formed an alliance against Joshua and the Israelites.

"However, there was one city that did not want to go to war with them," the Website Bible.org reports. "It was the city of Gibeon. It was not far from Ai. Gibeon was a large city -- larger than Ai, and the men of Gibeon were great fighters (Joshua 10:2). Still, the Gibeonites were afraid of the Israelites, because they had heard that God had instructed His people to destroy all the people in the land (Joshua 9:24)."

Scripture states the Hivites used deception to trick Joshua into agreeing to peace terms, but we digress.

Answer: False

False. It seems once the Israelites entered Canaan and started racking up impressive military victories, dissension finally ceased. Scripture tells of God performing a number of spectacular miracles during battles for the Israelites, everything from the walls of Jericho tumbling down to a deadly hailstorm which killed many of their adversaries. As a result, people were praising God and obediently following the orders of Joshua.

Judges 2:7, for example, states in the NKJV: "So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel."

Answer: Rahab

The story of Rahab the prostitute can be found in the second and sixth chapters of Joshua. Because she harbored two spies from the Israelite camp, Rahab and her family were spared when Joshua and his armed men succeeded in making the walls of Jericho fall down, just as the LORD told them in Joshua 6:2-5.

Incidentally, Rahab's name appears in Matthew 1:5 as part of the genealogy of Jesus and she is also saluted in Hebrews 11:31 for her "faith".

Answer: Yes

Numbers 14 tells of Moses sending twelve spies into Canaan to survey the land prior to attacking, with Joshua being one of the twelve. Later when he was leader, Joshua would use the same tactics. Joshua 2:1 tells of Joshua sending two spies to survey the city of Jericho. Scripture goes on to tell of the two spies being lodged at "the house of a harlot named Rahab." She would help save the lives of the two spies and in turn when Joshua and the Israelites entered Jericho, the lives of Rahab and her family were spared.

Answer: Memorial for crossing the Jordan

According to Joshua 4:1-24, God instructed Joshua and the Israelites to take twelve stones from the bed of the Jordan River to be used as a memorial to commemorate the miraculous crossing of the river.

Joshua 4:1-3, in the NKJV, states: "And it came to pass, when all the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke to Joshua, saying: 'Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from every tribe, and command them, saying, 'Take for yourselves twelve stones from here, out of the midst of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood firm. You shall carry them over with you and leave them in the lodging place where you lodge tonight'."

Verse 7 quotes Joshua as telling the Israelites what to reply when their children ask about the significance of the twelve stones. The verse states, "Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever."

Answer: God commanded them to do so

The correct answer is God commanded the Israelites to "utterly destroy" the people of Canaan. According to Deuteronomy 20:16-18, God was clear in His instructions to the people before they entered the Promised Land: "Kill everything in those cities that breathes. Completely destroy them. Wipe out the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. That's what the LORD your God commanded you to do. If you don't destroy them, they'll teach you to follow all of the things the LORD hates. He hates the way they worship their gods. If you do those things, you will sin against the LORD your God."

It all hearkens back to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, in which the LORD tells the Israelites the first commandment is to have no false gods. Exodus 20:2-4, in the NKJV, states: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image -- any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments."

The people of Canaan were notorious in the Bible for worshiping false gods so the wrath of the LORD was turned against them. Scripture indicates God didn't want the Canaanites to co-exist with the Israelites because their pagan practices could lure many of His chosen people away from Him.

The words "utterly destroyed" are used thirteen times in Joshua in the NKJV. The words can be found in Joshua 2:10, 6:21, 8:26, 10:28, 10:35, 10:37; 10:39, 10:40, 11:11, 12,12, 11:20 and 11:21.

Answer: True

Joshua's death is told in Joshua 24 and the very next chapter, Judges 1, tells of the Israelites battling to conquer Jerusalem. Scripture indicates there was still a considerable amount of land that needed to be possessed. Joshua 13:1, in the NKJV, states: "Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: 'You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed'."

In Judges 1:1-4 gives a view of some of the fighting after the death of Joshua: "Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, 'Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?' And the LORD said, 'Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.' So Judah said to Simeon his brother, 'Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.' And Simeon went with him. Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek."

Answer: Jordan River

The correct answer is the Jordan River. Numbers 32:14-17, in the NKJV, tells of the miracle: "So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan."

This marked the second time the Israelites had crossed a body of water as a result of a miracle by God, according to Scripture. Exodus 14 tells of the Israelites safely crossing the Red Sea after God parted it.

Answer: False

False. There is no mention of the Israelites having such a yearning after they entered Canaan. After all, the generation that had crossed the Jordan into Canaan were not even born in Egypt. They were born after the Exodus out of Egypt and during the wandering in the wilderness. (See answer to Question No. 17 for further information.)

Answer: False

False. According to Joshua 18:1-10, Joshua "cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions." Joshua 19:10 states the third lot went to Zebulun. The first lot had been awarded to Benjamin.