Joshua The Campaign Commander

The Book of Joshua from the Old Testament to the Holy Bible is riddled with enigmas. So much so that many theologians question both its purpose and inclusion in the Old Testament. Other than a historical record, they believe it adds little value. However, when an analysis from a military perspective into the person, Joshua, and his campaigns are conducted, an altogether different Joshua is exposed. We then encounter complex and enigmatic facts that set him miles apart from the church tradition.

From the start of the exodus, the facts mount that Joshua was a far more important and complex person to the Israelite cause, than the Holy Bible gives him credit for. Whilst his personal details are shrouded in the fog of antiquity, his actions and achievements were not. It exposed a man skilled in the martial arts of warfare, schooled in the best practices as to leadership in war, comfortable with the demanding mantle of command, and with the commensurate mental agility to match theory with practise. These are uniquely rare skills to be found embodied in one person. For this very reason the modern military goes to extraordinary lengths to identify this individual from amongst its officers’ ranks.

According to military history, the first attempt at establishing a universal set of rules as to the conduct of war was penned in 450 BC when the Chinese general Sun Tzu published The Art of War. In the Western Hemisphere, the equivalent, On War, by Klaus von Clausewitz, was only published in 1870 AD. Thereto the enigma to the Book of Joshua; an analysis of Joshua’s campaigns of circa 1350 BC confirmed his textbook application of the principles. This book evaluates Joshua and his campaigns from the perspective as to his appointment as Campaign Commander. The only valid tools to adjudicate Joshua are the modern Principles of War and The Art of War.

The enigma to the military focus of the Book of Joshua is resolved. The Book of Joshua was primarily a record of Joshua’s campaign planning skills, and a record as to the conduct of war in the late-Bronze age.

About the author

Malcolm J. Farre is a former senior naval officer and officer commanding of a submarine. He has an interest in a wide range of subjects, including geopolitics, military history, military technologies, prophecy, warfare and military technologies. His hobbies include exploring the countryside, non-fiction reading, oil painting and plastic modelling. He is of the Protestant faith and resides in Fish Hoek, South Africa.