Judges 2:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years.

NIV: Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten.

NASB: Then Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110.

CSB: Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110.

NLT: Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110.

KJV: And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old.

NKJV: Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old.

Moses' lieutenant Joshua, the son of a man named Nun, turned out to be one of Israel's great leaders. Though he felt insecure at first about stepping into Moses' position, he obeyed the Lord's command to be strong and to have good courage. He led the people to obey the Lord in all things (Joshua 1:7–9). Joshua had made some mistakes, but under his faithful-to-the-Lord leadership, Israel had been strong. The people had followed Joshua's example, for the most part, and had remained faithful to the Lord themselves (Judges 2:6–7).

Eventually, though, Joshua died at the age of 110 years old. Moses had lived to 120 years old. The lifespans reported in the Scriptures are growing shorter over time.

Joshua's death has already been recorded in Scripture (Joshua 24:29–31), along with Israel's disobedient failure to take over the Promised Land (Judges 1). Here, after recording a rebuke from God (Judges 2:1–6), the writer provides a reminder of how Israel has fallen from her intended purpose.

Judges 2:6–10 is almost a second introduction to the book of Judges. It reiterates the end of Joshua's life, when he sent the tribes to occupy their territories and drive the people from the land (Joshua 24:29–31). The people continued to follow the Lord all the days of Joshua's life and his generation. He died and was buried on his allotted land in the territory of Ephraim at 110 years old. The generations following Joshua's death did not acknowledge God or the work He had done for Israel.

The tribes of Israel committed great sin when they failed to drive the depraved, wicked Canaanites from the land. God rebukes them harshly, warning them of the consequences to follow. The people weep and offer sacrifices. And yet, the generations after Joshua abandon God. They worship false gods and perform heinous sins. The Lord burns with anger and uses Israel's enemies as punishment. When the suffering becomes intense, God rescues Israel through a human "judge." When the judge dies, the people return to their sin, deeper even than before.

Judges 2 follows reports about the failure of Israel to drive the Canaanites from each tribes' territories. Despite being rebuked by God, the generations after Joshua eventually abandon the Lord to worship the gods of the Canaanites: the Baals and the Ashtaroth. This establishes a pattern to be repeated in the chapters to come. Israel will worship Canaan's gods. God punishes the people through their enemies. God saves the people through a human judge. When the judge dies, the people return to their sin. This cycle continues throughout the rest of the book of Judges.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

Accessed 11/24/2024 4:13:28 AM