Sir Joshua Reynolds
Self-portrait
Birth name	Joshua Reynolds
Born	(1723-07-16)16 July 1723 Plympton
Died	23 February 1792(1792-02-23) (aged 68) London
Nationality	English

Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy. King George III appreciated his merits and knighted him in 1769.

Early life[link]

Reynolds was born in Plympton, Devon, on 16 July 1723. As one of ten (maybe eleven) children and the son of the village school-master, Reynolds was restricted to a formal education provided by his father. He exhibited a natural curiosity and, as a boy, came under the influence of Zachariah Mudge, whose Platonistic philosophy stayed with him all his life. Reynolds made extracts into his commonplace book from Theophrastus, Plutarch, Seneca, Marcus Antonius, Ovid, William Shakespeare, John Milton, Alexander Pope, John Dryden, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, Aphra Behn and passages on art theory by Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Alphonse Du Fresnoy, and André Félibien.^[1] The work that came to have the most influential impact on Reynolds was Jonathan Richardson's An Essay on the Theory of Painting (1715). Reynolds' annotated copy was lost for nearly two hundred years when it appeared in a Cambridge bookshop, inscribed with the signature ‘J. Reynolds Pictor’.^[1]

Career[link]

Self portrait, aged seventeen

Showing an early interest in art, Reynolds was apprenticed in 1740 to the fashionable portrait painter Thomas Hudson, with whom he remained until 1743. In 1749, Reynolds became friend with Augustus Keppel, a naval officer, and they both sailed on the Centurion to the Mediterranean. Whilst on board, Reynolds wrote later, "I had the use of his cabin and his study of books, as if they had been my own".^[2] From 1749 to 1752, he spent over two years in Italy, where he studied the Old Masters and acquired a taste for the "Grand Style". Unfortunately, whilst in Rome, Reynolds suffered a severe cold which left him partially deaf, and, as a result, he began to carry a small ear trumpet with which he is often pictured. From 1753 until the end of his life, he lived in London, his talents gaining recognition soon after his arrival in France.

'A literary party at Sir Joshua Reynolds's'.^[3] Use a cursor to see who is who.

Reynolds worked long hours in his studio, rarely taking a holiday. He was both gregarious and keenly intellectual, with a great number of friends from London's intelligentsia, numbered amongst whom were Dr Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Edmund Burke, Giuseppe Baretti, Henry Thrale, David Garrick and fellow artist Angelica Kauffmann. Johnson said in 1778: "Reynolds is too much under Fox and Burke at present. He is under the Fox star and the Irish constellation [meaning Burke]. He is always under some planet".^[4]

Because of his popularity as a portrait painter, Reynolds enjoyed constant interaction with the wealthy and famous men and women of the day, and it was he who first brought together the famous figures of "The" Club. By 1761 Reynolds could command a fee of 80 Guineas for a full-length portrait (Mr Fane); in 1764 he was paid 100 Guineas for a portrait of Lord Burghersh.^[5]

With his rival Thomas Gainsborough, Reynolds was the dominant English portraitist of 'the Age of Johnson'. It is said that in his long life he painted as many as three thousand portraits. Although not principally known for his landscapes, Reynolds did paint in this genre. He had an excellent vantage from his house on Richmond Hill, and painted the view in about 1780.^[6]

[edit] Lord Keppel

Lord Keppel (1779).

In the Battle of Ushant with the French in 1778, Lord Keppel commanded the Channel Fleet and the outcome resulted in no clear winner; Keppel ordered to renew the attack and this was obeyed except by Sir Hugh Palliser, who commanded the rear, and the French escaped bombardment. A dispute between Keppel and Palliser arose and Palliser brought charges of misconduct and neglect of duty against Keppel and the Admiralty decided to court-martial him. On 11 February 1779 Keppel was acquitted of all charges and became a national hero. One of Keppel's lawyers commissioned Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland to paint a portrait of Keppel but Keppel redirected it to Reynolds. Reynolds alluded to Keppel's trial in the painting by having him have his hand on his sword, reflecting the presiding officer's words at the court-martial: "In delivering to you your sword, I am to congratulate you on its being restored to you with so much honour".^[7]

Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King[link]

On 10 August 1784 Allan Ramsay died and the office of Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King therefore became vacant. Gainsborough felt that he had a good chance of securing it but Reynolds felt that he deserved it and threatened to resign the presidency of the Royal Academy if he did not receive it. Reynolds noted in his pocket book: "Sept. 1, 2½, to attend at the Lord Chancellor's Office to be sworn in painter to the King".^[8] However this did not make Reynolds happy, as he wrote to Boswell: "If I had known what a shabby miserable place it is, I would not have asked for it; besides as things have turned out I think a certain person is not worth speaking to, nor speaking of", presumably meaning the King.^[9] Reynolds wrote to Jonathan Shipley, Bishop of St Asaph, a few weeks later: "Your Lordship congratulation on my succeeding Mr. Ramsay I take very kindly but it is a most miserable office, it is reduced from two hundred to thirty-eight pounds per annum, the Kings Rat catcher I believe is a better place, and I am to be paid only a fourth part of what I have from other people, so that the Portraits of their Majesties are not likely to be better done now, than they used to be, I should be ruined if I was to paint them myself".^[9]

[edit] Lord Heathfield

Lord Heathfield (1788).

In 1788 Reynolds painted the portrait of Lord Heathfield, who became a national hero for his successful defence of Gibraltar during its Great Siege from 1779 to 1783 against the combined forces of France and Spain. Heathfield is depicted against a background of clouds and cannon smoke, wearing the uniform of the 15th Light Dragoons and clasping the key of the Rock, its chain wrapped twice around his right hand.^[10] John Constable said in the 1830s that it was "almost a history of the defence of Gibraltar".^[1] Desmond Shawe-Taylor has claimed that the portrait may have a religious meaning, Heathfield holding the key similar to St Peter (Jesus' "rock") possessing the keys to Heaven, Heathfield "the rock upon which Britannia builds her military interests".^[1][11]

Later life[link]

In 1789 he lost the sight of his left eye, which finally forced him into retirement. In 1791 James Boswell dedicated his Life of Samuel Johnson to Reynolds. Reynolds agreed with Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France and, writing in early 1791, expressed his belief that the ancien régime of France had fallen due to spending too much time tending

"to the splendor of the foliage, to the neglect of the stirring the earth about the roots. They cultivated only those arts which could add splendor to the nation, to the neglect of those which supported it – They neglected Trade & substantial Manufacture...but does it follow that a total revolution is necessary that because we have given ourselves up too much to the ornaments of life, we will now have none at all".^[12]

When attending a dinner at Holland House, Fox's niece Caroline was sat next to Reynolds and "burst out into glorification of the Revolution – and was grievously chilled and checked by her neighbour's cautious and unsympathetic tone".^[13]

On 4 June 1791 at a dinner at the Freemasons' Tavern to mark the King's birthday, Reynolds drank to the toasts "GOD save the KING!" and "May our glorious Constitution under which the arts flourish, be immortal!", in what was reported by the Public Advertiser as "a fervour truly patriotick". Reynolds "filled the chair with a most convivial glee".^[14] He returned to town from Burke's house in Beaconsfield and Edmond Malone wrote that "we left his carriage at the Inn at Hayes, and walked five miles on the road, in a warm day, without his complaining of any fatigue".^[14]

Later that month Reynolds suffered from a swelling over his left eye and had to be purged by a surgeon. In October he was too ill to take the President's chair and in November Fanny Burney recorded that

"I had long languished to see that kindly zealous friend, but his ill health had intimidated me from making the attempt": "He had a bandage over one eye, and the other shaded with a green half-bonnet. He seemed serious even to sadness, though extremely kind. ‘I am very glad,’ he said, in a meek voice and dejected accent, ‘to see you again, and I wish I could see you better! but I have only one ye now, and hardly that.’ I was really quite touched".^[15]

On 5 November Reynolds, fearing he may not have an opportunity to write a will, wrote a memorandum intended to be his last will and testament, with Edmund Burke, Edmond Malone and Philip Metcalfe named as executors. On 10 November Reynolds wrote to Benjamin West to resign the Presidency, but the General Assembly agreed that Reynolds should be re-elected, with Sir William Chambers and West to deputise for him.^[16]

The doctors Richard Warren and Sir George Baker believed Reynolds' illness to be psychological and they bled his neck "with a view of drawing the humour from his eyes" but the effect of this in the view of his niece was that it seemed "as if the 'principle of life' were gone" from Reynolds. On New Year's Day 1792 Reynolds became "seized with sickness" and from that point onwards could not keep down food.^[16] Reynolds died on 23 February 1792 in his house in Leicester Fields in London between eight and nine in the evening.

Burke was present on the night Reynolds died, and he was moved within hours to write a eulogy of Reynolds:

Sir Joshua Reynolds was on very many accounts one of the most memorable men of his Time. He was the first Englishman who added the praise of the eligant Arts to the other Glories of his Country. In Taste, in grace, in facility, in happy invention, and in the richness and Harmony of colouring, he was equal to the great masters of the renowned Ages. In Pourtrait he went beyond them; for he communicated to that description of the art, in which English artists are the most engaged a variety, a Fancy, and a dignity derived from the higher Branches, which even those who professed them a superior manner, did not always preserve when they delineated individual nature. His Purtraits remind the Spectator of the Invention of History, and the amenity of Landscape. In painting pourtraits, he appeared not to be raised upon that platform; but to descend to it from an higher sphere. his paintings illustrate his Lessons—and his Lessons seem to be derived from his Paintings.
He possessed the Theory as perfectly as the Practice of his Art. To be such a painter, he was a profound and penetrating Philosopher.
In full affluence of foreign and domestick Fame, admired by the expert in art, and by the learned in Science, courted by the great, caressed by Sovereign powers, and celebrated by distinguished Poets, his Native humility, modesty and Candour never forsook him, even on surprise or provocation, nor was the least degree of arrogance or assumption visible to the most scrutinizing eye, in any part of his Conduct or discourse.
His talents of every kind powerful from Nature, and not meanly cultivated by Letters, his social Virtues in all the relations, and all the habitudes of Life renderd him the center of a very great and unparalleled Variety of agreeable Societies, which will be dissipated by his Death. He had too much merit not to excite some Jealously; too much innocence to provoke any Enmity. The loss of no man of his Time can be felt with more sincere, general, and unmixed Sorrow.
HAIL! AND FAREWELL!^[17]

Burke's tribute was well received and one journalist called it "the eulogium of Apelles pronounced by Pericles".^[18]

Reynolds was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Legacy[link]

Reynolds painted by American artist Gilbert Stuart, oil on canvas, 1784

Professionally, Reynolds' career never peaked. He was one of the earliest members of the Royal Society of Arts, helped found the Society of Artists, and, with Gainsborough, established the Royal Academy of Arts as a spin-off organisation. In 1768 he was made the RA's first President, a position he held until his death. As a lecturer, Reynolds' Discourses on Art (delivered between 1769 and 1790) are remembered for their sensitivity and perception. In one of these lectures he was of the opinion that "invention, strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory."

Reynolds and the Royal Academy have historically received a mixed reception. Critics include many of the Pre-Raphaelites, and William Blake, the latter having published his vitriolic Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses in 1808. To the contrary, both J. M. W. Turner and James Northcote were fervent acolytes: Turner requested he be laid to rest at Reynolds' side, and Northcote (who lived for four years as Reynolds' pupil) wrote to his family "I know him thoroughly, and all his faults, I am sure, and yet almost worship him."

Appearance[link]

In appearance Reynolds was not striking. Slight, he was about 5'6" with dark brown curls, a florid complexion and features which James Boswell thought were "rather too largely and strongly limned." He had a broad face, a cleft chin, and the bridge of his nose was slightly dented; his skin was scarred by smallpox, and his upper lip disfigured as a result of falling from a horse as a young man. Edmond Malone asserted that "his appearance at first sight impressed the spectator with the idea of a well-born and well-bred English gentleman."

Renowned for his placidity, Reynolds often claimed that he "hated nobody". Never quite losing his Devonshire accent, he was not only an amiable and original conversationalist but a friendly and generous host, so that Fanny Burney recorded in her diary that he had "a suavity of disposition that set everybody at their ease in his society", and William Makepeace Thackeray believed "of all the polite men of that age, Joshua Reynolds was the finest gentleman." Dr. Johnson commented on the inoffensiveness of his nature; Edmund Burke noted his "strong turn for humor". Thomas Bernard, who later became Bishop of Killaloe, wrote in his verses on Reynolds:

Admittedly, some did construe Reynolds' equable calm as cool and unfeeling. Hester Lynch Piozzi's pen-portrait reads:

It is to this luke-warm temperament that Frederick W. Hilles, Bodman Professor of English Literature at Yale attributes the fact Reynolds never married. In the editorial notes of his compendium Portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Hilles theorizes that "as a corollary one might say that he [Reynolds] was somewhat lacking in a capacity for love", and cites Boswell's notary papers: "He said the reason he would never marry was that every woman whom he liked had grown indifferent to him, and he had been glad he did not marry her." Reynolds' own sister, Frances, who lived with him as housekeeper, took her own negative opinion further still, thinking him "a gloomy tyrant". The presence of family compensated Reynolds for the absence of a wife; he wrote on one occasion to his friend Bennet Langton, that both his sister and niece were away from home "so that I am quite a bachelor." Biographer Ian McIntyre discusses the possibility of Reynolds having enjoyed sexual rendezvous with certain clients, such as Nelly O'Brien (or "My Lady O'Brien", as he playfully dubbed her) and Kitty Fisher, who visited his house for more sittings than were strictly necessary. Claims to this end are, however, purely speculative.

Gallery[link]

• 

  Commodore the Honourable August Keppel, (Reynolds's first portrait of Keppel), 1749

• 

  Captain the Honourable Augustus Keppel in the pose of the Apollo Belvedere, 1753

• 

  Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 1758

• 

  Robert Clive and his family with an Indian maid, 1765

• 

  Elizabeth, Lady Amherst, 1767

• 

  Colonel Acland and Lord Sydney, The Archers, 1769.

• 

  Jane, Countess of Harrington, 1778

• 

  Lady Caroline Howard, 1778

• 

  Lady Elizabeth Delmé and Her Children, 1779

• 

  Captain George K. H. Coussmaker, 1782

• 

  Admiral Hood, 1783

• 

  The Age of Innocence, 1788

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Grand manner
• English school of painting
• Mary Nesbitt, eighteenth-century courtesan who began her career as Reynolds' model.
• Martin Postle, an expert on Joshua Reynolds

Notes[link]

References[link]

• James Boswell, Life of Johnson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).
• Ian McIntyre, Joshua Reynolds. The Life and Times of the First President of the Royal Academy (London: Allen Lane, 2003).
• Martin Postle, ‘Reynolds, Sir Joshua (1723–1792)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009, accessed 24 Sept 2010.

Further reading[link]

• John Barrell, The Political Theory of Painting from Reynolds to Hazlitt (1986).
• A. Graves and W. V. Cronin, A History of the Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1899–1901, 4 volumes).
• F. W. Hilles, The Literary Career of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1936).
• Derek Hudson, Sir Joshua Reynolds: A Personal Study (1958).
• J. Ingamells and J. Edgcumbe (eds.), The Letters of Sir Joshua Reynolds (2000).
• C. R. Leslie and T. Taylor, Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1865, 2 volumes).
• E. Malone (ed.), The Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1798, 3 volumes).
• D. Mannings, Sir Joshua Reynolds PRA, 1723–92 (1992).
• J. Northcote, Memoirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds, knt. (1813–15).
• J. Northcote, The Life of Sir Joshua Reynolds (1818, 2nd edition, 2 volumes).
• Martin Postle, Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity (Tate, 2005). ISBN 1-85437-564-4
• Martin Postle, Sir Joshua Reynolds: The Subject Pictures (1995).
• Martin Postle, Drawings of Joshua Reynolds.
• R. Prochno, Joshua Reynolds (1990).
• E. K. Waterhouse, Reynolds (1941).
• E. K. Waterhouse, Reynolds (1973).

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Joshua Reynolds

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joshua Reynolds

•  "Reynolds, Joshua". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. 
• Joshua Reynolds' biography, style and critical reception
• The National Gallery: Sir Joshua Reynolds
• Works in the National Galleries of Scotland
• ABCgallery.com, Olga's Gallery
• Liverpoolmuseums.org.uk
• Classicartrepro.com
• GAC.culture.gov.uk
• Port Eliot House, home of the Earl of St. Germans contains many fine works by Reynolds, including a rare view of Plymouth.
• 'Sir Joshua Reynolds: The Acquisition of Genius' exhibition at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery - 21 November 2009 to 20 February 2010
• Frits Lugt, Les marques de collections de dessins & d'estampes, 1921 and its Supplement 1956, online edition

Paintings[link]

• Artcyclopedia: Sir Joshua Reynolds
• National Portrait Gallery Collection
• Sir Joshua Reynolds at Olga's Gallery
• Sir Joshua Reynolds, A Complete Catalogue of His Paintings (book-bound)

Writings[link]

• By Sir Joshua Reynolds
  • The Letters of Sir Joshua Reynolds
• Seven Discourses on Art at Project Gutenberg
  • Portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds (character sketches)
• Biographies
  • The Life Of Sir Joshua Reynolds: Late President Of The Royal Academy, volumes 1 and 2, by Reynolds' Friend James Northcote
  • Memoirs of Sir Joshua Reynolds, by Reynolds' friend Farington Joseph Staff
  • Sir Joshua Reynolds: The Painter in Society, by Richard Wendorf (winner of the Annibel Jenkins Prize for Biography)
  • Sir Joshua Reynolds, by Estelle M. Hurll, from Project Gutenberg

Joshua
Moses and the Messengers from Canaan, by Giovanni Lanfranco, oil on canvas, 85-3/4 x 97 inches, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Judge
Born	1550-1200 BCE
Died	1550-1200 BCE Canaan
Honored in	Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Major shrine	Tomb of Joshua
Feast	July 26 - Armenian Apostolic September 1[1][2] - Eastern Orthodox Church
Attributes	Often depicted with Caleb, carrying the grapes out of Canaan

Joshua (Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎‎ Yĕhôshúa‘; Greek: Ἰησοῦς, Arabic: يوشع بن نون‎ Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn), is a figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel (Num 13-14) and in few passages as Moses's assistant.^[3] He is the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua. According to the books Exodus, Numbers and Joshua, he became the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses; his name was Hoshe'a the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, but Moses called him Yehoshu'a (Joshua) (Numbers 13:16) the name by which he is commonly known; and he was born in Egypt prior to the Exodus, and was probably the same age as Caleb, with whom he is occasionally associated.

He was one of the twelve spies of Israel sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan. (Numbers 13:1-16) After the death of Moses, he led the Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan, and allocated the land to the tribes. According to Biblical chronology, Joshua lived between 1500–1390 BCE,^[4] or sometime in the late Bronze Age. According to Joshua 24:29, Joshua died at the age of 110.

Joshua also holds a position of respect to Muslims. According to the Qur’ān, he was, along with Caleb, one of the two believing spies whom Moses had sent to spy the land of Canaan.^[5] All Muslims also see Joshua as the leader of the Israelites, following the death of Moses. Although some Muslims see Joshua as a prophet, others view him not as prophet but as a saintly man and great leader. Muslims also believe Joshua to be the "attendant" of Moses mentioned in the Qur’ān, before Moses meets Khidr.

Name[link]

The English name Joshua is a rendering of the Hebrew language "Yahoshua", meaning "Yahweh is salvation".^[6][7] The vocalization of the second name component may be read as Hoshea - the name used in the Torah before Moses added the divine name (Numbers 13:16).^[8]

"Jesus" is the English of the Greek transliteration of "Yahoshua" via Latin. In the Septuagint, all instances of the word "Yahoshua" are rendered as "Ἰησοῦς" (Iēsoūs), the closest Greek pronunciation of the Aramaic "Yeshua" (Hebrew word #3443 in Strong's, Nehemiah 8:17).^[9][10] Thus in Greek Joshua is called "Jesus son of Nun" (τοῦ Ναυή) to differentiate him from Jesus Christ. This is also true in the Slavic languages following the Eastern Orthodox tradition (e.g. "Иисус Навин" (Iisús Navín) in Russian).

Narrative of Joshua[link]

Joshua and the Exodus[link]

As Moses' apprentice, Joshua was a major figure in the events of the Exodus. He accompanied Moses part of the way when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 32:17) He was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to explore and report on the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:16-17), and only he and Caleb gave an encouraging report, a reward for which would be that only these two of the spies would enter the promised land (Numbers 14:23-24).

"The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan" by Gustave Doré (d. 1883)

He was commander at their first battle after exiting Egypt, against the Amalekites in Rephidim (Exodus 17:8-16), in which they were victorious.

According to Joshua 1:1-9, God appointed Joshua to succeed Moses as leader of the Israelites. The first part of the book of Joshua covers the period when he led the conquest of Canaan.

Conquest of Canaan[link]

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon by John Martin

At the Jordan River, the waters parted, as they had for Moses at the Red Sea. The first battle after the crossing of the Jordan was the Battle of Jericho. Joshua led the destruction of Jericho, then moved on to Ai, a small neighboring city to the west. However, they were defeated with thirty-six Israelite deaths. The defeat was attributed to Achan taking an "accursed thing" from Jericho; and was followed by Achan and his family and animals being stoned to death to restore God's favor. Joshua then went to defeat Ai.

The Israelites faced an alliance of Amorite kings from Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. At Gibeon Joshua asked God to cause the sun and moon to stand still, so that he could finish the battle in daylight. This event is most notable because "there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel." (Joshua 10:14) God also fought for the Israelites in this battle, for he hurled huge hailstones from the sky which killed more Canaanites than those which the Israelites slaughtered. From there on, Joshua was able to lead the Israelites to several victories, securing much of the land of Canaan.

Death[link]

When he was "old and well advanced in years" ^[11] Joshua convened the elders and chiefs of the Israelites and exhorted them to have no fellowship with the native population because it could lead them to be unfaithful to God.^[12] At a general assembly of the clans at Shechem, he took leave of the people, admonishing them to be loyal to their God, who had been so mightily manifested in the midst of them. As a witness of their promise to serve God, Joshua set up a great stone under an oak by the sanctuary of God. Soon afterward he died, at the age of 110, and was buried at Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.^[13]

Joshua in Islamic history[link]

Joshua is not mentioned by name in the Qur’ān, but his name appears in other Islamic literature. His genealogy is given in Islam as يوشع, the son of Nun, the son of Ephraim, the son of يوسف, the son of يعقوب, the son of Isaac, the son of إبراهيم.^[14] Although Joshua was regarded by some classical scholars as the prophetic successor to موسى,^[15] others see him as a pious man but not a prophet. Tabari relates in his History of the Prophets and Kings that Joshua was one of the twelve spies and Muslim scholars believe that the two believing spies referred to in the Qur’ān are none other than Joshua and Caleb. As Joshua took the leadership of the Israelites after the time of Moses, his role as the first Judge can be paralleled with that of Abu Bakr (or, in Shia Islam, Ali) as the first Caliph after the Prophet Muhammad. Joshua was exceptional among the Israelites for being one of the few faithful followers of God.

In the Qur'anic account of the conquest of Canaan, Joshua (and Caleb) are referenced, but not named, as two "God-fearing men", on whom God "had bestowed His grace"^[16]

They said: "O Moses! In this land are a people of exceeding strength: Never shall we enter it until they leave it: if (once) they leave, then shall we enter."
(But) among (their) God-fearing men were two on whom God had bestowed His grace. They said: "Assault them at the (proper) Gate: when once ye are in, victory will be yours; but on God put your trust if ye have faith."

—Qur'an, sura 5 (Al-Ma'ida), ayah 22-23^[5]

Joshua is further mentioned in Islamic literature, and significant events from his Muslim narratives include the crossing of the Jordan river and the conquest of Bait al-Maqdis.^[17] But Muslim literature also preserves traditions of Joshua not found in the Hebrew Bible. Joshua is credited with being present at Moses's death and literature records that Moses's garments were with Joshua at the time of his departure.^[18] A hadith was narrated from Abu Hurairah that Muhammad said: "Surely, the sun has never been stopped from setting down for a human being except for Joshua..."

Historicity[link]

Joshua's narrative is ascribed to Joshua himself by Bava Batra 15a (Talmud) and early church fathers. In 1943 Martin Noth published an argument that behind Joshua and other books was a unified "Deuteronomistic history", composed in the early part of the Babylonian captivity (not long after 606 BCE). Most scholars today believe in some such composite, containing the epic history of the premonarchical period.^[19] Gerhard von Rad, another developer of the hypothesis, adds that "comparison of the ancient Near Eastern treaties, especially ... in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE, with passages in the OT has revealed so many things in common between the two, particularly in the matter of form, that there must be some connection between these suzerainty treaties and the [OT]."^[20] Kenneth Kitchen states that nearly all treaties in this period follow the pattern of Deuteronomy closely, while first-millennium treaties contrarily but consistently place "witnesses" earlier and omit prologue and blessing sections, requiring classification of the Sinai covenant and its renewals in Joshua with the fourteenth or thirteenth century rather than the sixth.^[21]

Although Egypt did not have its former grasp on Canaan, there was a strong presence into the twelfth century, and Philistia took greater control of the southern coastal plain then also (Joshua 13:2 mentions the Philistines).^[22] The first record of the name Israel occurs in the Merneptah stele, erected for Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah c. 1209 BCE, "Israel is laid waste and his seed is not."^[23] William Dever sees this "Israel" in the central highlands as a cultural and probably political entity, well enough established to be perceived by the Egyptians as a possible challenge to their hegemony, but an ethnic group rather than an organised state.^[24] The number of villages in the highlands increased to more than 300 by the end of Iron Age I^[25] (more and larger in the north), with the settled population rising from 20,000 in the twelfth century to 40,000 in the eleventh.^[26] The villagers probably shared the highlands with other communities such as pastoral nomads, but only villagers left sufficient remains to determine their settlement patterns.^[27] Archaeologists and historians see more continuity than discontinuity between these highland settlements and the preceding Late Bronze Canaanite culture;^[28] certain features such as ceramic repertoire and agrarian settlement plans have been said to be distinctives of highland sites,^[29] and collar-rimmed jars and four-roomed houses have been said to be intrinsically "Israelite," but have also been said to belong to a commonly shared culture throughout Iron I Canaan.^[30] While some archaeologists interpret the absence of pig bones from the highland sites as an indicator of ethnicity,^[31] this is not certain.^[32] Villages had populations of up to 300 or 400,^[26][33] which lived by farming and herding and were largely self-sufficient;^[34] economic interchange was prevalent.^[35] According to Ann E. Killebrew, "Most scholars today accept that the majority of the conquest narratives in the book of Joshua are devoid of historical reality".^[36][37] Popular reviews of the Book of Joshua's sharp contrasts and internal conflicts^[38] arise from "an appreciable difference between defeating a king in battle, and gaining possession of his capital city" (12:10–23 vs. 15:63, 16:10, 17:11–12, Judges 1:22–25); and because "the land was now within the grasp of the Israelites [but] they did not avail themselves fully of that dominion which was within their reach" (11:16–23, 12:7–8, 21:43 vs. 13:1–6, Judges 2:23).^[39] The question of the degrees of conquest and/or assimilation may not be answered with certainty, as both sides cite a large body of archaeological and other evidence.^[40]

Joshua and the Israelite people, Karolingischer Buchmaler, c.840

Views[link]

In rabbinical literature[link]

In rabbinic Jewish literature Joshua is regarded as a faithful, humble, deserving, wise man. Biblical verses illustrative of these qualities and of their reward are applied to him. "He that waits on his master shall be honored" (Pro. xxvii. 18) is construed as a reference to Joshua (Midrash Numbers Rabbah xii.), as is also the first part of the same verse, "Whoso keepes the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof" (Midrash Yalk., Josh. 2; Numbers Rabbah xii. 21). That "honor shall uphold the humble in spirit" (Pro. xxix. 23) is proved by Joshua's victory over Amalek (Midrash Numbers Rabbah xiii). Not the sons of Moses — as Moses himself had expected — but Joshua was appointed successor to the son of Amram (Midrash Numbers Rabbah xii). Moses was shown how Joshua reproved that Othniel (Yalḳ., Num. 776). Joshua's manliness recommended him for this high post. David referred to him in Psalms 87:25, though without mentioning the name, lest dissensions should arise between his sons and those of his brothers (Yalḳ., quoting Sifre).

In Christianity[link]

Among the early Church Fathers, Joshua is considered a type of Jesus Christ. For instance, just as Moses did not lead the children of Israel into the promised land, but Joshua did, so Moses' law could not lead them into Heaven but the new covenant mediated by Jesus (the same name as "Joshua") could. Hebrews 4:8-10 identifies Jesus as a better Joshua, as Joshua led Israel into the rest of Canaan, but Jesus leads the people of God into "God's rest," salvation.^{[citation needed]}

In later literature[link]

• In the Divine Comedy Joshua's spirit appears to Dante in the Heaven of Mars, where he is grouped with the other "warriors of the faith."
• Baroque composer Georg Frideric Handel composed an oratorio "Joshua" in 1747. Composer Franz Waxman composed an oratorio "Joshua" in 1959.
• For a punning take on "Joshua, son of Nun," see the 1973 political thriller Joshua Son of None.
• In the literary tradition of medieval Europe, Joshua is known as one of the Nine Worthies.
• Joshua is a main protagonist in Matthew Woodring Stover's novel Jericho Moon.

Yahrtzeit[link]

Joshua's Tomb in Kifl Hares, April 2007

The annual commemoration of Joshua's yahrtzeit is marked on the 26th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. Thousands make the pilgrimage to Kifl Hares on the preceding night.

See also[link]

• Joshua Roll
• Yehoshua

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joshua

• Book of Joshua at Wikisource.
• The Book of Joshua, Douay Rheims Bible Version with annotations By Bishop Challoner
• Book of Joshua at BibleGateway
• Smith’s Bible Dictionary
• Easton's Bible Dictionary & Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• de Pury, Albert, Römer, Thomas, Macchi, Jean-Daniel "Israël constructs its history: Deuteronomistic historiography in recent research" (Sheffield Academic Press, 2000)
• Garbini, G., "Myth and history in the bible" (Sheffield Academic Press, 2003)
• Graham, M.P, and McKenzie, Steven L., "The Hebrew Bible today: an introduction to critical issues" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998)
• Killebrew, Ann E., "Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, and Early Israel, 1300-1100 BCE" (Society of Biblical Literature, 2005)
• Coogan, Michael D. (ed), "The Oxford History of the Biblical World (Oxford University Press, 1998)
• Oxford Bible Commentary (ed. John Barton, John Muddiman, Oxford University Press, 2001)
• The biblical world, Volume 2, John Barton, Taylor & Francis, 2004.
• Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible (ed. James D. G. Dunn, John William Rogerson, Eerdmans, 2003)
• Day, John, "Yahweh and the gods and goddesses of Canaan" (Sheffield Academic Press, 2002)
• Dever, William, "What Did the Biblical Writers Know and When Did They Know It?" (Eerdmans, 2001)
• Dever, William, "Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From?" (Eerdmans, 2003, 2006)
• Finkelstein, Israel; Mazar, Amihay; Schmidt, Brian B., "The Quest for the Historical Israel" (Society of Biblical Literature, 2007)
• Brettler, Marc Zvi, "How to read the Bible" (Jewish Publication Society, 2005)
• Joshua, an Introduction and Commentary, by Richard Hess, Inter-Varsity press (1996)
• Bright, John (2000). A History of Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22068-6. http://books.google.com/?id=0VG67yLs-LAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Bright+History+of+Israel#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• McNutt, Paula (1999). Reconstructing the Society of Ancient Israel. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0-664-22265-9. http://books.google.com/?id=hd28MdGNyTYC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=Reconstructing+the+Society+of+Ancient+Israel++By+Paula+M.+McNutt#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Miller, James Maxwell; Hayes, John Haralson (1986). A History of Ancient Israel and Judah. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-21262-X. http://books.google.com/?id=uDijjc_D5P0C&dq=A+history+of+ancient+Israel+and+Judah++By+James+Maxwell+Miller,+John+Haralson+Hayes&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
• Miller, Robert D. (2005). Chieftains of the Highland Clans: A History of Israel in the 12th and 11th Centuries B.C.. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-0988-9. http://books.google.com/?id=Gtm7NtK87poC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Chieftains+of+the+highland+clans#v=onepage&q=&f=false.