Yehoshua/0

Yehoshua

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Unique Traits

Faith in Hashem

Yehoshua exhibits consistent faith in Hashem, being one of the few in his generation not to participate in either of the nation's two biggest debacles in the Wilderness, the Sin of the Golden Calf and the Sin of the Spies.

Loyal Servant

• "משרת משה"
• "אדני משה כלאם"

Military Prowess

• Amalek
• Conquest of Canaan

Uncontested Leader

The transition of leadership from Moshe to Yehoshua is one of the only smooth transitions of leadership in all of Tanakh. Yehoshua takes on the mantle without opposition and appears to be respected from the very beginning of his tenure.  How did he accomplish this?

Possible Flaws

Lack in Leadership?

• Hesitancy in the Story of the Spies? – Both Yehoshua and Calev disassociate themselves from the negative report of the other spies, but perhaps surprisingly it is Calev, rather than Yehoshua, who appears to take the lead role in combating their claims. Thus, it is Calev who initially stands up to hush the people after the spies speak (Bemidbar 13:30), while Yehoshua is not mentioned until the next chapter. How are we to understand Yehoshua's initial silence?¹

• Pointless to talk – Shadal and R. Hirsch claim that due to Yehoshua's position as "משרת משה", he realized that anything he would say to defend Moshe or sway the people would be ineffective. They would just attribute his stance to his loyalty to Moshe and not take his message to heart.
• Different ideology – Alternatively, it is possible that Yehoshua disagreed with the ideology behind Calev's speech. Calev attempted to persuade the people that they were capable of conquest, but this suggests that victory is about military strength rather than Hashem's aid. Yehoshua, thus, speaks up only afterwards to highlight how all is in Hashem's hand, "אִם חָפֵץ בָּנוּ י״י וְהֵבִיא אֹתָנוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וּנְתָנָהּ לָנוּ".‎²

• Absence during the Sin of the Golden Calf – Most commentators assume that Yehoshua stayed at the foot of the mountain, apart from the Israelite camp,  throughout the forty days that Moshe spoke with Hashem. As such, he was entirely unaware of the Sin of the Golden Calf and could not be expected to have intervened to stop it. However, when Moshe descends the mountain, Yehoshua tells him that he hears voices of war. Considering that Yehoshua is the nation's general, why, if he assumed that there was a battle taking place, did he not go to the people's aid?
• Heard only now - It is possible that Yehoshua first heard the cries from the Israelite camp only after Moshe descended and reached Yehoshua.  However, considering that worship of the calf began when Moshe was at the top of the mountain,  one would have thought that Yehoshua would have heard and reacted to the noise sooner.
• Not at the foot of the mountain - This leads to an alternative possibility, hinted to by Midrash Aggadah, that Yehoshua had actually ascended the mountain with Moshe.³

Family Life

Tanakh does not share any details about Yehoshua's family life, but Bavli Megillah presents him as marrying Rachav after she converted. Among their descendants were 8 prophets.

Yehoshua vs. Moshe

¹ A similar question arises when Hashem punishes the nation.  At first Hashem explicitly exempts only Calev from the decree (Bemidbar 14:24), adding Yehoshua's exemption only several verses later in 14:30.  Why is Yehoshua exceptional status not mentioned from the very beginning?

² This difference in outlook might be why it is Yehoshua, and not Calev, who leads the nation after Moshe's death. See, though, Abarbanel, who asserts that Calev, too, recognized from the outset the importance of highlighting Hashem's role, and that Calev only did not do so because he felt that Moshe would do a better job of it.

³ See Midrash Aggadah: מלמד שלא היה יהושע נפרש ממשה אלא בשעת הדיבור בלבד.