It is interesting to me to see how some Old Testament Saints' lives pointed to Christ. One such saint is Joshua the Son of Nun.
We call him Joshua in our English language, but in Hebrew his name is Yehoshua. The Septuagint translators translated his name into Greek as Iesous. In English, we write that as Jesus. So, his name is prophetic of the promised Christ.
St. Justin the Martyr is one of the Sub-apostolic Church Fathers. He knew someone who knew one of the apostles. He wrote about how Joshua's life pointed to the promised Christ.
“When the people,” replied I, “waged war with Amalek, and the son of Nave (Nun) by name Jesus (Joshua), led the fight, Moses himself prayed to God, stretching out both hands, and Hur with Aaron supported them during the whole day, so that they might not hang down when he got wearied. For if he gave up any part of this sign, which was an imitation of the Cross, the people were beaten, as is recorded in the writings of Moses; but if he remained in this form, Amalek was proportionally defeated, and he who prevailed prevailed by the Cross. For it was not because Moses so prayed that the people were stronger, but because, while one who bore the name of Jesus (Joshua) was in the forefront of the battle, he himself made the sign of the Cross. (Ex. 17:8-16) For who of you knows not that the prayer of one who accompanies it with lamentation and tears, with the body prostrate, or with bended knees, propitiates God most of all? But in such a manner neither he nor any other one, while sitting on a stone, prayed. Nor even the stone symbolized Christ, as I have shown. (The Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, chapter 90, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1., p. 244, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
St. Justin was talking about the time when the Israelites were fighting against the Amalekites. Moses held his hands up in the form of a cross while Joshua (Jesus) led the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites.
In the Bible it says that Moses held his arms up. It does not explicitly say that they were in the form of a cross, but several of the Church Fathers say that they were.
St. Justin said that just as Joshua led the people into the promised land, so does Jesus lead us into the Kingdom of God.
“What I mean is this. Jesus (Joshua), as I have now frequently remarked, who was called Oshea (Num. 13:8,16; Deut. 32:44), when he was sent to spy out the land of Canaan, was named by Moses Jesus (Joshua). Why he did this you neither ask, nor are at a loss about it, nor make strict inquiries. Therefore Christ has escaped your notice; and though you read, you understand not; and even now, though you hear that Jesus is our Christ, you consider not that the name was bestowed on Him not purposelessly nor by chance. But you make a theological discussion as to why one ‘a’ was added to Abraham’s first name; and as to why one ‘p’ was added to Sarah’s name, you use similar high-sounding disputations.* But why do you not similarly investigate the reason why the name of Oshea the son of Nave (Nun), which his father gave him, was changed to Jesus (Joshua)? But since not only was his name altered, but he was also appointed successor to Moses, being the only one of his contemporaries who came out from Egypt, he led the surviving people into the Holy Land; and as he, not Moses, led the people into the Holy Land, and as he distributed it by lot to those who entered along with him, so also Jesus the Christ will turn again the dispersion of the people, and will distribute the good land to each one, though not in the same manner. For the former gave them a temporary inheritance, seeing he was neither Christ who is God, nor the Son of God; but the latter, after the holy resurrection, shall give us the eternal possession. The former, after he had been named Jesus (Joshua), and after he had received strength from. His Spirit, caused the sun to stand still. For I have proved that it was Jesus who appeared to and conversed with Moses, and Abraham, and all the other patriarchs without exception, ministering to the will of the Father; who also, I say, came to be born man by the Virgin Mary, and lives for ever. For the latter is He after whom and by whom the Father will renew both the Heaven and the Earth; this is He who shall shine an eternal light in Jerusalem (Rev. 21:23); this is he who is the King of Salem after the order of Melchizedek, and the eternal Priest of the Most High. (Heb. 7:1-3, 14-22) The former is said to have circumcised the people a second time with knives of stone (which was a sign of this circumcision with which Jesus Christ Himself has circumcised us from the idols made of stone and of other materials), and to have collected together those who were circumcised from the uncircumcision, i.e., from the error of the world, in every place by the knives of stone, to wit, the words of our Lord Jesus. For I have shown that Christ was proclaimed by the prophets in parables a Stone and a Rock. Accordingly the knives of stone we shall take to mean His words, by means of which so many who were in error have been circumcised from uncircumcision with the circumcision of the heart, with which God by Jesus commanded those from that time to be circumcised who derived their circumcision from Abraham, saying that Jesus (Joshua) would circumcise a second time with knives of stone those who entered into that holy land. (The Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, chapter 113, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1., pp. 255-256, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
St. Irenaeus of Lyons also was also a Sub-apostolic Church Father. He, likewise, wrote about how Joshua's life pointed to Jesus Christ. He said that Moses led the people out of Egypt, but Joshua led them into the promised land. Jesus Christ, of course, is the one who leads us into our eternal inheritance when we follow Him. (St. Matt. 19:27-29; St. Mk. 8:34-38; St. John 8:12; 12:24-26; 14:2,3)
“Take unto thee Joshua (ʼΙησου̂ν) the son of Nun.” (Num. 27:18) For it was proper that Moses should lead the people out of Egypt, but that Jesus (Joshua) should lead them into the inheritance. Also that Moses, as was the case with the law, should cease to be, but that Joshua (ʼΙνσου̂ν), as the word, and no untrue type of the Word made flesh (ἐνυποστατάτου), should be a preacher to the people. Then again, [it was fit] that Moses should give manna as food to the fathers, but Joshua wheat; as the first-fruits of life, a type of the body of Christ, as also the Scripture declares that the manna of the Lord ceased when the people had eaten wheat from the land. (Josh. 5:12, LXX) (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XIX, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 571, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
The analogy about the manna and the wheat is interesting. While traveling with Moses, the people ate manna, a bread that fell from Heaven. In one of the Psalms, this was called the food of angels. (Psalm 77:23-25, LXX; Psalm 78:23-25, Hebrew) Under the leadership of Joshua, the manna stopped falling from Heaven and the people ate wheat instead.
In this day the manna failed, after they had eaten of the corn (Greek, sitos, wheat) of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna: and they took the fruits of the land of the Phoenicians in that year. (Josh. 5:12, LXX)
Wheat flour is used to make the bread that is used in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus gave us the Sacrament of the Eucharist on the night before He was crucified.
This reminds me of Jesus Christ's words in St. John's Gospel.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven; but My Father giveth you the true Bread from Heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world. (St. John 6:32,33)
I am the Bread of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. (St. John 6:35)
I am that Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (St. John 6:48-51)
So, Joshua the Son of Nun, who is called Yehoshua in Hebrew and Iesous in Greek, is a type of Christ. There are certain things about his life that prophetically illustrate that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Christ.
Steve
* In the Septuagint, Abram's name was altered to Abraam and Sara's name was changed to Sarra. (Gen. 17:5,15, LXX) The Greek letter for r looks like our letter p.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
We call him Joshua in our English language, but in Hebrew his name is Yehoshua. The Septuagint translators translated his name into Greek as Iesous. In English, we write that as Jesus. So, his name is prophetic of the promised Christ.
St. Justin the Martyr is one of the Sub-apostolic Church Fathers. He knew someone who knew one of the apostles. He wrote about how Joshua's life pointed to the promised Christ.
“When the people,” replied I, “waged war with Amalek, and the son of Nave (Nun) by name Jesus (Joshua), led the fight, Moses himself prayed to God, stretching out both hands, and Hur with Aaron supported them during the whole day, so that they might not hang down when he got wearied. For if he gave up any part of this sign, which was an imitation of the Cross, the people were beaten, as is recorded in the writings of Moses; but if he remained in this form, Amalek was proportionally defeated, and he who prevailed prevailed by the Cross. For it was not because Moses so prayed that the people were stronger, but because, while one who bore the name of Jesus (Joshua) was in the forefront of the battle, he himself made the sign of the Cross. (Ex. 17:8-16) For who of you knows not that the prayer of one who accompanies it with lamentation and tears, with the body prostrate, or with bended knees, propitiates God most of all? But in such a manner neither he nor any other one, while sitting on a stone, prayed. Nor even the stone symbolized Christ, as I have shown. (The Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, chapter 90, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1., p. 244, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
St. Justin was talking about the time when the Israelites were fighting against the Amalekites. Moses held his hands up in the form of a cross while Joshua (Jesus) led the Israelites in battle against the Amalekites.
In the Bible it says that Moses held his arms up. It does not explicitly say that they were in the form of a cross, but several of the Church Fathers say that they were.
St. Justin said that just as Joshua led the people into the promised land, so does Jesus lead us into the Kingdom of God.
“What I mean is this. Jesus (Joshua), as I have now frequently remarked, who was called Oshea (Num. 13:8,16; Deut. 32:44), when he was sent to spy out the land of Canaan, was named by Moses Jesus (Joshua). Why he did this you neither ask, nor are at a loss about it, nor make strict inquiries. Therefore Christ has escaped your notice; and though you read, you understand not; and even now, though you hear that Jesus is our Christ, you consider not that the name was bestowed on Him not purposelessly nor by chance. But you make a theological discussion as to why one ‘a’ was added to Abraham’s first name; and as to why one ‘p’ was added to Sarah’s name, you use similar high-sounding disputations.* But why do you not similarly investigate the reason why the name of Oshea the son of Nave (Nun), which his father gave him, was changed to Jesus (Joshua)? But since not only was his name altered, but he was also appointed successor to Moses, being the only one of his contemporaries who came out from Egypt, he led the surviving people into the Holy Land; and as he, not Moses, led the people into the Holy Land, and as he distributed it by lot to those who entered along with him, so also Jesus the Christ will turn again the dispersion of the people, and will distribute the good land to each one, though not in the same manner. For the former gave them a temporary inheritance, seeing he was neither Christ who is God, nor the Son of God; but the latter, after the holy resurrection, shall give us the eternal possession. The former, after he had been named Jesus (Joshua), and after he had received strength from. His Spirit, caused the sun to stand still. For I have proved that it was Jesus who appeared to and conversed with Moses, and Abraham, and all the other patriarchs without exception, ministering to the will of the Father; who also, I say, came to be born man by the Virgin Mary, and lives for ever. For the latter is He after whom and by whom the Father will renew both the Heaven and the Earth; this is He who shall shine an eternal light in Jerusalem (Rev. 21:23); this is he who is the King of Salem after the order of Melchizedek, and the eternal Priest of the Most High. (Heb. 7:1-3, 14-22) The former is said to have circumcised the people a second time with knives of stone (which was a sign of this circumcision with which Jesus Christ Himself has circumcised us from the idols made of stone and of other materials), and to have collected together those who were circumcised from the uncircumcision, i.e., from the error of the world, in every place by the knives of stone, to wit, the words of our Lord Jesus. For I have shown that Christ was proclaimed by the prophets in parables a Stone and a Rock. Accordingly the knives of stone we shall take to mean His words, by means of which so many who were in error have been circumcised from uncircumcision with the circumcision of the heart, with which God by Jesus commanded those from that time to be circumcised who derived their circumcision from Abraham, saying that Jesus (Joshua) would circumcise a second time with knives of stone those who entered into that holy land. (The Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, chapter 113, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1., pp. 255-256, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
St. Irenaeus of Lyons also was also a Sub-apostolic Church Father. He, likewise, wrote about how Joshua's life pointed to Jesus Christ. He said that Moses led the people out of Egypt, but Joshua led them into the promised land. Jesus Christ, of course, is the one who leads us into our eternal inheritance when we follow Him. (St. Matt. 19:27-29; St. Mk. 8:34-38; St. John 8:12; 12:24-26; 14:2,3)
“Take unto thee Joshua (ʼΙησου̂ν) the son of Nun.” (Num. 27:18) For it was proper that Moses should lead the people out of Egypt, but that Jesus (Joshua) should lead them into the inheritance. Also that Moses, as was the case with the law, should cease to be, but that Joshua (ʼΙνσου̂ν), as the word, and no untrue type of the Word made flesh (ἐνυποστατάτου), should be a preacher to the people. Then again, [it was fit] that Moses should give manna as food to the fathers, but Joshua wheat; as the first-fruits of life, a type of the body of Christ, as also the Scripture declares that the manna of the Lord ceased when the people had eaten wheat from the land. (Josh. 5:12, LXX) (Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XIX, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 571, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
The analogy about the manna and the wheat is interesting. While traveling with Moses, the people ate manna, a bread that fell from Heaven. In one of the Psalms, this was called the food of angels. (Psalm 77:23-25, LXX; Psalm 78:23-25, Hebrew) Under the leadership of Joshua, the manna stopped falling from Heaven and the people ate wheat instead.
In this day the manna failed, after they had eaten of the corn (Greek, sitos, wheat) of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna: and they took the fruits of the land of the Phoenicians in that year. (Josh. 5:12, LXX)
Wheat flour is used to make the bread that is used in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus gave us the Sacrament of the Eucharist on the night before He was crucified.
This reminds me of Jesus Christ's words in St. John's Gospel.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven; but My Father giveth you the true Bread from Heaven. For the Bread of God is He which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world. (St. John 6:32,33)
I am the Bread of Life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. (St. John 6:35)
I am that Bread of Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the Bread which cometh down from Heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever: and the Bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. (St. John 6:48-51)
So, Joshua the Son of Nun, who is called Yehoshua in Hebrew and Iesous in Greek, is a type of Christ. There are certain things about his life that prophetically illustrate that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Christ.
Steve
* In the Septuagint, Abram's name was altered to Abraam and Sara's name was changed to Sarra. (Gen. 17:5,15, LXX) The Greek letter for r looks like our letter p.
Bibliography
Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts
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