Joshua is the personal name of the main character of the book of Joshua. According to the New Bible Dictionary, the word’s basic meaning is “salvation.” Joshua was probably called Hoshea by his family, but Moses added the divine name, calling him Y’hôsua — that is, “The Lord saves.” The Arabic name is Yassu’a, which is the equivalent of the English name Jesus. The special significance of the name Joshua will become apparent as we consider the content of the book, for this is a book devoted to the deliverance of a displaced people, the people of ancient Israel.
While the book of Joshua is about the person Joshua, this does not mean that it was written by Joshua. G. W. Anderson explains: “According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by Joshua. This tradition is untenable. The statement in 24:26 — “Joshua wrote these words” — refers only to the immediate context. As in the Pentateuch, there are signs that Joshua comes from a later period and that it is a composite work.”
