Difference Between Joshua and Judges

Joshua vs Judges

Joshua and Judges are two different books in the Bible. Both of the books tell the story of how people of Israel settled in the land of Canaan. Both books, the book of Joshua and the book of Judges, illustrate that there are different versions or multiple versions of the story of the settlement of Canaan in the Bible.

Book of Joshua
In the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, the book of Joshua is the sixth book. This book consists of 24 chapters. All the chapters primarily recount the entry of the Israelites into the land of Canaan; how they conquered the land, and how the land was later divided all under the leadership of Joshua himself. It mainly forms that part of biblical history where the emergence of Israel is illustrated from their slavery in Egypt to their conquests under Joshua of Canaan. The first part of the book, chapters (1-12), recounts the battles for controlling the key cities, and the second half, chapters (13-22), recounts how the land was divided amongst the 12 different tribes of Israel. The last chapters (23-24) recount the people committing themselves in a covenant ceremony to the service and worship of God. The two parts have speeches by Joshua and God commanding them to conquer the land of Canaan and later warning the people to be faithful and obedient towards the Law (Torah) which was revealed to Moses.

Book of Judges
In the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, the Book of Judges is the seventh book. As the title suggests, it tells the story of the history of the Biblical judges. Biblical judges were prophets who had knowledge of the Laws and Yahweh, and they were the decision makers for the people of Israel. After the exodus from Egypt and conquest of the land of Canaan, the people were supposed to follow proper behavior which was required of them by Yahweh.

The stories in the book of Judges illustrate a consistent pattern of how the people were unfaithful to their God, Yahweh, and he delivered the unfaithful people to their enemies. The people then repented and asked for mercy, and Yahweh sent the mercy in the form of judges. The judges then delivered the people of Israel from oppression while the people, after some time, again became unfaithful, and the whole cycle was repeated.

Summary:

1.Book of Joshua is the sixth book of the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament; the book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament.
2.The book of Joshua primarily recounts the entry of the Israelites into the land of Canaan; how they conquered the land, and how the land was later divided all under the leadership of Joshua himself; the book of Judges recounts the conquest of the land of Canaan under the leadership of 12 judges who were the decision makers for the people of Israel at the time of the conquest and their lives after that.

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