Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant

Although Joshua was granted the strength and authority to lead Israel, to a large extent he did not rule in his own merit but due to his position as Moses’ attendant, that is, his deputy, the man who had been executing Moses’ orders from the time of Israel’s first war with Amalek (Exodus 17:8–16). Joshua, who had always been close to his master, was now chosen to complete Moses’ mission. For this reason, various statements and prophecies of Moses appear sporadically throughout the book of Joshua (see 8:31–35, 11:12–23, 23:6). Indeed, they form the basis for all the events described in this book, and responsibility for their fulfillment fell upon Joshua, the political and military successor of Moses (see Ralbag).

This Jordan

The Jordan River is the eastern border of the Land of Israel (Numbers 34:12). Although large tracts of land on the eastern side of the Jordan, which had been occupied by the Emorites, had already been conquered by Israel, this was not the original intention. Israel fought the Emorite kings and conquered their lands only because those kings blocked their path to the western side of the Jordan. Consequently, the region on the eastern side of the border is considered a kind of annexed territory, which is not classified as the Land of Israel proper in the fullest sense (see 22:19).