Joshua and the Chosen People: The Old Heroes, #2

By Ben Garrido

Joshua has inherited leadership of the Israelites and the divine imperative to provide them a homeland entirely their own. Before him, Jericho and the nations of Canaan glimmer with arms, wealth and impure blood. Can the soft-hearted Joshua clean away the pagans? Can his virtue persevere in the face of Israel's fearsome destiny? Can the Chosen People remain good so long as they remain chosen? Joshua and the Chosen People is a fictional retelling of the conquest of the Holy Land. Firmly committed to portraying the humanity of both conquerors and conquered, Joshua and the Chosen People will make you question the value of "proud heritage" and the nature of goodness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J&B Publishing
• Release date: Dec 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215395103

Ben Garrido

Garrido is the author of the novels The Blackguard and The Potency, in addition to the upcoming novel The Book of Joshua through Luckybat Books. He also writes award winning journalism for the Reno News and Review, Chico News and Review and others, and lectures on second language acquisition at Mokwon University in South Korea. His non-fiction works include Critical Thinking for Leaders and Anglo-American Culture, both published with Shinasa Publishing Company. He writes on subjects including language, fiction, adventure and logic. Raised in Reno, Nevada, he now divides his time between South Korea and the United States.

Book preview

PART I

PARADISO

CHAPTER 1

Moses would not live much longer. The cuticles of his fingers had grown brittle and left smeared blood on the sacred scrolls as the great man set them aside. His eyes were clouded and dull, his voice hollowed and frail; all that remained in Moses’s life was the trek to Mount Nebo. Joshua, Nun, and the spy Caleb stood next to the great man’s writing table as he rose. Moses made a pained grunt, and Nun spoke.

May we assist you, Great One? 

Moses replied in the negative. 

Caleb, Nun, tomorrow I shall dwell among the dead and pass unto the judgment of God. Will you honor my wishes after I pass?

Yes, Dearest Leader, Nun said. 

Of course, Melech, Caleb said.

Moses’s lips turned up in the tightest of smiles and he faced Joshua. He stifled a cough and looked at the man he would soon appoint heir.

Then from this day, all of our tribe shall obey the will of Joshua. Now go forth and tell the people they have seen the last of Moses. I shall not return from the mountain.

The great man said nothing more and laid a frail hand upon Joshua’s head. The two left Nun, Caleb, and the tent behind and walked into the blasting heat of dusk. Moses, despite his physical delicacy, went first. Joshua considered holding Moses’s elbow but decided to do so would risk humiliating the patriarch. What have we except dignity in this life? I’ll not rob the old man of his. The great one finally cleared the edge of camp as the sun descended behind Mount Nebo. 

Quickly, Joshua, Moses said. If we summit the mountain soon, I shall see the light one last time.

But you haven’t the strength.

Carry me. 

Certainly, Melech.

Joshua smiled. Moses draped his bleeding hands over Joshua’s broad shoulders and lifted his legs. Joshua grabbed the great man’s wrists and set off up the hill at a trot with the wasted patriarch, no heavier than a newborn calf, bouncing on his back with each step.

While Nebo was not tall, it was steep and sandy. Joshua stopped momentarily at the base and gathered his fortitude. Do not waste Moses’s time. Low brushes scratched the younger man’s legs, and the hot, dusty air filled his lungs. Jagged, shifting stones crunched beneath his feet and threatened to topple them both. The muscles of his calves burned, and the dust grated against his dry throat. He began to pity himself but, disgusted with his own selfishness, pushed on harder than before. They reached the mountaintop before the shadows had crept too far along the valley floor.

From Nebo’s peak they looked down on the valley and over to the next mountain range. Behind them the Israelites camped in the squalor of expended cooking grease slurried with the desert’s endless sand. In front of them, matte-green olive groves and dark, recently tilled soil spread out in the wasteland like honey spilled on canvas.

Joshua carefully lowered Moses to the ground and wiped the sweat from his own forehead. Moses turned west and sat among the stones. His protégé did likewise, and the two men watched the orange glow recede behind the mountains for a second time.

The sky is beautiful?

More beautiful than any I’ve seen, Moses said. Though perhaps because I have never before seen the sun descend behind the hills twice in one day.

Joshua noticed the wetness around Moses’s eyes but could not tell if sweat, tears, or a derangement of his rheumy ducts had let loose the moisture.

I do not know if I am ready to inherit your rule. I would not have thought myself worthy.

Moses smiled and grabbed hold of the younger man’s hands. 

You are not ready, but then none are. I certainly was not prepared to lead this nation when we struck down Pharaoh.

Perhaps my father would be better. 

Nun is a brutal man, Moses said. Our people will not do brutal things for Nun, even if those things are necessary, because they will see those brutalities as a manifestation of his nature. If a gentle man such as you commands them to do a brutal thing, they will know that God has left you with no choice.

Moses extended his hand out toward the fifty thousand men and their multitudinous wives and children camped below. He coughed again and muttered an expletive before continuing.

These are the great loves of my life. I would undertake any hardship, any danger, if only to see them flourish. I wish I could live so long as to witness their triumph.

The great man paused for several seconds.

They deserve a homeland, Joshua. They must have a piece of this earth that is entirely their own.

I know. That knowledge alone sustained me through our trials in the desert. We have paid so much in blood and toil.

Joshua’s voice trailed off as he remembered Egyptians drowning in the Red Sea, the slaughter of all those in Midian and the thousands of Hebrews who had fallen into idolatry only to die at the Levites’ righteous hands.

There is no point unless we make this land truly ours, Moses said. We need a clean place to build from if we wish to become a light unto this world. Should we contaminate our blood, our faith, or our customs, nothing will distinguish us from the Jebusites or the Hittites or the Amorites.

Joshua looked at the River Jordan and bowed his head. The locks near his hairline fell over his eyes and blocked all view of Moses, the camp, and the mighty river. He brought his gaze level again only when the giver of The Law spoke. 

Remember your responsibility.

How can I forget?

Moses smiled and looked again to the last strands of sunlight sneaking over the mountains. They fell silent for nearly an hour until there was no light save that coming from the quarter moon. Finally Moses broke apart the quietude.

I do not wish to die.

It matters not, Joshua said abruptly, then gingerly added, Melech.

You speak the truth. Bury me in the dirt of that ridge. I wish to look over the Holy Land I have strived for all my life when I have died.

Joshua agreed and turned his back. 

The time has come.

Joshua took in the noises of the night: an old man’s breathing, crickets calling, rodents digging, and the breeze setting aflutter so many leaves, twigs, and branches. A gust came up from the south and lasted for several minutes. Joshua wept when, wind abating, he could no longer hear Moses breathe. The new leader of the Hebrews buried his mentor on a ridge no Israelite would ever find. Simple and elegant, overlooking the blessed land of the Covenant, washed over with wholesome winds and cleansed daily with the sun, Moses’s tomb could have been the work of God.

CHAPTER 2

When Joshua came down from the mountain, he found the camp silent and the leaders ensconced in their tents.  Do they mourn Moses’s passing or fear my leadership, he wondered. Joshua went to Caleb’s plain brown tent first. Warm yellow light dribbled through the flap, and the new leader of all Israel smelled oil and grain, spice and meat roasting within. He went in.

How are you, friend?

I am well, considering the tragedy that has befallen our people. 

Joshua nodded and thought of his mentor’s cooling body settling into the white earth of Mount Nebo. Joshua hoped Moses’s rest was a comfortable one. Caleb poured wine from a buck's skin and broke honeyed flat bread for their mutual enjoyment. 

Never have I felt trepidation of this magnitude, Caleb said. Not even when Moses sent us to spy on the Canaanites.

Does my leadership inspire so little faith?

Caleb bit his lip and broke eye contact. Of course you fear me, Joshua thought. I’ve yet to earn your faith.

I want your honesty, untempered by the tenderness of our friendship, Joshua said. What must I do?

You must do that which Moses did, Caleb said. Obey him, for he never led us astray.

What can be done concerning the Canaanites? Joshua asked.

What did Moses command?

He said to make a clean place that is truly our own.

As ever, his judgment was sound.

Joshua ran fingers through hair and excused himself to visit the well. While among the many people—some thirsty, some washing, a few merely resting—Joshua meditated. The exodus had ruined thousands of lives. The Egyptians, the Midianites, the heretics. A solitary charioteer floundering in the Red Sea emerged from Joshua’s memory.

The Egyptian had long straight hair and a prominent nose and the mark of a low-ranking officer. He could not have been older than forty. His companions had drowned, but he had survived somehow, struggling on for hours in his attempts to reach the beachhead. Caleb had turned away in squeamishness, and Nun had taunted the Egyptian, but Joshua had felt compelled to hold fast, watching in silence.

The soldier’s muscles tensed in one direction and then another, never relaxing under his salty, slick skin. His eyes turned red with the briny water, and mucous streamed from his nose and smeared across his lips. 

Help me, he said.

Swim the other way, an Israelite said. You are not welcome in this place.

Help me, please help me.

Finally Caleb turned. Do not come any closer.

Help me.

The Egyptian came to water shallow enough to walk in. He raised his hands over his head and repeated the word mercy. After the third mercy, Nun shot an arrow into his cheek. When the man fell, Nun approached and drove a spear into his chest over and over again. The Egyptian floated back to sea like rotten driftwood, bending and breaking with each wave. Joshua came near to hatred for his father but retreated before any damage could occur.

Standing over the wet, dark well, Joshua retreated once more.

He decided to fill his cup with the water of a small stream coming down from Mount Nebo. Joshua wondered if Moses’s wisdom and strength had somehow seeped into the ground and washed into this stream. He hoped it was so. Joshua returned to his friend’s tent and spoke to Caleb.

Do you remember the Egyptian?

There were many Egyptians, Caleb said.

You know which one I speak of. Please do not engage in these cloy games, Caleb. I cannot lead without you.

Caleb nodded, apologized, and offered his recollection.

I remember that Egyptian well; Nun killed him so that I did not have to. It is one of the many debts of gratitude I owe your father.

I wish my father had not slain the Egyptian. He posed no threat to us.

Do you still wish me to speak bluntly with you?

Please.

The people will see sentiments of that sort as weakness. Do not speak thus except in my confidence.

Of course.

Did his friend also view such sentiments as weakness? Joshua covered his insecurity with a diversion.

You did not wish the Egyptian to die either. I am not the only one whose strength failed on that day.

It was a mistake to feel pity for the pagan. I am sorry I did not set a better example at the time.

Joshua saw this as either an evasion or a willful failure of empathy and became frustrated.

Let us speak of the camp.

What would you like to know?

CHAPTER 3

Joachim the Benjamite woke to the sound of a man tearing open his door flap. He took hold of a blanket and rushed to cover his wife’s nakedness. This surprised her, and she made a squeaking noise.

Come with me, the man said. Joshua will speak with you now.

Joachim reached for his robes and comforted his startled wife with a kiss. All is well, sweet one, he said quietly.

Joachim lived on the far southern edge of camp but did not mind the long walk, as he needed time with which to rub the dried tears from his eyes and to orient himself in wakefulness. The stars are so bright, the air so crisp.

We are here, the man said. Moses chose Joshua as his successor. Lavish the new leader with respect in the same manner you did his predecessor.

Joachim gnashed his teeth and muttered rebellion under his breath.

None commanded that we respect Moses. Such things were not necessary.

If the man heard Joachim’s insubordination, he did not react. Joachim opened the fine cloth curtains covering the entrance to Joshua’s tent. The heavy scents of incense and candle wax combined with high temperature to stifle Joachim. How any man could work here, he did not know. Joshua spoke at once.

I hear told you are brave and that your valor is matched only by your skill in trickery.

Joachim bowed but said nothing as he looked the other man over. He thought Joshua’s physical presence sufficiently regal. The new leader stood nearly six feet tall with strong, broad shoulders and very long legs. A surplus of pock marks, for sure, but the square chin and prominent cheeks easily led one’s eye away from Joshua’s faulty complexion. Joachim thought the successor to Moses must look exceptionally fine from a distance.

We will cross into the promised land within the week if the tribes of Reuben, half Manasseh and Gad agree, Joshua said. I need cunning men whom I might rightly trust if I am to prepare for the invasion.

Then we are to wage war, Dearest Leader?

Joachim thought the term dearest leader poorly chosen for the office Moses had occupied. Only the most worthy became truly dear in the hearts of their people. The new man seemed likeable but had earned nothing and, being nearly unknown, had no place in the affection of Israel. Joachim felt the edges of his rough sleeve and pulled at a loose thread.

Yes, Joshua said. Moses commanded thus.

What do you require of me? Joachim asked.

I want you to climb up the mountains along the River Jordan and devise a strategy for conquest. Tell me which city I should attack first and which city I should conquer thereafter. I shall not expect you to plan beyond this, but do not restrict your thoughts. I wish to hear any schemes you deem worthy of my ears. I owe it to the people of Israel to prepare as best I can, for it will be they who fight and die.

Joachim was glad to hear Joshua’s concluding sentiment. If he had any complaint with Moses, it was that the patriarch had been overly cavalier with Israelite lives. If Joshua continues in this manner, soon none will need tell the Israelites to show him respect. Joachim uttered his next salutation with a great deal more sincerity than he had said dearest leader just moments before.

Melech, while I know little of the Canaanites, I wonder if we could not persuade them to leave or sell us their land. If so, no Israelite would need to fight or die.

I shall consider your words, however …

A scribe passed into the tent and bowed before Joshua. The new leader asked Joachim to leave them in peace for a short while. Joachim said Of course and escaped into the cooler night air. He felt a jolt of excitement run up his back when he thought of Joshua’s potential as leader. Perhaps the Israelites could cease their perpetual wanderings and leave behind their godforsaken camps in the desert. No longer would they walk over streets slicked with shit, no longer would the piss of so many spoil the streams. The Israelites, bottled into their desert camps, would flow free into the Holy Land and spread over the verdant hills and bountiful valleys. Maybe the land of milk and honey would truly teem with bees, fragrant blossoms, and fat cows. Perhaps this new leader would find high positions for men such as Joachim.

The scribe came out of Joshua’s tent a short while later and jogged away in the direction of the Levite camp. Joachim walked to the threshold and asked, Shall I reenter your tent, Dearest Leader? Joshua replied in the affirmative, and Joachim braced himself for the heat and smells. The new leader sat upon a brown cushion and licked his lips before speaking.

I am anxious to ask a common man such as yourself what the people think of me.

They know very little of you, only that you spied on the Canaanites and had great favor with Moses.

Then clearly I must prove myself in their eyes.

Surely they yearn to witness your valor. But that is another matter. How should I proceed with my survey, great one?

Joshua reached down to adjust his sandals before continuing.

Thank you for visiting me at this strange hour. Begin your work tomorrow and tell me what you find before the Sabbath. I will not forget those who show me kindness when our travels are over. And take cheese from my servant. Give it to your children that they might grow strong.

Joachim again bowed without speaking and walked into the darkness toward the warm, waiting arms of his beloved.

CHAPTER 4

Joshua sent Caleb out the day after the Sabbath to the eastern tribes and gathered them for his first speech as leader of the Israelites. Reuben, Manasseh, and Gad numbered near to ten thousand men, and so Joshua ordered that the assembly should take place at the base of one of the many gorges of Mt. Nebo. He would stand at the mouth of the crevice and speak to the people sitting above in the natural amphitheater the mountain provided. The eastern tribesmen trickled in at first and then dozens at a time, but within two hours the entire assembly sat before him.

Joshua saw his Nubian wife emerge from the crowd. Dark legs parted the lower edge of her robes with each step, and the sunlight scattered among her thick, curly hair. She kissed his cheek and spoke.

I know you tremble inside. Put aside your worries, for you, my wonderful husband, you are more than equal to the task.

Joshua smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. The very air seemed to shake, to quiver with the hope and despair of an entire nation. He looked to the Nubian once more, gathered his courage and turned to the crowd. He called out in a strong, confident voice.

"Israelites, Moses has died and appointed me your new leader. As you know, our beloved father left his work half done. Moses provided you tribesmen of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh with land here, east of the Jordan. The covenant is fulfilled for you, and you have no more need of fighting. You might cease your struggles and enjoy the love of your wives and the adoration of your children. Your vineyards will surely produce sweeter grapes with you here to