Book of Joshua Quiz: The Conquest of Canaan

1. What command did God give Joshua when he commissioned him to lead Israel into Canaan?

1. 'Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you... Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night'
2. 'Do not be afraid of any nation — I have already given you the land. Just walk into it and it is yours'
3. 'Follow the ark of the covenant — wherever it leads, there I will give you victory over your enemies'
4. 'Prepare your army for battle — the land will be taken by the strength of Israel's soldiers, guided by my Spirit'

2. Rahab hid the two Israelite spies in Jericho. What did she tell them about the city's mood?

1. 'I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us... Our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you'
2. The city was divided — some wanted to surrender to Israel while others planned to fight
3. The king of Jericho had already prepared a trap for the Israelites — the spies were in danger
4. The people were confident in their walls and not afraid — Rahab wanted to defect because she alone believed Israel's God was real

3. What was the sign Rahab used to identify her household when Jericho fell?

1. A scarlet cord hung in the window — the spies told her to tie it there as a marker
2. A stone carved with the Hebrew symbol for life — placed at her doorpost
3. A white flag hung from her rooftop — visible to Joshua's commanders in the field
4. All her family gathered in the courtyard — the outer court being the signal to spare those inside

4. What miracle occurred when Israel crossed the Jordan River, and what was its timing?

1. God diverted the Jordan's source upstream — the river bed dried out gradually over several days
2. God sent a strong east wind like at the Red Sea — it divided the waters for one night while Israel crossed
3. The Jordan shrank to a trickle at God's command — only a few inches deep when Israel crossed
4. The Jordan was at flood stage (harvest time) when the priests carrying the ark stepped into it — the water stopped flowing and piled up upstream as Israel crossed on dry ground

5. Why were twelve stones set up at Gilgal after crossing the Jordan?

1. 'When your children ask you, What do these stones mean? tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the LORD' — a permanent memorial of God's miracle
2. To create an altar at the first campsite in Canaan — the twelve stones representing the twelve tribes' worship
3. To mark the boundary between the territory Israel had passed through and the land they were claiming
4. To mark the burial site of twelve warriors who drowned crossing the Jordan

6. Why was a mass circumcision performed at Gilgal before the attack on Jericho?

1. Because God required a new covenant ceremony to confirm the land promises before the conquest began
2. Because Joshua wanted to distinguish Israelites from Canaanites — circumcision was the visible marker
3. Because no uncircumcised man could bear arms in a holy war — a ritual requirement before military service
4. Because the generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised — they needed to be circumcised before celebrating Passover and entering the land

7. What were the instructions for taking Jericho, and how long did the process take?

1. Dig under the walls for seven days until they were undermined, then blow trumpets and they would fall
2. March around the city once a day for six days (priests blowing trumpets, ark of the covenant carried); on the seventh day march seven times, give a long trumpet blast, and all the people shout — the walls will collapse
3. The army would storm the walls at dawn on seven consecutive days, with the ark leading each charge
4. The priests were to anoint the walls with oil and pray for seven hours — God would then make the walls transparent and the army could walk through them

8. What happened at Ai after Jericho, and what was the cause?

1. A spy in Israel's camp betrayed the battle plan to Ai's king — the subsequent investigation revealed the spy was from the tribe of Dan
2. Israel was routed at Ai — about 36 men were killed. The cause was Achan's sin: he had taken devoted things from Jericho (a robe, silver and gold) against God's command
3. Joshua underestimated Ai's strength and sent too few men — God withdrew his blessing because of Joshua's pride in the Jericho victory
4. The walls of Ai also fell miraculously, but Israel ignored God's command about the spoils and were punished later

9. What was Achan's punishment and the punishment of his household?

1. Achan alone was stoned — his household was spared since they had not participated in the sin
2. Achan and his entire family — sons, daughters, livestock — were stoned and burned in the Valley of Achor
3. Achan was enslaved and his property was given to the families of the 36 men who had died at Ai
4. Achan was exiled from Israel permanently — he and his family were expelled to live among the Canaanites

10. How was Ai finally taken after Achan's sin was dealt with?

1. Israel tunnelled under Ai's walls at night and emerged inside the city before the defenders knew they were there
2. Joshua negotiated with Ai's king, who surrendered when he learned what had happened to Jericho and Achan's fate
3. Joshua set an ambush behind the city — drew the defenders out by feigning retreat, then the ambush force took the undefended city and set it on fire
4. The same march-and-shout strategy as Jericho — but this time it worked because the sin had been removed from the camp

11. How did the Gibeonites avoid destruction by Israel?

1. They convinced Joshua they were distant relatives of Israel descended from Abraham's nephew Lot
2. They disguised themselves as travellers from a distant country — claiming to come from far away with worn sandals and dry bread — and tricked Israel into a peace treaty
3. They sent a large tribute of gold and livestock to Joshua and asked to become servants of Israel
4. They surrendered to Joshua before the conquest began and volunteered to serve as labourers for the tabernacle

12. What miraculous event occurred during the battle at Gibeon when Israel defended their new Gibeonite allies?

1. A plague broke out among the Amorite coalition — half their army was dead before a sword was drawn
2. God sent a pillar of fire that confused the Amorite armies, causing them to fight each other
3. The LORD hurled large hailstones from the sky that killed more of the enemy than the Israelites had slain with the sword
4. The walls of the Amorite cities collapsed simultaneously as Israel marched toward them

13. What did Joshua pray at the battle of Gibeon that became one of the most remarkable prayers in the Bible?

1. 'Let your glory fill the battlefield, LORD — let every Amorite see the God of Israel fighting for his people today'
2. 'O LORD, give us victory before the sun sets — let your power be seen by all the nations of Canaan'
3. 'Stop the rain, LORD — give us dry ground to fight on, for we are better fighters on firm earth than our enemies'
4. 'Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.' There has never been a day like it before or since, when the LORD listened to a human being

14. Who was the most feared Canaanite king of the northern coalition that Joshua defeated?

1. Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem — who organised the five-king alliance against Gibeon
2. Jabin, king of Hazor — described as 'the head of all these kingdoms'; his coalition was defeated at the Waters of Merom
3. Og, king of Bashan — the last of the Rephaites, whose iron bed was nine cubits long
4. Sisera, the commander of the army who was killed by Jael with a tent peg

15. How many kings did Joshua defeat in total, according to Joshua 12?

1. 12 kings — one for each tribe of Israel
2. 31 kings — the full list is given including the two kings east of Jordan (Sihon and Og) and 29 kings west of Jordan
3. 40 kings — corresponding to the forty years of wilderness wandering
4. 70 kings — corresponding to the 70 nations of Genesis 10

16. What was the significance of the Caleb episode in Joshua 14?

1. Caleb asked to be given the most dangerous territory as an act of humility — refusing the better land others had chosen
2. Caleb was the oldest survivor of the wilderness generation — his longevity was God's reward for faithful service
3. Caleb, now 85, claimed the hill country of Hebron as his inheritance because he had followed God wholeheartedly forty-five years earlier when he gave the good spy report
4. Caleb's claim established the precedent that spiritual qualifications could override the tribal allocation system

17. Which tribe received the city of Jerusalem as their allotment, and what was the problem with it?

1. Benjamin was given Jerusalem but it fell within Judah's border — the two tribes disputed it for generations
2. Jerusalem was not allocated to any tribe — it was designated as a neutral city of God outside tribal territory
3. Judah was allotted Jerusalem but could not dislodge the Jebusites — they lived there alongside Judah until David's time
4. Levi was given Jerusalem as their central city — but the Jebusites made it impossible for the priests to establish themselves

18. What complaint did the house of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) make about their allotment?

1. They complained that their territory was too far from the tabernacle at Shiloh to bring offerings conveniently
2. They objected that Judah had received the best territory — Joshua told them to bring their case to God
3. They refused their allotment entirely — claiming the entire central hill country by ancestral right through Joseph
4. They said the allotted land was not enough for their great numbers — Joshua told them to clear the hill country if they needed more space

19. Where was the tabernacle set up when the land was sufficiently conquered for its allocation?

1. At Bethel — the place where Jacob had seen the angels ascending and descending on the ladder
2. At Gilgal — the first campsite in Canaan, sanctified by the circumcision and the twelve memorial stones
3. At Shechem — the place of the covenant ceremony between Mounts Gerizim and Ebal
4. At Shiloh — the tabernacle remained there throughout the period of the judges until captured by the Philistines

20. What was Joshua's famous challenge to Israel at the covenant renewal ceremony at Shechem in Joshua 24?

1. 'Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites... But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD'
2. 'Gather your elders and judges and renew the law — without constant study and application the covenant will be forgotten in one generation'
3. 'Renew your covenant with God today — bring your tithes, offerings and firstborn animals as a sign of your commitment'
4. 'Will you continue to disobey God as your fathers did? Turn from your sins and God will renew his blessings'