What year was Joshua born and died?

Answer 1

Joshua died at the age of 110 years as is recorded in Joshua 24:29-30. This gives a starting point to work backwards, as this date would be close to 1365 BC, as calculated by reference to other known dates. Thus Joshua's birth date, although not recorded would be around 1475 BC. He is recorded as accompanying Moses as his assistant during some of the events of the Exodus.

The entry into Canaan where he had taken over as the leader of the Israelites in the place of Moses, would have been around 1401 BC.

Answer 2

Other views from our community:

Joshua lived at the same time as Moses during the Exodus. The Bible places the Exodus from Egypt at approximately 1440 BCE and the conquest of Canaan, under the leadership of Joshua, at approximately 1400 BCE.

One of the problems with this timing is that the Armana letters, discovered by chance in Egypt, shows that Canaan was still occupied by Canaanites, under Canaanite petty kings ruled over by Egypt, decades after the invasion would have occurred. Another problem with the biblical timing is that archaeologists find no evidence of the existence of the Israelites until shortly before 1205 BCE. This confirms the view of most scholars that there was no military invasion of Canaan as described in the Book of Joshua.

According to the Bible, Joshua was a young man at the time of the Exodus from Egypt in 1440 BCE and lived to the age of exactly 110 years, having conquered the land of the Canaanites in a bloody invasion. On this evidence, he would have lived from prior to 1450 BCE until about 1350 BCE.

An alternative view must be considered, because nearly all scholars are reported to believe there never was an Exodus from Egypt as described in the Bible and that there was no military invasion of Canaan. Instead, the Israelites were actually Canaanite peasants who left the region of the rich coastal cities to settle peacefully in the hitherto sparsely populated hinterland. On this evidence, the legendary Joshua was not a real person, so did not live at any time period.

Answer 3

According to the Bible, Joshua lived in the late fifteenth century BCE to the early part of the fourteenth century BCE. However, he is closely associated with the military conquest of Canaan, an event that appears not to have really occurred, suggesting that in the absence of any other evidence, Joshua was not a real, historical person.

Answer 4

Traditional chronology states that Joshua was born in 1354 BCE and died in 1244 BCE. See also:

More about Joshua

Evidence for Joshua's battle

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible