Two Joshuas

On Joshua in Hebrews 3-4

Hebrews 3-4 is a puzzling text. The section starts with Jesus the high priest (3:1), then the writer seems to forget priesthood his topic as he goes into a comparison of Jesus and Moses.

This apparently reminds him of Psalm 95’s description of Israel’s rebellion, a passage that occupies his attention from 3:7 to 4:11, modulating along the way into the theme of rest – the rest of occupying the land somehow merged with the Creator’s rest on the seventh day – before a couple of rich verses on the s/word of God.

Then 4:14: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest. . . .” Oh right. We were talking about priests, weren’t we? But “Therefore”? How does the conclusion of chapter 4 relate to anything between 3:1 and 4:13?

Bryan Whitfield (Joshua Traditions and the Argument of Hebrews 3 and 4) thinks he’s found the key. For starters, he insists that all of 3:7-4:13 is priestly, nestled as it is between the explicit priestly references in 3:1 and 4:14-16.

Contrary to our initial impression, the comparison of Jesus and Moses doesn’t dominate the chapter. After 3:1-6, Moses is barely mentioned. Instead, Israel’s rebellion, especially at Kadesh, occupies the center of attention, particularly in the exposition of Psalm 95.