How we cite our quotes:
Quote #1
They answered Joshua: "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! (NRSV 1:16-17)
And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. (KJV 1:16-17)
Every community needs a strong leader; otherwise the group dynamic crumbles. The book of Joshua goes to painful lengths to hammer home that Joshua is the new Moses, the ultimate Israelite leader. Fortunately for Joshua, he fosters community, in some ways, better than Moses.
Quote #2
The Israelites did as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD told Joshua, carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there. (Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.) (NRSV 4:8-9)
And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the LORD spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the Ark of the Covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. (KJV 4:8-9)
Part of being in a community is sharing the same experiences. The Israelites take this one step further by creating a monument for their experience so further generations feel a connection to their ancestors. It's like a really old school time capsule.
Quote #3
So Joshua made flint knives, and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth. This is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the warriors, had died during the journey through the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt. Although all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people born on the journey through the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. (NRSV 5:3-5)
And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. (KJV 5:3-5)
Sometimes being a part of a community means participating in painful events. To some, it's going to Aunt Polly's Christmas ham hoopla. To the Israelites, it's participating in circumcision. All things considered, Aunt Polly's is looking better and better.