Joshua Typology in the New Testament

In this monograph Richard Ounsworth argues that the Letter to the Hebrews invites its audience to infer a typological relationship between Jesus and Joshua, son of Nun, with whom he shares a name. The author begins by developing a distinctive notion of typology emerging from within the New Testament and its use of the Old Testament, before applying it to Hebrews. Hebrews 3:7-4:11, through its exegesis of Psalm 95, sets up a typology between the audience and the Israelites as depicted in Numbers 13-14, and within this context Joshua typology has much explanatory power. Hebrews 11 develops the theme through the structure of its outline of salvation history, including two significant lacunae: the crossing of the Jordan, and the person of Joshua. The crossing of the Jordan parallels the High Priest’s passage through the veil of the sanctuary on the Day of Atonement, and both function as types of entry into God’s rest and the inauguration of the new and eternal covenant.