In this passage, Joshua leads the people to take the land on the west side of the Jordan River, which the Lord had promised to Abraham in Genesis 15. The first city to conquer was Jericho, and because Rahab the Prostitute had faith in the God of the Israelites, she and all in her household were saved, and she lived among the Israelites. We see in the New Testament Gospel, Matthew 1:5, that Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab!" She became the great, great, great, grandmother of King David, and ultimately a relative of Jesus Christ. The next city they took was Ai, but their first attempt did not succeed because one of the Israelites chose to keep some items that belonged to the Lord. After he and his family were put to death, then they reattacked Ai and won. The Gibeonites made a treaty of peace with Israel, and they chose to be their servants, which angered some other kings from Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. They went to war with the Gibeon, who asked the Jews to help, so Joshua and his army came and attacked these 5 kings and won. After that, Joshua defeated the southern cities and then the northern cities were conquered. Moses defeated two on the east side of the river where Reuben, Gad, and 1/2 of Manasseh settled. The other 9 1/2 tribes settled in the land on the west side.
