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Joshua Quake

~1200 BCE

by Jefferson Williams








Introduction & Summary

Joshua Quake Summary

Textual Evidence

Text (with hotlink) Original Language Religion Date of Composition Location Composed Notes
Book of Joshua Hebrew Jewish The Book of Joshua 24:29–30 records the death of Joshua at the age of 110 and his subsequent burial. He was buried on his own property at Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. No earthquake, ground shaking, destruction, or other seismic effects are described in the account. The significance of Gaash for the proposed Joshua Quake derives instead from the Hebrew name and its later interpretation as being associated with shaking or quaking. Thus, the Book of Joshua supplies the geographical and textual setting for the tradition, but does not itself provide evidence that an earthquake occurred.
Ruth Rabba principally in Mishnaic Hebrew, with portions, particularly narrative material, in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic Jewish 6th century CE Israel Ruth Rabbah, Petiḥta 2, preserves a later rabbinic tradition associating Joshua's burial with an earthquake. It cites Joshua 24:30, which places Joshua's tomb north of Gaash, and interprets the name through Hebrew words associated with shaking or quaking. The midrash explains that the Israelites neglected the proper acts of kindness for Joshua because they were preoccupied with their newly allotted lands. As punishment, God sought to "bring an earthquake upon the world, upon all its inhabitants." The passage reinforces this interpretation by citing Psalm 18:8, "The earth shook [vatigash] and quaked," employing a verb derived from the same Hebrew root associated with Gaash. Ruth Rabbah therefore preserves an explicit earthquake tradition connected with Joshua's burial, although the account may represent exegetical wordplay rather than an independent memory of an historical earthquake.
Text (with hotlink) Original Language Religion Date of Composition Location Composed Notes
Book of Joshua

Ruth Rabba

Notes