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The book of Joshua concludes with the record of two deaths and three burials. Joshua died at the age of 110, as had his ancestor Joseph; he was buried on his homestead at Timnath Serah. The book of Joshua is not intended as a biography of Joshua nor as an apology for his leadership. As noted, the author recorded Joshua’s shortcomings as well as his strengths and successes. But here we see that the final assessment of Joshua and his leadership is positive. His legacy was so strong that Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel (v.31).
The second burial was the bones of Joseph, brought up with the Israelites from Egypt and carried along all those years. Joseph was buried at Shechem in the plot his father Jacob had purchased. This was within the inheritance of Joseph’s descendants. Finally, Eleazar the high priest died and was buried at the home of his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.
All three men were buried on Mount Ephraim in the central part of the newly conquered and newly settled land. The death and burial in the land of these three important leaders is a final important signal of God’s fulfillment of his promise to give Israel the land. Joshua’s major themes of God’s faithfulness, God’s fulfillment of his promises, God’s gift of the land, and the spiritual importance of the land are carried down to the very last verse of the book. These are themes of everlasting encouragement to God’s people.